The test report of the Pentax SMC-DA 70mm f/2.4 Limited completes the "gang of three" - the three pancake lenses in the current Pentax lens lineup (as of the time of this review). Looking at its shape it is quite obvious why it is called a pancake lens - it is as flat. Just like most current Pentax lenses it is a DA lenses with a reduced image circle dedicated to the APS-C format. Its field-of-view is equivalent to 105mm on full format cameras so combined with its relatively fast max. aperture it resides within the sweet spot of portrait photography.
The DA 70mm f/2.4 is a Limited lens - these lenses are build to higher quality standards and the mechanical quality is indeed excellent thanks to a metal shell and tight tolerances. The tiny focus operates smooth and slightly damped. As you can see below the lens extends slightly when focusing towards close focus distances. The screw-in metal hood (telescope-style) does almost double the size of the lens.