Rumors: two Pentax full-frame teleconverters to be announced soon
Both new converters are fullframe and with all AF systems compatible.
But still no exact shipping date.
Still in late prototype condition.
Maybe because of the new tele lenses.
The most surprising part of his statement is the end of it: “because of the new tele lenses”. There are two tele-zoom lenses on the roadmap: the HD Pentax-D FA 70-200mm f/4 and a “Telephoto Zoom Lens” (a D FA, not a D FA★ since it’s represented by a red line and not an orange one). The line representing the focal range of the Telephoto Zoom Lens + the D FA categorization suggests that it could be a 70-300mm f/4-5.6. There are no telephoto prime lenses on the roadmap other than the D FA★ 85mm f/1.4 which isn’t exactly a lens suited for converters. Among those three telephoto lenses on the roadmap, only the 70-200 mm f/4 would be suited for teleconverters, barely so for a 1.7x or 2x converter. Yet Asahi man speaks of “new tele lenses”, plural.
Is it a typo? Have there been modifications to the specifications of the Telephoto Zoom Lens during its development? Shall we expect a revamping of the DA★ 200mm f/2.8 ED [IF] SDM and/or of the DA★ 300mm f/4 ED [IF] SDM as HD Pentax-D FA★ 200mm f/2.8 or HD Pentax-D FA★ 300mm f/4 (with HD coating, new focus motor and more)? Shall we expect a new D FA★ 200mm f/2.8 and/or a new D FA★ 300mm f/4? Indeed a patent was published in 2016 (JP 2016-051100 A), which includes six examples: four of a 200mm f/2.8, one of a 230mm f/3.2 and one of a 300mm f/4, all of them covering the 24×36 format.