DA18-270 is to be Marketed on December 13

http://www.pentax.jp/japan/products/lens/index35_morezoom.html
(in Japanese)

Btw, the file name of the high resolution product image which is linked in the above page is "t-da18-270mm_F35-63ed_sdm.jpg". So, what does the "t" letter mean and represent? Tamron?!


After all, RP is just so honest! Do they really need to tell this again even though all people already knew! >:-o

As for the price,

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The Ricoh Pentax Japanese Calendar 2013

It is now available at the official Japanese Pentax Ricoh online shop:-

http://shop.pentax.jp/g/gS0097904/

I've linked the Pentax pictures as follows:-



They are all made with the Q and the K-01, but not anything Pentax else, nevertheless.

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Q10 Watch!

Pentax Ricoh is entering the market of watches! Look!



http://www.pentax.jp/japan/news/2012/20121130.html (Japanese)

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DC Watch Q10 Quick Samples (Side-by-side Against the Q for Two Sets)

http://dc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/review/longterm/20121130_576137.html
(in Japanese)

The pictures speak for themselves, just read the EXIF to check.

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The Mirrorless Party

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LO7rxitFLZg

The K-01 wasn't at the party, but he was passing by the house and "collected" the EOS M. The Pentax Q/Q10 had never appeared, though!

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Twelve Years of 135 Full Frame Digital Cameras (Timeline 2012->2000)

Reference Source: Dpreview Digital Camera Timeline and individual camera pages.


TimeCameraResolution (in MP)Sensor MakeScreen Size (in Inch)
Sep-2012Canon EOS 6D20.2Canon3
Sep-12Leica M Typ 24024.0Cmosis3
Sep-12Leica M-E Typ 22018.0Truesense2.5
Sep-12Nikon D60024.3Sony3.2
Sep-12Sony RX1 (Fixed Lens)24.3Sony3
Sep-12Sony A9924.3Sony3
Sep-12Sony NEX-VG90024.3Sony3
May-12Leica

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Death of My Second Pentax SLR

(Above: My MZ-30 with my FA 43 Limited)

The week before, when I tried to use my MZ-30 for shooting film, the light meter first went nuts and then the mirror locked up after pressing the shutter and it did never come down again anymore no matter how!

I used nearly new Panasonic CR2 lithium batteries and its expiry date is in 2020, which worked completely flawlessly when they were put into my

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Extreme Low Temperature Test: Shooting at -30 Deg.C with K-5IIs and DA* Lens

with an industrial grade Apacer SD Card:-



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yX15rE7a7SM
(Official test and promotional video carried out by Apacer.)

Really impressive! Finally, I can see some marketing effort by Pentax Ricoh and their collaboration with others! :-o :-)

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Taipei Photo Expo 2012 (A Flickr Set)

(Above: I think this is a Cannon, but not a Pentax!)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/digital_trance/sets/72157631812376442/

The poster took a lot of photos of the showgirls, here are some:-

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6th Anniversary of My Blog

One more year has elapsed and today is the 6th anniversary of my Blog!

I have been a Pentax user since 1988 and up till now I have been using the Pentax K-mount system for over twenty-four years (before that I was using a Canon). And the amount of time which I have contributed to the Pentax community via my this Blog is only a quarter of my whole time with Pentax.

During these six years, I have

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Prime M Cameras Have Only Electronic SR for Video Recording

Two weeks ago, Blog reader "daedbird" first reported that the video recording quality of his K-01 was greatly degraded when the SR was turned on against off. When the SR was activated, obvious rolling shutter effect was seen.

