Pentax Increases Resistance Against the Weather

On Wednesday afternoon, Pentax announced the newest member in its "WR" designated weather resistance lens line. The 100mm f2.8 Macro will be released in Janaury 2010 and will allow an up close working distance as little as 5 inches. It will retail for $849.95.

PENTAX ADDS 100mm F2.8 WR MACRO TO WEATHER-RESISTANT LENS LINE-UP

GOLDEN, COLORADO (December 9, 2009)…PENTAX Imaging Company has announced the smc PENTAX D FA MACRO 100mm F2.8 WR lens designed for use with PENTAX digital SLR cameras. Combining a high-quality exterior finish with PENTAX-original weather-resistant construction, this new macro lens is especially useful for the demands of outdoor photography.

This PENTAX macro lens features a high-grade, aluminum barrel with the high-quality, exclusive exterior design and finish unique to the PENTAX D FA series lenses. Further, the entire mechanism of the focus ring has been reviewed and upgraded to assure flawless manual-focus operation. For improved performance, the PENTAX D FA MACRO 100mm F2.8 WR is the first PENTAX interchangeable macro lens featuring a completely rounded diaphragm blade to create a natural, beautiful bokeh at wide apertures, while minimizing the streaking effect of point light sources.

PENTAX WR lenses feature simplified weather-resistant construction to repel water and moisture. Combined with a PENTAX weather-resistant K-7, K20D, K200D or K10D digital SLR camera body, the lens performs well in damp, inclement outdoor conditions including rain, mist, water spray and splashes.

The lens also features the PENTAX-original SP (Super Protect) surface coating to repel dust, water and grease and to minimize fingerprints.

Other significant features of this latest WR lens include:

• Mounted on a PENTAX digital SLR camera body, this lens offers a focal length equivalent to 153mm in the 35mm format for high-quality, true-to-life images, while minimizing flare and ghost images. The maximum life-size magnification allows photographers to capture dramatic close-up images with great ease.
  
• A working distance of just over five inches (13 cm) facilitates close-up photography of subjects including flora, insects, and wildlife.
  
• The PENTAX-developed Quick-Shift Focus System for instant switching to manual-focus operation after the subject is captured in focus by the camera’s AF system.
  
• An image circle to accommodate 35mm film-format camera image size.
  
• Compatibility with the macro adapter included in the PENTAX AF160FC dedicated Auto Macro Ring Flash.

The PENTAX D FA MACRO 100mm F2.8 WR lens will ship in January 2010 for USD $849.95