[cyberjunkie]

Good old times...
A leave any comment to the reader

cheers

Paolo

[Unregistered User 8]

Good old times...

This still holds true for me today !!!

[ffking]

"Pentax is in business for the ones who would." (notice if they discontinued less bought lenses)

That's quite a claim - and quite something to have in your corporate DNA. I'm sure they could better afford it in those days, but that commitment to be there for those who appreciate things being done properly has never really been extinguished through all the lean times and takeovers, and it's maybe at the heart of the extraordinary brand loyalty of some customers through those times - it's something they need to state again, perhaps. Thanks for the cutting

[pschlute]

Thanks for this post. It shows the Pentax ethos of it's day.

I actually bought that very lens last year, a lovely bit of kit that still works very well on the K-1 (as long as you use your hand to shield it from the sun when taking a picture).

[Alex645]

Great ad and certainly one that shows a special attitude still shared by those of us using Pentax then and now.

I wonder where they came up with the number 37? Is that just "truth in advertising" or an actual projected stat from 1981? Be really curious how many 15mm f/3.5 primes they did sell that year?

[clickclick]

Embodies much of how I think of Pentax. The other night was thinking back to a time when a local mini "department" store (2 locations) had a camera section I bought my darkroom supplies at and Pentax cameras in their display case. Would grab D76 and drool over the MX while I was there. Good times. Thanks for the add and tickling the old memory banks.

[twilhelm]

Great ad. I’d like to see a few ads like this today from Pentax, let people know who they cater to.

[Imp]

and people complain when Pentax makes a D-FA* 50 because it's too "specialized"

[Marktax]

That 15mm was a gem. I had two. I also had their 28mm shift lens. My mistake in letting them go . . .

[Ttedders]

I actually remember that ad. I was working in a camera store at the time.

[WPRESTO]

Pentax, of necessity, did discontinue some extremely low volume lenses (1000mm f11 mirror, 1200mm f8), and some that were innovative, unique, but not that good (400~600mm mirror). I had the 1000mm f11 and never managed to get one keeper with it. Finally decided it was a clunker. BTW: The K-mount was removable, easily, which made me wonder if Pentax provided other mounts (645, 6X7?) and whether they also offered an eyepiece adapter for use as an astronomical telescope*. I also had a 28mm shift, IMHO it was YUGE, much larger/heavier than the Canon 24mm TSS I had later, not as flexible and not as easy to use.

*Pentax did, probably still does make a variety of astronomical telescopes and eyepieces although they aren't easy to get in the USA.

[E-man]

Great ad. I’d like to see a few ads like this today from Pentax, let people know who they cater to.

Maybe just let people know they still exist! It is really beyond me how Ricoh thinks the Pentax brand will survive devoid of any sort of marketing.

[gofour3]

The list price of the K15/3.5 when it came out in 1975 was $599.95, a fair bit of money back then. ($2750 in today's dollars)

So no wonder not many were sold.

Phil.

[Wasp]

And now I find myself wanting a 15mm. Again...

[WPRESTO]

And now I find myself wanting a 15mm. Again...

There are more modern UWA's available for FF, specifically the Irix 15mm and 11mm, Rokinon 14mm, and the Venus/Laowa 12mm. I had an Irix 15mm, excellent but like the old Pentax very bulky, so I let it go to another Pentaxian. I still have a Venus/Laowa 12mm which is substantially more compact although heavy (lotsa glass in there).