I have to say that I consider it great news. Choosing to support full frame, aperture ring and on top of that, picking some primes speaks very positively. These represent to me that they are looking beyond the first time buyer and trying to provide for more serious photogs.
As to performance, I suspect they will be just fine. I expect the build quality to be like the DA 16-45. In order to get the weight down, something needed to be changed. Truth be told, I owned the FA 100/2.8 macro for several years. After selling my 35mm gear in a move to 67, when coming back to the *istD, I planned on getting a macro. This time I chose the Tamron 90/2.8 (version just before the new DI). The reasons were size/weight, optical quality, and handling. It had a focus clutch like FA* lenses and a wide focus ring (I mostly manual focus). The FA 100/2.8 macro just wasn't optically enough different to put up with the heavy weight, skinny focus ring and lack of clutch. In this new design, I'd say they have addressed exactly what I was looking for. In fact, I may have to pass on the Tamron to my daughter (she loves using real macros) and pick up the new 100 macro. I'm excited about this announcement! Bruce Sunday, August 8, 2004, 6:20:20 PM, you wrote: TR> IMO it's great news that Pentax is manufacturing new lenses. Maybe the other TR> lenses are backordered because they were busy making these new ones. I hope TR> these new lenses aren't just about making them cheaper and they'll at least TR> match the same incredible performance the FA 50mm and 100mm macros are known TR> for. TR> Tom Reese
