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Check out these full resolution images shot with the Pentax DA* 11-18mm F2.8 ultra-wide zoom lens, captured while shooting this week’s episode of DPReview TV.
Did you miss this episode? You can find it here.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
It’s Pentax week on DPReview TV, so Chris and Jordan review the DA* 11-18mm F2.8 ultra-wide zoom for Pentax APS-C cameras. Do they like it? They sure do! Enough to inspire Jordan to sing. And sing some more. Get out your earplugs.
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Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
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We just got our hands on the new Pentax 11-18mm F2.8 DA* – a premium wide-angle zoom lens for Ricoh’s APS-C format Pentax DSLRs. Tough and weather-sealed, the 11-18mm is intended to satisfy the needs of Pentax users who want to go wide without going full-frame.
Take a look at our full gallery of sample images to judge for yourself how it performs.
View our Pentax 11-18mm F2.8 DA* sample gallery
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
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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.
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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.
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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).
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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)
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Ricoh has announced a pair of Pentax K-mount lenses: the HD PENTAX-FA 35mm F2 and HD PENTAX-DA* 11-18mm F2.8 ED DC AW.
The full-frame 35mm F2 is based on the smc PENTAX-FA 35mm F2 AL from the film era and features HD and SP coatings, with the former reducing reflections and the latter repelling water from the front element. The lens has six elements in five groups and a six-blade aperture. It’s remarkably compact, despite having both an aperture ring and distance scale, and weighs in at just 193 grams. The lens will be available in February for £399.
The PENTAX-DA* 11-18mm F2.8 ED DC AW was introduced way back in the Fall of 2017 and was supposed to ship the following summer. After a bit of a delay, this APS-C lens is finally read to ship next month. The weather-resistant 11-18mm F2.8, equivalent to 16.5-27mm when mounted on an APS-C body, has 16 elements, a nine-blade aperture and an HD coating. There’s also a clamp to lock focus at a desired point and the ‘ability to accommodate the addition of a dew heating strip to prevent condensation without affecting focus-ring operation.’ The lens will be priced at £1399.
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Press Releases:
A single-focus, wide-angle lens for use with K-mount digital SLR cameras, featuring latest lens coatings to further upgrade image quality
London, 30 January 2019 ?RICOH COMPANY, LTD. and RICOH IMAGING EUROPE S.A.S. are pleased to announce the launch of the HD PENTAX-FA 35mmF2. Despite its compact dimensions, this high-performance wide-angle lens covers the full-frame image circle of PENTAX K-mount digital SLR cameras.
This new lens is based on the smc PENTAX-FA 35mmF2 AL — a very popular multi-purpose, wide-angle lens used on film-format SLR cameras and is introduced following a thorough review of lens coatings. The high-grade, multi-layer HD Coating applied to the optical elements produces high-contrast images with edge-to-edge sharpness, free of flare and ghost images. Whilst, the highly stain-repellent SP Coating applied to the front surface improves the lens’ usability outdoors. The redesigned exterior matches the design of latest PENTAX K-mount digital SLR models, while its compact, portable body makes it perfect for everyday use.
Price & Availability
HD PENTAX-FA35mmF2 ? RRP: £399.99
Available: February 2019
An ultra-wide-angle, Star-series zoom lens for use with K-mount digital SLR cameras, with a large F2.8 aperture over the entire zoom range providing exceptional optical performance
LONDON, 30 January, 2019 ?RICOH COMPANY, LTD. and RICOH IMAGING EUROPE S.A.S. are pleased to announce the launch of the HD PENTAX-DA* 11-18mm F2.8 ED DC AW. This high-performance, ultra-wide-angle, Star-series lens features a large F2.8 maximum aperture over the entire zoom range to deliver exceptional optical performance.
The HD PENTAX-DA*11-18mm F2.8 ED DC AW ultra-wide-angle zoom lens is the latest model in the new-generation Star (*) series — a lens that provides exceptional image quality to be able to accommodate the super-high-performance digital cameras of the future. It delivers high-resolution, high-contrast images without blurring at the edges, and guarantees excellent imaging performance in high-grade digital photography. With the introduction of this lens, the high quality, high-performance Star series now provides a wide angle-of-view coverage —from ultra-wide angle to telephoto compact models featuring a large F2.8 maximum aperture, exclusively designed for use with PENTAX APS-C-format digital SLR cameras.
In addition to an outstanding dustproof, weather-resistant construction, the lens provides a Focus Clamp Mechanism to lock focus at the desired focal point. It also provides useful features to improve performance and dependability in challenging outdoor conditions. These include a space specifically designed for holding a heating device to prevent condensation, and a metallic frame structure, which more effectively transmits the heat of the device to the lens. These greatly improve the lens’ operability when shooting in outdoor situations including star-lit skies.
Price & Availability
HD PENTAX-DA* 11-18mm F2.8 ED DC AW Lens
RRP: £1,399.99
Available: February 2019
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)