Ricoh recently held a Pentax Clubhouse event in Japan (see coverage at DC.Watch and Capa Camera) where the company’s representative mentioned a few details about a new/upcoming HD Pentax-D FA 100mm f/2.8 macro lens (the latest version is currently on sale at Adorama and B&H Photo):
Here are the details on the new lens:
- New optical design using expensive glass material
- HD coating
- Much less purple fringing than the current lens
- Same size as the current lens – compactness was a design priority
- Slightly more expensive than the current lens
- To be released in 2022.
“I’ve just attended the online event. This is a short report about the “just a bit about new product” part. That new product was the new DFA 100mm macro (exact model name wasn’t revealed) to be released in 2022, which was a total surprise. The lens is not on the roadmap yet but will be on the new roadmap. They already had a sample image (sorry, forgot to take screenshot), they showed side-by-side comparison of the new and the old, and the reduction of purple fringe in the new one was very impressive. The designer (O-ishi san) said that he personally wanted to improve the purple fringe of the current DFA 100mm macro and started working on the new design using his spare time (yes it’s the new optical design!!), apparently that was the start of this new lens. It will be an HD lens. Expensive glass material is used, and the price will be “a bit” higher than the current model.” (source: PentaxForums)
