I Miss the PENTAX Green Rings and LOGO on Lenses! >:-(

We all have learnt what Ricoh has done to Pentax recently, SMC was replaced further and the Pentax logo was removed from the name plates of the repackaged DA Limited lenses! And, a Ricoh GXR coloured red ring replaces the symbolic green rings of our Pentax DA lenses..!



Pretending Zeiss lenses? Marked "Aperture / Focal" something, instead of marking "Focal / Aperture" (which is the common

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"New" K-mount Lens Roadmap "Updated" and Published

http://www.ricoh-imaging.co.jp/japan/products/lens/images/K_Mount_Lens.pdf

Compared with the last one and the last last one, what is "new" actually? :-o

And, "2013 or Later"? 2013 has only three more months to go! And in 2046 which still means "Later"!

Maybe each year Ricoh could change the coating name from SMC to HD for some lenses and also the colours of some existing Pentax lenses can be

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Ricoh has Refurbished the Old 360 and 540 Flash Units

See the Press Release at DPR:

http://www.dpreview.com/news/2013/08/27/ricoh-introduces-weather-resistant-flash-units

Weather sealing and a video LED light source are added:

"New" 540II:


"New" 360II:


"The AF360FGZ II and AF540FGZ II will be available for purchase at www.us.ricoh-imaging.com and retail outlets nationwide in September 2013 for the suggested retail price of $429.95 and $

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Ricoh Continues to Dump SMC and Ricohizes the Outlook of Existing DA Lenses!

See what is just reported at the Photo Rumors (Source: Japanese Digicame Info):

http://photorumors.com/2013/08/27/pentax-to-refresh-their-hd-da-lenses-with-new-hd-coating-and-circular-apertures



The new colour scheme of the old DA lenses is just damn UGLY. The traditional blue+yellow focusing scale distance markings have disappeared! The name of HD coating is really mediocre and silly! The

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Shooting Moon with the Pentax Q and a F*300/4.5 K-mount Lens

Here is the result (from direct JPEG out of the Q, no major re-touching but just only resizing along with light sharpening):



( Click to Enlarge - All Rights Reserved: RiceHigh (c)2013 )

And the combo of my gear that used:



Indeed, there are quite some advantages of using the Q in shooting this type of photos, namely:

1. No mirror slap and even no shutter shock of any during the course of

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The A Mount Seems to be Aborted, Will K Mount (Ricoh) Follow?

See what Sony Alpha Rumors report lately:

(SR5) First image of the new ILC-3000 (A3000 in Japan). 230K LCD and 1,44 Million dot EVF.

So, possibly this will soon mark the end of the A-mount lens line as there will be no more new A-mount body. For all those excellent Minolta A-mount lenses, the old users must use them via an adaptor and Sony will be a mirrorless brand from now on.

After all,

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More K-50 and K-500 Reviews

1. A detailed mesurbation review of the K-50 with bunch of full samples:

http://www.optyczne.pl/231.1-Test_aparatu-Pentax_K-50_Wst%C4%99p.html
(in Polish)

2. Another K-500 review after the K-50 review by PF:

http://www.pentaxforums.com/reviews/pentax-k-500-review/features-and-highlights.html

But as the K-500 is just almost the same camera as the K-50, why did the review again? I really don't

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(Different) Optical Constructions of the Four DA18-55 Zoom Lenses

Source: http://forum.xitek.com/thread-866434-1-1-1.html (in Simplified Chinese)

1. Original DA18-55 - 12 Elements in 9 Groups, One Aspherical Element:





2. DA18-55II - 11 Elements in 8 Groups, One ED (Extra Low Dispersion) Element:





3. DA18-55WR - 11 Elements in 8 Groups, One Aspherical Element and One ED Element:





4. DAL18-55 - 11 Elements in 8 Groups, No Aspherical nor ED Element of

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Pentax TidBits 8-19

1. DA50/1.8 is on sales, for the US users only, at $120:

http://www.pentaxwebstore.com/product/31909

Btw, is it really cheap? Just compare it with the similar offers from Canon and Nikon! One thing is for sure anyway, the original set price of $249 is just ridiculous!

2. DC Watch has reviewed the DA560, with various full samples posted, taken with a K-5IIs:

http://dc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs

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New K-50 Official Full Samples are Now Available

http://www.ricoh-imaging.co.jp/japan/products/k-50/ex/index.html
(in Japanese)





Lenses used include DA*16-50, DA*55, DAL18-55, DA*50-135 and DA50/1.8. Measurbation Time Now!

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Shootout of Six Tough DC 2013 Models (XP60 Vs AW110 Vs TG-2 Vs TS5 Vs WG-3 Vs TX30)

http://www.mobile01.com/newsdetail.php?id=13603
(in Traditional Chinese)

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Q 07 Mount Shield Lens User Samples

http://www.dchome.net/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=1216412

So, the IQ of this lens really sucks. This can be treated as special effect, though, provided that it is liked.

