2016 Pentax Full Frame Lens Roadmaps

Five new D FA lenses planned

By PF Staff in CP+ 2016 on Feb 25, 2016

We're happy to kick off our CP+ 2016 show coverage with a look at the new Pentax K-mount lens roadmap posters on display at the Pentax / Ricoh booth (645 and Q roadmaps will be discussed separately).

Planned D FA full-frame lenses

Although the modern K-mount lens lineup is quite extensive, only a handful of new lenses cover the Pentax K-1's full-frame image circle. For the camera to really gain traction in the larger photographic community, it is important for Ricoh to quickly launch more D FA lenses— especially primes. And it looks that's exactly what the company is planning to do.

The D FA roadmap above hints at five new D FA lenses expected in 2017 or later: wide-aperture ultra-wide, standard, and short telephoto primes, a wide-angle prime, and a fish-eye zoom. The exact specs of these lenses remain unknown, but it would make sense for them to cover popular focal lengths such as 24mm, 35mm, 50mm, 85mm, etc.

Existing lenses compatible with the K-1

Another chart give us a look at current lenses compatible with the K-1: the entire D FA series (obviously) plus the three DA lenses that we discussed in our K-1 lens guide: the DA* 200mm F2.8, DA* 300mm F4, and DA 560mm F5.6. These lenses are listed here because the K-1 carries new full-frame correction profiles specifically for them, though Ricoh warns that optimal results may not be obtainable outside of crop mode.

These remarks as well as the limited of endorsement of premium DA lenses for full-frame use suggest that Ricoh is being very conservative in its lens recommendations. Other DA lenses known to perform well on full frame were omitted, such as the DA 40mm Limited or DA* 55mm F1.4. Of course, it remains to be seen just how well these lenses will fare on the K-1. We plan to test this in great detail when the production body becomes available, and expect to be positively surprised.

Lastly, the traditional Pentax lens roadmap poster gives us a nice overview of the growing K-mount lineup. The DA wide-angle zoom that first made an appearance over two years ago continues to be listed as a future lens, bringing the total count of roadmapped K-mount lenses up to 6.

2016 Pentax K-mount lens roadmap (excluding planned D FA lenses)

Stay tuned for more insight on these roadmaps from our interview with Pentax / Ricoh representatives.