D FA* 70-200mm F2.8 Release Date Set

Premium telephoto zoom slated for release in April, 2016

By PF Staff in Pentax Announcements on Dec 17, 2015

Ricoh Imaging (Japan) announced on December 17 that delivery of the full frame HD Pentax-D FA* 70-200mm F2.8 ED DC AW, which was previously delayed to Autum 2015, is being further delayed. The news was accompanied by an estimated ship date of April, 2016. The company apologizes for the delay and states that changes to the design of the lens are necessary to ensure high performance.

The full frame DSLR itself is expected to make an appearance around the same time as this lens. The camera will be in the spotlight at the upcoming CP+ 2016 trade show in Tokyo; we already saw a fairly revealing prototype at Salon de la Photo in Paris back in early November.

The Pentax star lens series reflects the highest standard of optics and build quality. The D FA* 70-200mm is the first digital-era full frame Pentax lens to bear this designation. It was announced alongside the non-star D FA 150-450mm F4.5-5.6 ED DC AW, which we have recently reviewed.

We were able to briefly handle and test the 70-200mm at CP+ 2015, the February trade show at which the lens was originally announced. The exact changes being made to the lens remain a mystery.

Video: hands-on demo of the 70-200mm

Press Release

The original announcement is available in Japanese here.

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