The two FAJ lenses will be introduced in the U.S. At PMA, and are intended as kit lenses for entry-level SLRs. What Pentax has apparently found is that entry level cameras (ZX-60, ZX-50 and ZX-30) "have functions most conveniently addressed" with the aperture ring on "A," and some first-time SLR buyers freak out when they inadvertently switch the aperture ring off "A" and then can't get their cameras to work properly! (I get the idea that Pentax may actually get warrantee returns (?) or at least customers returning to dealers because of this. That's not official, just my own guess.) Aperture can still be controlled from the bodies.
This make sense (yes I know common sense is verboten :) ). It reminds me of an incident at work this holiday season. I happened to go upstairs (the lab was in the basement) and one of the salesmen was ready to write up a repair slip for a Pentax AF camera (I don't remember which model but fairly new) that was not focusing properly. As it was a Pentax, I asked if I could take a look at it. After confirming that it wasn't auto focusing I looked down and noticed that the auto focus/ manual focus switch was on manual. I flipped the switch to auto focus and surprise, surprise it started auto focusing. I handed it back to the lady, and explained that the switch had to be on auto focus for it to work properly. The customer was well educated, almost certainly a college grad, and it was a senior salesman helping her. The moral of this story is that entry level SLR buyers while wanting the increased versatility and image quality of an SLR still want (need?) it as simple as a point & shoot. In that case the 2 "J" lenses make sense as it's one less thing for them to screw up. I hope Mike's info is correct Because I'm still hoping to use K & M lenses on a Pentax DSLR. BUTCH Each man had only one genuine vocation - to find the way to himself. Hermann Hess (Damien)
