It’s not just Canon and Nikon in the DSLR business, but Pentax too… and it has three new lenses in the pipeline
(Image credit: Pentax/Ricoh)
Pentax still believes in the DSLR design, and as well as having a new flagship Pentax APS-C DSLR in the pipeline, it has announced the development of three new lenses with a new, updated lens roadmap.
Pentax makes both APS-C and full frame DSLRs, with lens ranges for each. The APS-C cameras use Pentax-DA lenses made specifically for the smaller crop sensor, but they can also use the larger Pentax-D FA lenses for the full frame Pentax K-1 and K-1 II.
HD Pentax-DA* 16-50mm F2.8 (expected 2021)
(Image credit: Pentax/Ricoh)
This is the tentative name for a new constant aperture premium quality standard zoom for Pentax APS-C cameras. It will offer an effective 24-75mm focal range and be the equivalent of pro-spec standard zooms for other DSLR systems. The ‘*’ in the name indicates Pentax’s top optical quality standards.
HD Pentax-D FA 21mm Limited (expected 2021)
(Image credit: Pentax/Ricoh)
The Pentax ‘Limited’ lenses are compact retro-styled prime lenses that aim to offer a classic style of image rendering and handling, and this will be by far the widest Limited lens for full frame Pentax DSLRs. We don’t yet know the maximum aperture, but it will have an integrated petal-style lens hood, weather-resistant design and built in DC AF motor. It will also be available in silver (shown) and black.
HD PENTAX-D FA* 85mm F1.4ED SDM AW (expected late 2020)
(Image credit: Pentax/Ricoh)
The new Pentax 85mm f/1.4 portrait lens, which we first announced in March 2020, will have a very unusual feature – a concave front element designed to reduce the refraction effects that cause chromatic aberrations. It’s one of Pentax’s ‘*’ ‘star’ lenses, so it will boast the company’s highest optical quality, and it also has weather-resistant (WR) seals and efficient SDM autofocus.
Here’s a diagram showing the current Pentax APS-C lens line-up and its future plans (it also includes full frame lenses, since these can also be used on the APS-C models).
And here’s a diagram showing the Pentax full frame lens range and roadmap. The new lenses are visible, but there are a further two as yet unnamed lenses to come, including a ‘Large aperture wide-angle single focus (prime) lens’ and a mysterious ‘Telephoto Zoom Lens’. We’ll bring more details just as soon as we have them.
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Rod is an independent photography journalist and editor, and a long-standing Digital Camera World contributor, having previously worked as DCW's Group Reviews editor. Before that he has been technique editor on N-Photo, Head of Testing for the photography division and Camera Channel editor on TechRadar, as well as contributing to many other publications. He has been writing about photography technique, photo editing and digital cameras since they first appeared, and before that began his career writing about film photography. He has used and reviewed practically every interchangeable lens camera launched in the past 20 years, from entry-level DSLRs to medium format cameras, together with lenses, tripods, gimbals, light meters, camera bags and more. Rod has his own camera gear blog at fotovolo.com but also writes about photo-editing applications and techniques at lifeafterphotoshop.com
