Pentax digital SLR camera owners will be happy to hear that they no longer have to carry around two different lenses to cover the range from wide angle to extreme telephoto.
Pentax recently announced their new DA 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 ED AL(IF) Lens.
First and foremost, this zoom lens covers a massive range: from the wide angle 18mm setting to the 250mm telephoto setting, it's pretty much equivalent to a compact 14x zoom.
It has a close 18 inch (457mm) focusing distance throughout the entire zoom range (which helps you get up close and personal with your subject) and it has an internal focusing system (that's what the IF stands for).
The internal focusing system is great for photographers who enjoy using polarizing filters (which are sensitive to orientation) since the front of the lens doesn't rotate or move at all when you're focusing.
Since Pentax digital camera sensors have a 1.5x crop factor (or focal length multiplier), this enhances the telephoto qualities of this lens, and it frames images more like a 27-375mm lens on a traditional film SLR camera.
Time and testing will tell more about the image quality that this lens can capture, but right now it sounds like a great option for Pentax photographers who only want one do-it-all lens for their digital SLRs.
No word yet on price or when the lens will be available.