Yesterday, another Blog reader "kadajawi" has responded and writes that it is all about the electronic SR that is actually adopted for all those Prime M Pentax cameras for

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K-5IIs Full Samples by (Japanese) CAPA

All photos were taken with the two DA* zoom lenses of 16-50 and 60-250:-

http://capacamera.cocolog-nifty.com/washicamera/2012/11/k-5-iis-e06b.html
(in Japanese)

Via:  http://dslcamera.ptzn.com/2012/21419 (Japanese)

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A Japanese Pentax User Site with Much Samples

http://pentax-memo.brassworks.jp/
(in Japanese)

This Pentax user/fan has many of the latest Pentax bodies and more importantly many excellent K-mount lenses including the original Pentax ones and those Carl Zeiss ZK lenses built by Cosina. Have a look on those samples that are grouped by lens or camera model and you will not be disappointed. Full samples are available for some.

In addition, he

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DxOMark for K-5II is Out

http://www.dxomark.com/index.php/Publications/DxOMark-Reviews/Pentax-K5-II-Showing-the-competition-how-it-s-done/Comparisons

Same overall score as the K-5, but with slightly better sub-scores. All in all, no big differences.

Still, I am quite sceptical to those DxOMark results. As it is stated, the K-5 and K-5II is one mark ahead of the Canon 5D MkIII, which I also have. I have been using both

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New K-5II Review at ePhotozine

http://www.ephotozine.com/article/pentax-k-5-ii-dslr-review-20717

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New K-5II Review at PB

http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/pentax_k5_ii_review/

I blog, you decide.


Last Related:- 

First Q10 Full Review, and its Image Quality

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Real-world K-5IIs Samples from End-users

http://pentax.photoble.net/?page=1&camera=PENTAX+K-5+II+s

They are full-sized and were taken in real-world by the end-users, with most of the essential shooting information posted. Go pixel-peep yourself if you like for what I've blogged! ;-)

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The Three Original FA Limited Lenses (First Batches)

Credit: http://forum.xitek.com/thread-1030323-1-1-1.html (in Simplified Chinese)

These are all the original first batches of the Japanese made FA Limited lenses, note the different coloured genuine leather pouches and a different lens cap printing of the Pentax logo for the 43 Limited.

Btw, that Pentax guy has quite some exotic Pentax film glass, like FA*300/2.8 and FA*400/5.6 as well as the

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First Q10 Full Review, and its Image Quality

Read here, for the most interesting part of it:-

http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/pentax_q10_review/image_quality/

I think it would have been great if they compared the IQ against the Q side-by-side, but they didn't, nonetheless.

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Pentax Q Won the Japanese BCN Sales Chart Last Week!

http://bcnranking.jp/category/subcategory_0008.html
(For the Interchangeable Lens Cameras, in Japanese)

Yes, it has got the Number One! Wow, what an achievement of Pentax ever! I am now considering to get one myself, also for the Q prime kit of the white body! :-) Well, for that price, I've almost forgot about the super small sensor size of the Q, and that "non-sense"! ;-D Lol..

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DC Watch K-5IIs First Samples (Checked Against K-5II Also)

http://dc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/review/newproduct/20121113_572503.html
(in Japanese)

There are some quick full samples which were generated directly out of the camera available.

The K-5II is also compared for some samples. It appears that the K-5IIs is obviously sharper this time.

Besides, the occurrence of false colours and moire patterns with high spatial frequency texture is also checked

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K-5IIs Sharpness Vs Fine Sharpness Vs Extra Sharpness

See the comparison below, from -4 to +4, for the Sharpness, Fine Sharpness and Extra Sharpness, total 27 different settings:-

http://www.neocamera.com/camera/pentax/k5iis/samples/sharpness



Of course, if you're interested, you can read also the rest of the review and inspect the posted ISO shootout crops series against K-5 as well as those real-world samples.

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New Ricoh Flagship P&S, or Yet Another GXR Module?

 

From: http://egami.blog.so-net.ne.jp/2012-11-02 (Japanese)

The new patent is a 24-100mm 135 equivalent zoom lens on a 1/1.7" sensor.

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DPR Studio Shot Comparison for K-5II and IIs is Out

Click here for the DPR comparison tool page.



