Hands-on with PENTAX-DA* 11-18mm F2.8 ED DC AW
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Alongside the GR III, Ricoh is using the CP+ show in Yokohama Japan to give its customers a first look at a new high-performance wideangle lens for APS-C. The PENTAX-DA* 11-18mm F2.8 ED DC AW was announced way back in the Fall of 2017 and was supposed to ship the following summer, but it was delayed. We’re at CP+, where we took a closer look.
Hands-on with PENTAX-DA* 11-18mm F2.8 ED DC AW
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The 11-18mm is a large, pretty heavy and quite costly lens, and if someone had told us it was actually designed for full-frame, we’d have no difficulty in believing them. According to Ricoh, the new lens offers significantly improved image quality compared to the older 12-24mm F4 ED AL.
Designed for outdoor use
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Designed for use outdoors, the ‘AW’ in the lengthy model name stands for ‘All-Weather’ – a higher grade of weather-resistance than the more common ‘WR’ rating offered further down Ricoh’s Pentax lens lineup. Like all of the Pentax AW lenses, the 11-18mm F2.8 feels like it could be carried up a mountain in the rain, dropped off the top, dusted off and put back on the camera without sustaining any serious damage (but please don’t try it).
Designed for outdoor use
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The distinctive orange ring is a rubber gasket, helping keep dust and moisture from getting into the camera from around the lens mount.
Focus clamp
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We’re used to seeing lock/clamp switches on lenses, but it’s unusual to see a focus lock. Since the 11-18mm is intended for use by astrophotographers, for whom precise focusing positioning is essential, especially at wide apertures, Ricoh wanted to make sure that once accurate focus has been achieved, it stays locked.
Moving the clamp switch to ‘on’ disengages the focus clutch, ensuring that even if the focus ring is knocked, the focus position won’t change.
Optical construction
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With a focal range equivalent to 16.5-27mm when mounted on an APS-C body, the 11-18mm’s optical construction is comprised of 16 elements, including two aspherical elements, two extra low-dispersion elements and one aspherical extra-low dispersion element. Ricoh claims that its ‘HD’ coating reduces reflections by more than 50% compared to regular coatings, too, which should help increase optical quality even further, by reducing flare and ghosting.
Price and availability
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The PENTAX-DA* 11-18mm F2.8 ED DC AW will be available soon, for $ 1399.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)