Not sure about this lens. Who is it aimed at? It is too slow for "pros" and serious enthusiasts. They already have the 12-24mm F4 which is more suitable AND the 16-50mm F2.8 for more serious users, albeit longer at 16mm. Its only USP is the WR and SDM for which the 12-24 does not have (nor my lovely Sigma 10-20). Plus it is more than 3x optical zoom, so, in my opinion is going to be compromised (3x is in all seriousness the limit for maximum IQ on a zoom, even the 100-400 Canon is compromised, ask users....)

Now if instead they went down the route of a 8-16mm F4 super-wide with WR and SDM, I would have been more interested.

However, I, like many others, would rather see some lenses at the longer end, beyond the 300mm F4. Something like a 135-400 F4 or even a 400mm F4, or 500mm F4 (not F2.8, we are not CaNikon, and they will be cheaper and more useable)

Pentax cannot rely on 3rd party manufacturers to provide the long end, they have to do their own. As a 3rd party might stop making Pentax mount at any point - as has happened recently. 300mm is still too short for Nature, even on Digital.

NOOOOOOOOO! Oh well, I will stick with my other macros instead...

They are great for portraits too.

This was taken with my Tamron 90mm F2.5 SP Macro with adaptall 2x converter.

[img]http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2695/4339166384_633716b19e.jpg" class="comment_image" />

[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos[/img]

No, it is defenitely a 50mm F4 macro. And it is fine. However it was a few months ago and it is still on the shelf. So it might have gone up in price.

Wow, I stand corrected.

Looks like on Monday I will get the 50mm for £40 then.

You may have a point there mph.

However the 43mm is as close as you can get for 35mm or FullFrame these days.

The 31mm is in reality too long to be a true "naked eye" lens on a cropped sensor, the closest to true is the 28mm,(science bit - the hypotenuse is just over 28mm on APS-C and just under 43mm on FF) but Pentax have never had a fast 28mm, so the 31mm is the closest we can get.

The 77mm is more of an unusual length, but small enough to be a nice small lens that can be fast and did'nt step on the FA*85mm F1.4's shoes.

Even now the three FA Limiteds are still revered alongside the Leicas....

All I can say is that thank god that Pentax have thought outside the box and not gone with the flow with lenses and made 3 of the finest small fast lenses you can buy (or should I say a further 5 with the 15, 21, 35M, 40 and 70 Limiteds too)
Wish I could afford them all....

Well, as both the new 50 and 100mm versions are fairly similar in price, the same with the sigmas. The the Real Camera Co in Manchester have the 50mm SMC-M F4 for £40 (last I saw) I would say £40-50 would be a reasonable offer. In fact £40 at Real could be more than normal, as they have overheads. So £30-50. but no more than £50

A con? For me, it is a plus, as I am always accidentally moving the dial on my K20D.

Again its a feature designed for photographers.
They also said no dedicated video button on the body as a con. Well DP, is it a still camera or a video camera? Oh yes, its a still camera that happens to shoot video... Personally Video is not important to me, but it is a nice addition to have for that very rare use.

At least DP give it a gold award. Are they finally warming to Pentax?

TAv is excellent for low light. The K10D and K20D always nail it, and that will include the K-7 and K-5 too.

Sv mode, never used. I prefer control of the aperture than enything else. so either Av or TAv for me.

However for sports, mybe Sv may come into use? not sure, but worth a try.

TAv is unique to Pentax and that is a good thing.

My previous thread made me think, so I have created this thread.

What, in your opinion, is the greatest feature of a Pentax DSLR as opposed to the others...

For me, it is the TAv mode. The ability to set your speed and aperture and let the camera set the ISO is a boon. No other make has this, and lower Pentax models don't either (sorry k-m, k-x and k-r owners)

Mind you the ability to use any K-mount or M42 mount lenses with adapter runs a very close second.

Whats yours?