MIssing items

Having developed an excellent range of lenses over the last few years, when is Pentax going to produce necessary lens accessories, i.e. 1.4x/2x converters and extension tubes that work with their lenses, especially those with the SDM focus, such as the 300 DA*?

These items are not available from the independents, such as Sigma and Kenko. Pentax should produce them to complete their range!

John

Ditto! Pentax need to release the SDM 1.4TC that was announced way back when at the same time as the 60-250 & 55.

Can't see them ever introducing converters, because of the
exposure problems.

shim

What problems?

I did start a thread about this, but didn't get any answers, so seems that no one knows or they don't have any problems link

I've since bought a Pentax A 2X-S but haven't tried it on that one.

shim

Plenty of others here seem to use TCs without any problems.

I agree it would be great if Pentax were to put the 1.4 SDM TC back in the scheme of things, sooner rather than later too.

Or maybe a DA*100-400...

With the SDM TC?

Possibly, but not necessarily. If I had to raise a grumble about Pentax, it would be that their lens range stops at 300mm.

(Oh and possibly the K20 body cap :twisted

I fear it will stop at 300mm for quite a while. Not many people want more than 300mm, so the cost of such a lens, with it's short production runs, will be very high.

I'd love a 500mm, personally, but I don't think it's going to happen in the near future.

G

They have a super-tele on the lens roadmap so who knows :

My guess is that it will be a DA*400 f/5.6 most probable.

I wonder how many people are put off Pentax because of the 300mm limit.

I want to take pictures of aircraft and wildlife, and in both cases more would be useful.

I find myself with the old dilemma of cropping from the DA* 300mm or trying to get a decent picture out of the Sigma 150-500.

I didn't notice that thread or I might have replied...

I have a Pentax AFA 1.7x TC, and I only lose a stop and a bit, as one would expect, and my 2X Tamron BBAR loses the 2 stops I would expect it to lose... I have no idea why yours should be behaving so differently... Perhaps defective?

It could be the lenses.... unlikely that a K10D and GX-20 would have the same fault. I'm not sure what lens they mean when they say 2X it might only be 2X on a 50mm and 3X on a 300mm which would give a bigger light loss. I'll have to see what I get with a 50mm.

shim

A 1.4x converter multiplies the focal length of any lens by 1.4x and there is a light loss of 1 stop.

A 2x converter multiplies 2x and there is a light loss of 2 stops

A 3x converter etc. with 3x and 3 stops loss.

This will apply to all lenses and if it's not happening then I would look at the communication between camera and lens and coverter. Are the contacts clean?

I would never use a 3x converter - every one I have ever tried has been dreadful.