Ricoh launches Pentax Q-mount ultra-wide-angle zoom

Ricoh has announced the PENTAX-08 WIDE ZOOM lens for Q-mount interchangeable lens cameras. The F3.7-4 ultra-wide-angle compact provides a focal length of 3.8-5.9mm (when mounted to the Pentax Q7 it provides a 35mm equivalent of 17.5-27mm). The lens is equipped with its own shutter and also comes with a built-in neutral density filter. It will cost £429.99 on announcement in the UK. 

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• Press Release
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Press Release:

Ricoh launches Pentax Q-mount ultra-wide-angle zoom

The world’s smallest, lightest wide-angle zoom lens, with exceptional visual description – exclusively for use with Q-mount digital lens-interchangeable cameras

RICOH IMAGING U.K LTD. is pleased to announce the launch of the PENTAX-08 WIDE ZOOM ultra-wide-angle zoom lens, designed exclusively for use with super-compact Q-mount digital lens-interchangeable cameras.

The latest model in the high-performance Q-mount lens series, the PENTAX-08 WIDE ZOOM is the world’s smallest, and lightest ultra-wide-angle zoom lens on the market.* When mounted on the PENTAX Q7 camera body, it provides focal-length coverage from 17.5mm to 27mm (in 35mm format), making it suitable for a wide variety of subjects including snapshots, architecture and sweeping landscapes.

* The world’s smallest, and lightest ultra-wide-angle zoom lens with a focal length of 20mm (in 35mm format) or shorter at its wide-angle end, as of November 1, 2013 (based on RICOH IMAGING research).

Major Features

1. Super-compact, ultra-lightweight design

The incorporation of three molded-glass aspherical elements in its optics, means that this zoom lens has the shortest overall length (approximately 38mm) in the Q-mount zoom lens range and features a super-compact body weighing a mere 75g. With its pocket size and unique focal-length coverage from 17.5mm to 27mm in 35mm format (with a Q7 camera body), it can be used for a wide range of subjects and applications — especially for  shooting in confined spaces where the subject is close to the camera, and for scenic photography with exaggerated perspectives. Its machined-aluminium barrel cam assures a smooth, comfortable zooming operation. 

2. Exceptional visual description

The incorporation of a moulded-glass DSA (Dual Super Aspherical) element in the first optical group means this lens reduces distortion to a minimum. By incorporating two ED (Extra-low Dispersion) glass elements and one super-low-dispersion glass element in its optics, it delivers clear, high-resolution images with edge-to-edge sharpness, while effectively compensating for chromatic aberration over the entire zoom range. 

3. Other features

• Inner-focus mechanism for high-speed, low-noise AF operation
• Quick-Shift Focus system for instant switching to manual-focus operation after the subject is captured in focus by the camera’s AF system
• SP (Super Protect) coating to keep the front surface free of dust and stains
• Built-in lens shutter equipped with an ND (neutral density) filter and an iris diaphragm

RRP: £429.99
Availability: TBA

PENTAX-08 WIDE ZOOM specifications

Additional Images:

Comments

Glad they took the high road with a smooth metal cam zoom design like the 5-15mm vs the awful-feeling plasticky 15-45mm. Still, would have preferred a wide prime that was at least a stop faster.

Gosh that’s a LOT of money for a lens… Just to add another voice, if it’d had been a nice 28mm-equiv prime, for a coupla hundred quid, I’d’ve been there like a shot. This is too big, too over-engineered, and way too expensive.

I’ll join the wrong lens – wrong price side on this one. Now a proud owner of the Q (200 euros with 5-15 zoom!!) I´ve changed my attitude towards the new format from “Toy” to “Sensational” …but not that sensational!

good move from ricoh, but too late for me. I wish pentax had this lens year ago.

I’m not about to say this lens is too expensive for what it is: it sounds well made and to tight tolerances. But it’s too expensive for me at the moment. I have other photographic priorities – just bought a Q7 and I am waiting for my K-3. Like many others, I would appreciate a good wide-angle prime for the Q system, though. Maybe I’ll get it in a year or so.

Hate to say this, but it’s too expensive 🙁

and the diffraction limit for the Q is around f/8. They could’ve just made a fast wide prime (that is not under “TOY” and not a fisheye) to make it smaller… and probably cheaper too

it better be convincingly good wide open

£430 is a rip off for this

Oh man, a SLR lens with “three molded-glass aspherical elements” would have cost a fortune (these are not the ususal el-cheapo “hybrid” asphericals). Sure, it’s not for everybody, but hardly a rip-off.

I was going to get it for my partner. She’s in love with her Q. But after looking at the price tag, I will not…
Like others have said, they should have got a faster and cheaper wide angle prime.

f/3.7-f/4 ?? So, there is magically no diffraction problem anymore, if you spend GBP 430 on this lens? This is “great”…

A fast wide prime could be well used on all Q models, this zoom only on Q7 because of the diffraction issue.
I find it too extreme to applaud. If this was a lens to lure Q and Q10 users to buy Q7, they can think again.