Just feel free to drag on the crop selection window and measurbate endlessly by yourself, for different parts of the sample pictures of different cameras which you want to compare with.

Obviously, false colours and moires are major issues of the IIs' sample. Btw, the per pixel sharpness of the IIs is better than the II but it doesn't hold true for

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K-5II Vs K-5IIs Official Side-by-Side Comparison

http://www.pentax.jp/japan/products/k-5-2/ex/#anc_ex03
(in Japanese.)



(Above: Left K-5II, Right K-5IIs - Click to Download the Original Image.)

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Method to Force DFS Off for Pentax DSLRs

A working method with full instructions can be found here:-

http://pentaxda.deviantart.com/journal/Turning-DFS-Off-224124268

For the files that are mentioned and needed, they can be downloaded here directly, if you just don't know how to compile them yourself:-

http://darky.is-a-geek.net/debug_mode/disable_dfs.zip

This may be useful for those who need to do astro-photography in a continuous

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Incredible Macro Shots with Pentax K200D and K-x!

Look at these pictures:-

http://www.thomasshahan.com/photos/

And a YouTube video to explain the setup, procedures and techniques to take these wonderful shots:-


URL: www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqRn3at0H60

The lens was reversed with adaptor and with extension tube plus flash.

Via DPR Forum Post Here.

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Yet Another K-5IIs Vs K-5 Image Comparisons

A Pentaxian at Taiwan received his new K-5IIs and has unboxed it and done some quick side-by-side image comparisons against his old K-5:-

http://forum.pentaxfans.net/thread-131884-1-1.html
(Traditional Chinese)

Well, whilst the K-5IIs images are sharper, they are cooler in tone, which was the thing I found last time. Also, a "sharper" image doesn't necessary mean that it is smoother and looks

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K-5 Vs K-5IIs Image Measurbation and Low Light AF Shootouts

http://www.pentaxist.ru/2012/10/pentax-k-5iis-fa77-RAW.html
(in Russian, Google English Translation Here.)

http://www.pentaxist.ru/2012/10/pentaxk-5iis-af-test.html
(in Russian, Google English Translation Here.) 

I think both tests are well carried out. As for the test results, it is shown that the K-5IIs does work better, for both the details contained in the images and the low light AF

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Bits and Pieces Today (11-6)

1. Supports Only Original Pentax Lenses!

I always suggest Pentax users buy only original Pentax lenses. It is because if you want to use Sigma or Tamron or even Tokina, there is no reason to stay with Pentax, as those 3rd party lenses are rather limited in K-mount in both models and availability. So, why to do so, to get the worst of both worlds?!

Now, more and more compatibility issues have

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K-01 is German Design Gold Awarded

http://www.pentax.jp/japan/news/2012/20121105.html
(in Japanese)

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Japanese Mirrorless Market Share 2012 (Up to October, BCN Data)

http://bcnranking.jp/news/1210/121029_24049.html
(in Japanese)

The cyan blue coloured line is for the share of the Pentax mirrorless cameras, which is a steady of above 5% throughout the year with the best results in October. However, with the introduction of the EOS-M, Pentax is yet once again the player who comes last as the EOS-M sales has quickly surpassed all the Pentax mirrorless sales

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A K-30 Died Within Seconds Upon a Small Water Splash! :-o

See this post and story: http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3292877

I really feel for that K-30 user, how reliable his WR camera is! :-o

Btw, it seems that the sealing of the rear LCD is weak and the QC of that part is not really that good, see the previous similar problem reports below:-

Dust Accumulates Inside the LCD of K-5 Silver

K10D Dust Proof?

Well, I now know why Pentax has

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A PF Comparison Quick Review: 650D/T4i Vs D5100 Vs K-30

I don't think this review is detailed enough, nor it it is professionally compiled with a higher standard that most readers nowadays would expect.There is yet no sample picture of any for any of these cameras under review. So, it is not much better than a casual textural review on those public review online sites after all. But as there are not much Pentax reviews out these days, I think I

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