On 3/02/06 6:24 PM, "K.Takeshita", <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>> 3. Tokina provided DA lenses optical designs and Pentax >> implemented them with the barrel design. > >> ----- >> >> Ken, which DA lenses do you mean here? All of them or specific >> ones? Does this include the DA primes? The DA 16-45? > > Sorry for the confusion. I was talking only about the 12-24. Pentax took > the Tokina optical formula and packaged into DA using their (Pentax's) > barrel design. There was a footnote in explaining Tokina's digital lens development road map (much like Pentax's) which obviously implies that the most, if not all, of DA lenses are the products of the collaboration of both Tokina and Pentax. It says the collaboration started from approx 1.5 years ago. But Tokina emphasized that it was not an OEM relationship but more of an equal partners. There may be cases where two companies share the common optical spec while the packaging (barrel designs etc) might be different and vise versa. Manufacturing bases are also different, but two companies share the cost reduction measures such as group purchasing of parts etc. The most visible effect of this collaboration is the shortening of the design/development phase and sharing of molds etc. So, it appears to be a very close (and formal) collaboration while maintaining each other's uniqueness. Ken
