Mongoose & Dan,

from what you have both said, in varying degrees of techno-speak which, surprisingly, I do understand (kind of), I deduce that there is no way that Samsung/Schneider lenses lack any form of coating. So why don't they say so? I think this perhaps lends weight to my argument that their lenses are SMC coated, but they are not allowed to say.

I think what we need is someone who has both versions of the same lens to perform a visual comparison and real life tests. Matt, get your credit card out

Can you substantiate this in any (non-technical) way?

To me, a coating is simply an additional layer, multi-coating being more than one additional layer, that would actually attenuate the lens's ability to pass light, not improve it. Hence flare control ! ! !

Most lenses having a minimal coating actually block (as much as they can) light in the infra-red and UV bands. That's not improving light transmittance.

Techno geeks, try this site . . . . it's way beyond my comprehension.

It could be that, possibly due to copyright or contractual restrictions, the Samsung/Schneider branded lenses are indeed SMC coated, but they are not allowed to say so. I agree that their lenses must have some kind of coating, and if it is their own, why not say so . . . somewhere . . . anywhere?

Edit:

If we had somone that knows how lenses are made, and when the coating is applied, that may give us a clue. Is the coating applied to the blanks before they are cut/ground to size, or is it the last process applied to the glass/plastic before the lens is assembled?

I think that even if Pentax stopped camera production today (and I hope that's not tempting fate), third party support for their products would continue for years to come as there will still be a substantial enough number of existing users for companies like Sigma etc to warrant it. If that support were to stop, there is still a huge number of second user Pentax items changing hands regularly.

If Hoya do decide to ditch the brand, I'm sure it would be saleable, and would therefore continue . . . as Samsung?, maybe.

I'm equally certain that the Samsung firmware design is led by Pentax and the delays in updates to the Samsungesque K10D are probably a marketing issue in that Pentax probably don't release the technical data to Samsung until after it's been released to Pentax users.

I'm sticking with Pentax, even if I could never buy another new camera body. I have all that I need and to switch brands would be prohibitively expensive for me, and most other amateurs I would guess. The divorce lawyers would be rubbing their hands if we did switch though .

Do you have documentary evidence that this is true?

Does anybody have both a Pentax and Samsung branded version of the same lens to compare?

Isn't that a Pentax lens in their banner?

Shhhhh. Everybody will want one.

Don't break the rules . . . just bend them a little.

You might, for instance, describe your item and invite private messages from any interested party's, sort of.