New 300/4 lens!

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According to the medium format discussion group Pentax is going to release a new 300/4 lens for the 67 system. Although I do not have any additional information this sounds like good news.

-- Joachim Inkmann (Joachim.Inkmann@uni-konstanz.de), October 21, 1999

Answers

I spoke to Pentax in Colorado today, and among my questions I asked about this lens. Their response was that they had no info on a new 300mm for the 67, but that usually they find out only about a month in advance and that the photo mags usually had info before they did.

For anyone interested in the eternal dispute between linear or circular on the polarizer type for a 67II, I was told by Pentax that the circular was NOT necessary.

Does anyone have experience with the B+W warming polarizer??

-- Rolf Strasheim (rolfs@ionet.net), October 22, 1999.


I talked to a sales rep from pentax Sweden and he said that the new 300mm will be released beginning next year. Pressrelease in a couple of weeks.

-- Patrick Bjorklund (patbj@itn.liu.se), November 08, 1999.

This has sparked my interest so I just performed a search on Deja.com and found the following that my newsreader did not pickup last month.- ------------- Posted 1999/10/23 on rec.photo.equipment.medium-format by Pal Jensen (paal@norvol.hi.is)

Here's the press release:

Pentax Introduces a 300mm Medium-Telephoto Lens for the Pentax

Asahi Optical Co., Ltd. is proud to introduce the SMC Pentax.M* 67 300mm f/4 ED[IF] lens. Designed for use with the Pentax 67II medium- format SLR camera, this medium-telephoto lens offers a sharp, clear image description with minimal aberrations, thanks to the combination of a new optical design and Extra-low Dispersion (ED) lens elements. Pentax's original Inner Focus (IF) mechanism maintains ideal weight balance throughout a shooting session, because the overall lens length is unchanged during focusing. It also reduces the minimum focusing distance to a mere two meters (6.7 ft.) for a maximum magnification of 0.18 times - less than a half of the minimal focusing distance of conventional lenses (five meters or 16.7 ft.).

In addition, the lens comes equipped with a tripod socket, directly incorporated into the lens barrel for extra stability. This tripod socket is not only designed to ensure smooth focusing operations during handheld shooting, but it can be rotated to top when necessary. Its lens hood features a polarizing filter operation window, which allows the photographer to rotate the polarizing filter without removing the hood from the lens.

Specifications:

Construction: 9 elements in 9 groups. Angle of view: 17 degrees Diaphragm: Fully Automatic Minimum aperture: f/32 Photometric method: TTL open aperture metering Minimum shooting distance: 2.0 m (6.1 ft) Filter diameter: 82 mm. Maximum diameter and length: 92.5 mm(2.8 in) x 209 mm (6.4 in) Weight: 1,650 g. (58.2 oz)

-- Garrett Adams (gadams@jps.net), November 08, 1999.


I used to own a P67 300/4 Super Takumar for my Pentax 645 before I bought the P645 ED-IF of the same length. As I had both lens for a couple of days, I was able to test one against another (in a very subjective and superficial way). At f8 both lens are comparable, with the P645 showing very slightly better sharpness in the center, slightly better at the edges and a tad better contrast. But at f4 there was quite a larger difference, with the P67 lens falling off a lot on the edges and moderately in the center in terms of sharpness and contrast, while the P645 maintained almost all of its sharpness and contrast. I think that P67 users are in for a treat with this new ED lens.

-- Warren (wkato@aol.com), November 17, 1999.

Have ordered this lens, and am waiting for it to arrive. Any idea if it comes with the hood (either as part of the package, or built in)? If not, anyone have any idea what the hood is called so that I can order one?

-- Ed Hurst (BullMoo@hotmail.com), January 23, 2001.


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