Q7/Q10 Designers' Stories (Interviews)

http://dc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/interview/20130719_607368.html

The above article is in Japanese, an Excite machine-translation to English can be found here.

Actually, there is not much useful information that we do not know, but if you still want to read it further, just click the above! ;-)

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Loyal Pentax Merchant and PR Tool is Pissed Off by Ricoh Recently! >:-o

I seldom quote Mr. Bourque actually, but this time I really can't help myself! :-(

http://pentaxdslrs.blogspot.com/2013/07/sometimes-it-just-feels-good-to-be.html

The following is told, quoted:

"I'm not sure of what's going on with Ricoh/Pentax. They used to loan me
the new cameras so that I could write my e-books about them. I also have
a  singed  NDA agreement with them but I haven't heard

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Pentax "Spotmatic Digital" Concept / Imagination

Source:
http://www.esveldtphoto.com/collected_works/cooperations/asahi_pentax_spotmatic_d_concept

Via: A PF post here.

The concept is not bad IMO, but it lacks at least one e-dial and a set of 4+1 way buttons! :-D And well, just imagine if it is even a Full Frame body! :-o


Old Related:

My Idea of a K1000D

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Customize and Colorize the Ricoh GR, Pentax Q7 and K-50!

http://www.pentax.jp/japan/support/customize.html
(in Japanese)

Update (8-5): The above picture link is dead because Ricoh has changed the domain name of their website. I just won't bother to correct that as it's the sole fault of Ricoh!

Well, the main point of those RP cameras is now colours, not the colours of the images they produce, but the colours of the camera shells! Well done, Ricoh!

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Recent Pentax Tidbits

1. An original Leica-made Pentax 645 lenses to S body adaptor:



Via: http://info.xitek.com/news/201307/17-128176.html (in Chinese)

Now those FA 645D lenses can be operated on the Leica S body with AE and AF, for compatible lens models, my beloved FA120/4 Macro lens is excluded, though! :-(

2. An original lens case for the Pentax Q 02 and 06 zoom lenses:



Via: http://www.yaotomi.co.jp/blog/

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When Did Pentax Forget about a Compact DSLR Body?!

First look at my old *ist DL2:



Do note that the above is already loaded with batteries and memory card and is ready to shoot.

And then a K-5 with the same compact DA pancake lens of mine, also loaded and ready:



In fact, the K-5 body alone is just heavier than the DL2 with the 21mm pancake lens! :-(



Yet I bet Pentax fanboys will again defend that the K-5 is not a low-end body and thus it

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New K-50/500 Review at C|Net

Read here:

http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-cameras/pentax-k-50-with/4505-6501_7-35792160.html

Some performance and timing measurements were done and sample photos are posted. In short, whilst the reviewer thinks that the K-50 is feature-rich, the Image Quality of it does fall behind the competition, below are some comments that he writes, for instance:

"Image quality
Overall, the image and

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Ricoh Starts to Sell Off Pentax' Old Patents? (But Yet Another New "Ricoh" Patent Submitted)

See what is recently reported in this PF thread:

http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-news-rumors/231593-ricoh-selling-off-licensing-pentax-designs-patents.html

The previous Pentax Ricoh patented design now becomes a Vixen's!

If it is true, it is really too bad! And Pentax is doomed!!

Btw, Ricoh has yet submitted a new patent application for a stupid and useless design and thing like

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Colour Rendition Shootout: 6M CCD Vs 16M CMOS - *ist DL2 Vs K-5

It has been almost ten years since Pentax launched their first DSLR, the *ist D, almost ten years ago. I did buy my *ist D very shortly after it hit the streets and it may be interested to read back my old textural review of it which was first published back to fall 2003.

Okay, nine years something has elapsed and now the new Pentax cameras have climbed up to 16 megapixels in pixel count and

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A K-50 Unboxing + Quick Review with Tests on the New Kit Lenses (DAL WR Zooms)

http://www.monox.jp/digitalcamera-sp-pentaxricoh-k50.html
(in Japanese)

The above is the index page, click on the links to see different test pages. In particular:

1. This is the ISO test for the K-50:

http://www.monox.jp/digitalcamera-sp-pentaxricoh-k50-04.html

The NR setting from left to right is weak, medium and strong, respectively.

2. These are the lens tests for the new DAL WR kit

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DPR MX-1 Full Review Published

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/pentax-mx-1

And the Conclusions and Samples:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/pentax-mx-1/11

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My Samples: FA645 120mm F4 Macro on 5D3

For what last time I mentioned about and intended to do, the following samples were taken and are now posted. Just browse the album below, full-size original samples are available per picture page:

http://smg.photobucket.com/user/RiceHigh/library/5Ds/FA645_120F4Macro?sort=9&page=1

(Or, you can view a quick Slideshow Here.)

All pictures were taken with direct JPEG out of the camera in best

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Metz 58AF-1 Hotshoe Upgrade (Old to New Version, from Plastic to Metal, plus New PCB)

Read this:-

http://www.pentaxfans.net/thread-138657-1-1.html
(in Traditional Chinese, but posted pictures are self-explanatory.)



So, the hotshoe base material has been changed, from plastic to metal. The PCB inside/underneath has been updated too. It can be seen that the whole circuit board design has completely been revamped.

Speaking of those Metz flashguns for Pentax, last time they

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Q7 Japanese Commercial Video (TV Ad.)

Broadcast Version (30 seconds):



http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=B4GtAqJM99M

Online Version (Loooong!):



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L34Ei6oqRjE&feature=player_embedded#at=47

Via Pentax.jp

Everything is in Japanese.

