We’ve recently talked about Pentax’s upcoming full-frame DSLR camera, a camera we’ve been expecting to come out this year, but which has been pushed back to a 2016 spring launch by Pentax. However, the company has just unveiled its new zoom lens, one that’s aimed at the upper tier market, with a price to match.
Meet the HD PENTAX-D FA 24-70mmF2.8ED SDM WR, a lens that besides a considerable price-tag and a hard to remember name, has a lot of aces up its sleeve. It’s Pentax’s answer to stiff competition from rivals such as Canon or Nikon, and is a lens that comes with a constant f/2.8 maximum aperture, as indicated by the model’s name. To clarify, a constant aperture of f/2.8 presents some significant advantages over more mainstream lenses that usually come with f/3.5 apertures. Among the notable differences we can count a faster shutter speed, as well as better results in low-light conditions with minimum tweaks to ISO, and even greater details in faded backgrounds.
The lens’ name also includes SDM, which stands for Supersonic Direct-drive Motor, Pentax’s own take on speedy, silent, quality auto-focus. This is obviously something we’d expect in a professional lense, which this one clearly aims to be. The lens provides a 2.9x zoom. This full-frame lens is also expected to come bundled up with Pentax’s new body, arriving next year, but is compatible with other Pentax cameras which are out and available now. So if you’re planning on picking up next year’s Pentax body, you might as well go ahead and grab the lens next month when it becomes available for ordering. It’s priced competitively with similar Nikon or Canon full-frame lenses, costing around $1,750.