----- Original Message ----
> From: frank theriault <[email protected]>
> To: Pentax-Discuss Mail List <[email protected]>
> Sent: Thu, December 24, 2009 9:17:28 PM
> Subject: Re: GESO: On Low Light
>
> Here's a related question (which maybe deserves its own SL and thread):
>
> If the GF1 has a Lumix 20mm f1.7 pancake lens, why is the Pentax 21mm
> Limited so slow? There are several for sale on this list, and I have
> to be honest I'm sooo interested, but I hesitate putting out that much
> money for such a slow lens.
>
> It's a perfect focal length for my street shooting, but as many of you
> know I shoot a lot of night shots. Right now my A50mm f1.7 is good,
> but I want something wider. The 21mm Limited is just too damned slow!
> If Panasonic can do it, why can't Pentax?
>
> cheers,
> frank
I don't think you are being fair. It is true that the DA21 is about the same
size as the Lumix 20mm, but the Pentax lens is for a larger sensor. Two lenses,
both the same size at about the same focal lengrh should have the same speed.
However, if one lens has to cover a larger area, there is something that has to
give. Pentax chose that something to be speed. They could have chosen a larger
physical size keeping the same focal length and speed, or a longer focal length
keeping the same size and speed. But they did not. They chose the same
physical size and focal length with a slower speed.
I understand that some people prefer a larger lens to a faster lens. That's
why some people buy the DA14 rather than the DA15. There is not really a
"correct" choice.
The answer to your question is that Pentax could have chosen to make a larger
lens, but they didn't want to. As someone who has lived in Japan, I can attest
that the Japanese have an obsession with making things smaller, rivaling
America's obsession with making things larger.
As I stated not too long ago, I love the DA21. On paper it looks like a
terrible lens. I can understand why someone calls into question purchasing a
prime lens with more barrel distortion greater than the kit lens. After
actually owning it, I can say that the colors that it produces are worth way
more than the time I spend correcting barrel distortion in Photoshop, if I even
bother.
I own a K100D Super, though. I don't really see a reason for someone who owns
a K10D or a K20D to want a pancake lens. Those bodies seem like mistakes, or at
the very least "best we could do" bodies for Pentax. With the K-m, K-x, and K-7
though, Pentax at least has a consistent strategy with their body and lens
lineup. With these bodies, the DA21 shines.
If Pentax can keep things small and incrementally add weather resistance to all
of the lenses in their lineup, at the very least they will dominate the home
market, which is all they really need to do. (To be honest, how many Japanese
stocks do you personally own?)
Best Regards,
Ira
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