Sports, action, and wildlife shooters will welcome two new Pentax K-mount telephoto zoom lenses from Ricoh Imaging: the HD PENTAX D FA* 70-200 f/2.8 ED DC AW and the HD PENTAX D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6 ED DC AW. These lenses will greatly extend your reach with their respective equivalent focal lengths of 225-675mm and 105-300mm when used on Pentax APS-C DSLRs.
HD PENTAX D FA* 70-200mm f/2.8 ED DC AW Lens
One of most sought-after zoom lenses in any system, the HD PENTAX D FA* 70-200mm f/2.8 ED DC AW offers an extremely versatile telephoto range for sports, wildlife, and photojournalism, as well as a constant f/2.8 maximum aperture for consistent low-light performance and selective focus control. This lens also falls under Pentax’s * classification, which means it has been designed to the highest standards possible, ensuring sharp imagery with minimal aberrations. And, for those craving a little further reach, the lens has an equivalent focal length of 105-300mm when used on Pentax’s APS-C DSLRs.
To back up the * rating, nearly every optical coating and technology in Pentax’s arsenal is packed into the 70-200mm. This includes the HD Coating for reducing ghosting and flare, the Aero Bright Coating for reducing reflections and ensuring maintained light transmission, and the Super Protect coating that repels water and oils to make the lens much easier to clean. In addition to these components, the lens also features extra-low dispersion glass elements to minimize chromatic aberrations and ensure edge-to-edge sharpness throughout the zoom range.
Complementing its optical traits, the lens utilizes a Direct Current (DC) autofocus motor to deliver fast, smooth, and near-silent operation to benefit both still and movie recording. The Quick-Shift Focus System also avails instant manual focus control over the lens by simply rotating the focusing ring, alleviating the need for separate AF/MF settings. Additionally, a focus range limiter can be used to constrain the lens's focus range between different sets of distances for faster, more responsive handling.
To benefit its use in trying conditions, the 70-200mm f/2.8 has also been fully weather-sealed in 13 locations to prevent dust and moisture from entering the lens. A removable, rotating tripod collar is also included for better balance when shooting atop a tripod.
HD PENTAX D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6 DC AW Lens
Taking its place as the longest reaching zoom lens available from Pentax, the HD PENTAX D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6 DC AW is an expansive telephoto zoom that provides a 225-675mm equivalent focal-length range to suit wildlife, nature, and sports shooters. Similar to the 70-200mm f/2.8, this 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6 also incorporates extra-low dispersion glass in its construction to maintain sharpness and clarity throughout the zoom range while also limiting distortion and aberrations. An HD coating has also been applied to reduce surface reflections and maintain high contrast and color fidelity in difficult lighting conditions. And the same SP coating has been added, too, to protect the surface of exposed elements from fingerprints, water, dust, and oils.
In addition to the Direct Current AF motor and Quick-Shift Focus System similarly found in the 70-200mm, this 150-450mm also features a focus preset mode for memorizing a set point of focus, allowing you to return quickly to this position at the press of a button. Four other dedicated AF buttons are available, as well, and can be assigned to control AF mode, focus preset mode, and AF cancel settings. The focus range limiter can also be used to constrain focus between 6.6-19.7' or 19.7'-infinity.
The included tripod collar is both rotating and removable, and also features a drop-prevention feature that uses a pin to ensure the lens does not accidently become prey to the forces of gravity when removing the collar. A zoom lock switch can be used to secure your zoom position while carrying the lens, and to prevent it from accidently extending. And, also like the 70-200mm lens, this 150-450mm is weather-sealed in 21 locations to prevent dust or water from entering the lens.
6 Comments
I am considering purchasing this lens to photograph sports for our newspaper. What I would like to know is if the 70-200 lens would be capable of capturing fast action on the football field without the use of a flash. Any help you could provide me on this type of photography would be greatly appreciated.
This type of lens is commonly used for sports of all varieties, indoors and outdoors, day and night. It has a wide aperture of f2.8. Its ability to capture fast action without a flash more has to do with your particular camera, and the ISO range it has. The higher the ISO setting you can set the camera to, the better the camera will result in fast enough shutter speeds to capture/freeze action. As to this lens' autofocus performance, I'll assume its of the best Pentax has to offer, but we can't comment on that until it finally is released and we have feedback from users.
What about Nikon?
Neither of these lenses would be compatible with Nikon cameras. Pentax does not make lenses for other manufacturer’s mounts. While we do carry one adapter for Pentax K lens to Nikon F-mount camera, there would be no electronics in the adapter, which means you would lose auto functions. It also has an optic in it in order for the lens to retain focus at infinity. This optic will have a significant effect on the image quality you are able to get from the lens. If you are looking for similar options for Nikon, You could look at the Nikon AF-S 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G VR lens and the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VR lens, both of which are fantastic.
Does either lens come in a Canon EF mount?
No they do not. Pentax only manufactures lenses for the Pentax K mount cameras. Unfortunately there are not any adapters that would allow one to mount these lenses onto a Canon EOS body.