Besides, speaking of YouTube videos that I have embedded and linked to, last time I discovered that the YouTube server robot had automatically

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Capture One Express 6 is Made Free by Phase One

Capture One Express 6 is now made available for free:-

http://www.phaseone.com/dcm

Via: Peta Pixel

Just follow the instructions provided to obtain the free license and register the product.

Besides, quite some time ago, Adobe had made their CS2 available for download together with "free" registration key in the page below:-

http://www.adobe.com/downloads/cs2_downloads/index.html

However,

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Shootout of the Five APS-C DCs: X100s Vs X2 Vs Coolpix A Vs GR Vs DP1M (Portraiture and Scenery Tests)

http://www.mobile01.com/newsdetail.php?id=13633
(in Traditional Chinese)

I think the test pictures speak themselves and the differences in results are obvious. There is simple footnote for the camera in use with shooting information under each sample picture.

My overall impression is that for skin tone reproduction: Fuji is better than Leica > Nikon > Ricoh > Sigma. Well, it seems that the

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Q7 Complete Set Unboxing and Basic Measurbations for All Q Lenses

http://www.monox.jp/digitalcamera-sp-pentaxricoh-q7-all.html
(in Japanese)

via PFC (in Traditional Chinese)

Different ISO settings are measurbated. It is worth noted that NR does have effect at the base ISO of 100 already, if "strong" is selected.

And, there are more measurbations for all the Q system lenses, including distortion and resolution measurements. For instance, here are the 01,

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K-01 Schtroumpf/Doraemon is not Japanese Home Market Specific

It is also being marketed at the mainland China:-

http://www.pentax.com.cn/NewsFiles/201307/040849165865.html
(in Simplified Chinese)



Btw, this Doraemon colour combination is not anything new. In fact, the K-x was sold like that, see this:-



Via an old DPR news article here.

So, Pentax boys should be really happy for the true and complete reborn of the K-01! Bravo, Ricoh! :-o


Last News:-

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NEWS: Mr. Jun Hirakawa Now Works for Tamron and Mr. Blurry Cameraphone has Left Pentax China

See this latest post and thread at the Chinese Xitek Pentax Forum, these are told:-

1. It is confirmed that Mr. Jun Hirakawa, who was (forced) early retired by Hoya back to 2010, is now working for Tamron and below is the evidence:-



The above is a Japanese patent application in 2013 which shows that the inventor of the lens is Jun and the intellectual property owner company is Tamron!

Btw,

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New Q and Q10 Firmwares

Q FW Version 1.13: http://www.pentax.jp/english/support/digital/q_s.html

Q FW 1.02: http://www.pentax.jp/english/support/digital/q10_s.html

What's new then? In short, the new 07 body cap toy lens will be supported plus some unknown general debugs. Do note that for Q users, the firmware update will reset the camera and all the current user settings in the camera will be erased.

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New K-01 Schtroumpf! What the Fuck?!

See this at the Japanese homepage of "Pentax" for the current products today. A new body is announced and it is to be marketed on July 25, 2013! So, what is it? It is yet the already officially discontinued K-01 but repainted?!



Besides, browse further into the product page of the current accessories for Pentax DSLRs, it is found that the AF360FTZ flash is still there! Well, wasn't the

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Pentax SR is Not Yet Conforming to the New CIPA Standard for Image Stabilization Performance

See what our knowledgeable ex-Pentaxian (now a Nikon D800 user), Falk Lumo (aka Falconeye, who is an engineer I believe), has reported yesterday at the PF:-

http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/general-photography-industry/229561-pentax-cipa-shake-reduction-efficieny-published.html

It is reported that according to the new CIPA standard, more precise description on the IS (SR) performance must be

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Reactions of Pentaxians for the Deletion of the "Pentax" Name from Companies!

 
(Above: A picture drawn by a Pentax user at the Japanese Kakaku Pentax forum, directly linked.)

As we all have learnt, the word "Pentax" will be deleted from all the Ricoh Imaging companies worldwide very soon. Let's see what are the reactions of all we Pentaxians at DPR, PF, Here at my Blog, Kakaku (Japan), Xitek (China), PFC (Taiwan) and DCH (Hong Kong) and etc..

Reactions are overall

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Change of Company Name: From "Pentax Ricoh" to "Ricoh" Only

See the official press release today:-

http://www.pentax.jp/english/news/2013/20130702.html
 

Press Release


July 02, 2013


 

COMPANY NAME CHANGE


PENTAX RICOH IMAGING COMPANY, LTD. (President: Noboru Akahane; hereinafter referred to as "Pentax Ricoh") announces the company name change as follows.


New company name
RICOH IMAGING COMPANY, LTD.
(Others except for the company name remain

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Canon 70D is Here! Leaving Pentax K-5II/s in the Dark!

http://www.canonrumors.com/2013/07/early-eos-70d-images-surface/

http://www.engadget.com/2013/07/02/canon-70d-hands-on/

http://www.canonrumors.com/2013/07/canon-dual-pixel-liveview-autofocus/

For a more detailed preview, read the DPR's:-

http://www.dpreview.com/previews/canon-eos-70d

Pentax? K-5/K-5II/K-5IIs "flagship"?? 3-year old technologies for both the body design and the sensor,

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The Three FA Limited Lenses on Sony Alpha A99

A Flickr Set, here:-

http://www.flickr.com/photos/airsama/sets/72157634292514713/

Via: http://www.sonysdf.com/alpha/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=82338&start=0
(in Traditional Chinese)

I have no specific comments about the IQ of those sample pictures. But what I want to say is that the Limited lenses perform great on the A99 and it is what a PITY that Pentax still has no FF body of any and ever!

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