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German IFA 2013: Ricoh Will be On Show

The IFA show  is coming next month, from 6 to 11 September. This show is meant for consumer electronics and digital products. A quick search at their official page found that Ricoh will be on show:



But yet entering key word of "Pentax" in the same search page gives two returns, one Sigma lens and one Metz flash. So, the Ricoh booth above is the only real Pentax related thing that is found,

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New Pentax Reviews: Q7 and K-50

1. DPR's Q7 review is out. Wow, it is completed published so quickly this time. Has Ricoh done something? ;-)

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/pentax-q7

The overall mark given is quite low, though.

2. Full K-50 review at PF:

http://www.pentaxforums.com/reviews/pentax-k-50-review/conclusion.html

So, this is the key point of the conclusion:

"With that said, the K-50 is essentially nothing

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World's First 135 Full Frame Mirrorless is Coming!

By this October!

http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/sr4-nex-ff-only-15-bigger-than-the-nex-7-available-in-october/

Note that it is of SR4 probability which means that it is likely to happen!

How is Pentax then? Where is Pentax? What "hi-end" thing that they are actually still working on??! >:-o

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First Quarter Financial Results of Ricoh

See the Q1 financial report here:

http://www.ricoh.co.jp/IR/events/2013/pdf/h26ke.pdf

with the summary fact sheet here:

http://www.ricoh.co.jp/IR/pdf/summary_text_1307.pdf

Via: Kakaku forum post here.

(All of above are in Japanese.)

Below are excerpts of camera business related statements as directly copied from Google Translator:

- "Optical business has remained strong, such as FA camera

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Tidbits Today

1. Ephotozine has completed the full review of the K-50, conclusions and comments are quite favourable:

http://www.ephotozine.com/article/pentax-k-50-digital-slr-review-22468#Verdict

2. The once discontinued K-01 Yellow Edition (which "was discontinued owing to the too high market demand"!?) is reborn and can be purchased via the following! ;-p



http://e-young.en.alibaba.com/product/

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Pentax Forums Now Host Official Canon Ads, Not Pentax Nor Ricoh's! :-o

For instance: http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-news-rumors/229588-ricoh-announces-company-name-change-no-more-pentax-ricoh-imaging-just-ricoh-31.html

A click on the Ad Banner will direct you to the Official Canon EOS M Page of your local server! :-o

Btw, they do have to earn a living, don't they? When Ricoh don't pay them well.. This is completely understandable! ;-)

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Pentax Japanese Customer Support Email

FWIW, it is:

pentax.gs@pri.pentax.co.jp

Via: http://forum.xitek.com/thread-1194052-1-1-1.html (in Simplified Chinese)

The case is about what happened back to May. It seems that the customer service was really good for that particular case and the supporting staff who handled the case was really helpful. But I just wonder if the above email address still works as it does contain the "pentax"

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Yet Another Camera Database and Comparison Website

At digicamdb.com, which has some more detailed comparisons for the sensor specs, in addition to the body specs. For instance:

Leica S2 Vs Pentax 645D: http://www.digicamdb.com/compare/leica_s2-vs-pentax_645d/

Canon 5D3 Vs Nikon D800: http://www.digicamdb.com/compare/canon_eos-5d-mark-iii-vs-nikon_d800/

Pentax K-50 Vs Pentax K-30: http://www.digicamdb.com/compare/pentax_k-50-vs-pentax_k-30/,

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Pentax' Optical Design Copied Leica's?

First, this is the Leica Tri-Elmar 28-35-50mm F4 Wide "Zoom", at 28mm:



And then, this is the Pentax FA20-35mm F4 Ultra Wide Zoom:



And then, compare the above two and then also against the Leica Summilux 21mm Prime below:



Via: http://www.dchome.net/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=1215807
(in Chinese)

It is not difficult to notice that, as the OP has pointed out, the optical designs of the

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A Latest Interview with the Japanese Ricoh Head

The Chinese Fengniao editors interviewed the Ricoh head who is in charge of the Pentax camera business just a few days ago, when he came to China for something:

http://qicai.fengniao.com/387/3874303.html
(in Simplified Chinese, Google English Translation Here.)

I've opted to translate some key excerpts of the interview and putting aside all the other marketing bullshits (although many things

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The Name PENTAX is Dismissed from the Cyber Space! >:-(

The name of PENTAX was a history of the past since August 1st 2013. Look what Ricoh has done to destroy the name Pentax! >:-{ For instance, click the following, i.e., the old Pentax Japanese homepage:

http://www.pentax.jp/

It will be forwarded to the following page immediately:

http://www.ricoh-imaging.co.jp/moved/

It is told that the old webpage does no longer exist, visitors should click on

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