Pentax has officially announced development of the HD PENTAX-D FA★85mm F1.4 ED SDM AW lens

Pentax has today officially announced the development of the new HD PENTAX-D FA★85mm F1.4 ED SDM AW K mount lens for Pentax. At the moment, this is just a development announcement, but some of the lens specs have been released, along with a single photo. And this one doesn’t appear to simply be a rebranded Tokina.

About the new lens, Pentax says…

This product is the second “new generation D FA★” single focus lens following the “HD PENTAX-D FA★ 50mm F1.4 SDM AW”, which has been developed focusing on overwhelming ultra-high image quality.

• By incorporating three Super ED (Extra-low Dispersion) glass optical elements, it effectively compensates chromatic aberrations and produces brilliant, high-contrast images even from open aperture.
• Adopts one aspherical lens and achieves high delineation performance with good correction of spherical aberration, coma and field curvature.
• High speed and smooth operation with newly developed SDM (Supersonic Direct-drive Motor) equipped with high torque ring type ultrasonic motor
• Developing as an AW (All Weather model) this lens features a dependable dustproof, weather-resistant structure to prevent the intrusion of water and dust into the lens interior.

When it comes to the specs, Pentax is being surprisingly forthcoming, although they do stress that the designs and specifications are subject to change without notice. So, we may see a revision or two before it actually hits the streets.

Focal length	85mm
Format	Full Frame
Mount	Pentax K
Max aperture	f/1.4
Min aperture	f/16
Angle of view	28.5°
Minimum focus distance	0.85m (2.8ft)
Max magnification	0.12x
Filter diameter	82mm
Diaphragm blades	9, rounded
Dimensions	95 x 123.5mm (3.7 x 4.9")

It’s been quite well known for a while that Pentax and Tokina have shared some lens designs with each other (although, the Tokina versions for non-Pentax systems tend to be much less expensive), but no Tokina 85mm f/1.4 lens currently exists. So, this may be an entirely new design. Whether or not we’ll see a Tokina version released for Nikon and Canon remains to be seen, although it wouldn’t surprise me.

Pentax says the HD PENTAX-D FA★ 50mm F1.4 SDM AW is scheduled for release in “late 2020”, but beyond that they don’t give any specifics or a mention of a price. You can bet it won’t be inexpensive, though.