The lens has a star designation, which Ricoh says is a high-performance star that will be reserved for their high-resolution, high-contrast lenses. The company also says the lens will have a “beautiful bokeh (defocus) effect,” though it’s unclear if that bokeh is simply from the wide aperture or from something else, like Sony’s new Smooth Trans Focus designed to give bokeh smoother edges.
The company is also working on an 85mm lens with the same star designation. A telephoto zoom was also added to the company’s lens roadmap, but additional details were not available.
Ricoh didn’t say when any of the lenses would be released — or at what price point.
Both primes are designed for full-frame cameras. Ricoh launched its first full-frame camera, the Pentax K-1, just last year, which means they have fewer lens choices compared to manufacturers that have been in the full frame market for years. The company currently has eight lenses designed for full-frame sensors covering focal lengths from 15mm to 450mm. The new prime lenses, however, would be the brightest in the list, since the current selection’s best aperture setting is an f/2.8.
The company’s current full-frame 50mm prime lens, an f/2.8 macro, sells for just under $400. The only current model with the star designation, a 70-200mm f/2.8, sells for about $1,800.
The Pentax K-1 was highly anticipated and Dxomark ranked it third among other cameras and first in the $1,800 price range in September.
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