It available for preorder for $500. A bit too expensive.

Full specs:

LENS MOUNT: PENTAX Q
FOCAL LENGTH (Q, Q10): 3.8-5.9mm (35mm equiv. 21-32.5mm)
FOCAL LENGTH (Q7): 3.8-5.9mm (35mm equiv. 17.5-27mm)
APERTURE: f/3.7-f/4
MIN APERTURE: f/8
LENS CONSTRUCTION: 10 elements in 8 groups
ANGLE OF VIEW (Q, Q10): 67° – 92°
ANGLE OF VIEW (Q7): 77° – 102°
MIN FOCUSING DISTANCE: 0.82’ (0.25m)
MAX MAGNIFICATION: 0.03X
FILTER DIAMETER: 49mm
DIAPHRAGM CONTROL: Fully Automatic
NUMBER OF APERTURE BLADES: n/a
LENS APERTURE RING: n/a
TRIPOD ADAPTER: n/a
HOOD: PH-RBF49 (optional)
OBJECTIVE CAP: O-LC49 (included)
CASE: n/a
MAX DIAMETER x MIN LENGTH: 2.1” x 1.5” (54 x 38mm)
WEIGHT (W/O HOOD): 2.6 oz (75g)

http://www.pentaxwebstore.com/product/45566

Looks neat. What size sensor for the Q-2/3.”

no, new Q7 is 1/1.7″. All the Q lenses will work on it or the 1/2.33 sensor, which is still a pretty decent sensor. It doesn’t sound it, but with a decent lens it is not bad.

Hoya did toys, Ricoh does lenses.

Ricoh Imaging is really behaving quite strangely with this Q experiment.
At one side they design a bunch of very cheap, optically irrelevant, fixed aperture and almost unusable “toy prime lenses” to define the playfulness of the Q system, and on the other, very, very expensive zooms to .. what end?

Ricoh did not design the toy primes. These lenses existed long before Ricoh acquired Pentax.

Ricoh announced they were buying Pentax, and on the same date Q system was launched. They knew it all months before, of course, and they knew what they were buying. Maybe even suggested what to announce.

I think the Q always represented both – the playful system and the DSLR in a pocket type. I am fine with them doing this.

I like both too, can’t live on toy lenses alone, many complaints for good wide. My only fear is aperture is too small, would have liked to see f/2.8. At f/4 diffraction limit will only be around 7 MP.

I agree Eric, and that’s why I believed wide faster prime would be more suited for a small sensor camera such as Q.

In terms of total spend. Q is definitely a rip off. Great if u you stick to one fixed lens. Going beyond that means you will be paying much more than better alternatives.

It sure does sound expensive for what it is.

However, I do like the simplicity of the Pentax method of labeling their lenses. Lens 08… is probably the eight lens designed for their Q system cameras.

Marty- just like this 🙂

View post on imgur.com

Most likely, this could be a well designed lens and quite excellent optically.
But it defies the purpose, really; a good fast wide prime for half the money would lure more people into Q than this zoom. And that is exactly what Q users have suggested for many, many months already.

It reads like a well designed lens. It just seems to me a cheaper prime would have done the trick. But hey, if they are going with this, better do the lens good and seems like it.

I just hope they re-issue the 02 as an F2.8 constant and the 01 as an F1.0.

It is even more expensive than Nikon 1 or EOS M’s UW zoom lens, both of them have much bigger sensor to cover, I am pretty sure it will be much cheaper produce than either the 1″ or APS-C

They are not in a hurry to sell them.

Maximum aperture varies from a rather dim f/3.7 at wide angle to f/4 at telephoto.

Per Mike Tomkins, http://www.imaging-resource.com/news/2013/11/06/ricoh-launches-first-limited-series-zoom-q-mount-wide-zoom-lenses

It is one of those lenses that will likely be shot wide open all the time and do just fine, and it doesn’t go telephoto. It is a wide angle lens, about 18-27mm in full frame terms.

Please someone tell them we don’t need a wideangle zoom, just a prime would do the trick. Make it half the price.

RIGHT ON!

Yes!

“… designed for use with PENTAX K-mount lens-interchangeable digital cameras…”

I’m guessing “K-mount” is supposed to be “Q-mount?”

That’s our bad, fixing now. Thanks!

Oh Oh 😮 ….. 😉

I like the Q and want to see it succeed. However, I saw one estimate of $499 in the US. At that price, this lens is a non-starter.

$500 for an ultra-wide zoom, aspheric element, built-in shutter and ND filter sounds pretty reasonable. And unlike a lot of recent claims of light weight, this lens weighs almost nothing.