New f1.4 85mm* lens

According to Cameraville we can expect launch at the end of the month at around.......2000 euros! Oh my, I have been holding on so long for this lens and now it looks like it’s unattainable.

Same view here... Been waiting so long..! If that's going to be the market price. It's a no..!

Yeah, just seen the link at photorumors...apparently Amazon will be selling it next week at £2100!

Commercial suicide.

I'm not at all surprised, an 85/1.4 is always harder (read more expensive) to make than a 50/1.4 so it was bound to be roughly double the DFA*50/1.4 price. Makes the FA77 seem like a bargain...

People seem to want fast, ultra-sharp-wide-open primes these days and that takes a huge toll on price and weight. I'm not surprised at all by the price, though I'm sure it will come down somewhat a few months after release. I'd definitely take the FA 77mm over the new 85mm.

It seems to me that Ricoh have no idea where to place Pentax at the moment. The brand is mainly known for keenly priced but good quality equipment however with the 50mm and 85mm lenses (and even the 70-210mm to some extent) they are aiming their new products at the higher end of the market,

I begin to worry about the new APS-C camera, if I remember correctly the K-3II and the KP were originally around the £1300 mark when new so if they start thinking 2K then Pentaxfolk are going to get a big shock.

I feel it is the way the market is going as the pace of digital innovation slows more attention has moved to creating lenses of previously unknown optical quality. When the DA*11-18mm was released at what was it £1400 or £1500 I thought "That's me out". I've already got the Sigma 10-20mm which is a very good lens. However a special price was offered bringing the lens back to a three figure sum and I jumped on it. Not disappointed in the least, hopefully I've got years of photographic enjoyment to look forward to with it.
Perhaps most of us will need to get used to buying better quality less often AND I will mention there are plenty of very excellent lenses available that cover 85mm.
Personally I see it as a good thing to have top of the range aspirational lenses and perhaps bodies in the range, as well as the very good less expensive offerings we have.
Looking forward to seeing reviews and opinions on the new DA* 16-50mm, if it's as good as the 11-18mm it will be a fantastic option at the top of the range.

The price of £2000 is speculation , I have also seen figures of £1700 mentioned. I am unsure how the value of the pound/dollar affects pricing. But a quick check at competitors price I the lens are around the 1300-1400 mark and Pentax deliver on quality and value , so remains to be seen . The other new products are also good news.

Regards

When Pentax announced the DFA 50mm 1.4 they said that having conducted a detailed survey of their Japanese customer base (the largest by a mile), the demand was for high end star quality lenses. These will never be cheap. Both the DFA 50mm and 85mm fit this bill.

Giving your customers what they want seems to me to be a sound business strategy.

The DFA50 came to £900 in a few months after release so something like £1600 might not be terrible as long as the lens delivers what a professional may be looking for (whatever that is).

Does it represent better value than a £700 new FA77 or £750 second hand FA85?

Not sure!

I have no problem with high price high quality lenses to give the brand some kudos and credibility, I seem to recall when Sigma stopped making K-mounts Ricoh said they would aim to produce lenses to outperform the Sigma Art range and be up there with Zeiss. Shortly after the new 50mm was launched as the first in that series and I expect on that basis they represent good value. There are lots of things I cannot afford but I am not going to say they are therefore not meeting market demand, cheaper alternatives are available to cover the focal lengths so it isn’t the end of the world. We should also remember Ricoh are addressing a relatively small market and the cost of development has to be recovered somehow.

Hmm, was only having a chat about pricing for the 85 with another member a few days ago... I was thinking €1600ish, he was a bit higher. If its €2k, then it's 2K and we know where Pentax sees it in the market, which is opposite the Zeiss Otus 85. Quality costs.

Why commercial suicide? I will buy it, know quite a few others that will too. They run off an initial batch of say 1000, the home market will snap up 750, 100 to Ricoh EU, 100 to Ricoh US leaving 50 to be divvied up elsewhere, say 5 to 10 for reviews. The UK might get 25 and I bet SRS have 25 names. Keep demand higher than availability and you can keep prices up and profitable. Run another batch in 3 months or so once you have firm numbers.

Pentax is going the way of Leica, it has opted out of the mass consumer focused race to the bottom.

You can pay upwards of £2,000 for a top quality scope or binoculars for bird watching. Why should a top quality lens for an SLR cost less?

Most amateur bird watchers won't spend that much and will be quite happy with (much) lower price optics that are good but don't reach the absolute pinaccle of what is technically achievable. Why should it be any different with us amateur photographers? Of course, if you've got the money, want the very best and must have it ASAP, go for it!

Steve

I wonder if Mr Riley or Mr Winterbourne can confirm if they are under NDA yet?
Might be an indicator of imminent arrival.