[kwb]

I visited Ricoh Imaging Square Shinjuku yesterday.

In the gallery space, I joined a large crowd listening to a pro photographer Katsumi Maeno's talk about how he uses multi-exposure as a creative tool when shooting illuminations (1st attachment). I enjoyed the talk very much even though his photographic style is not really my cup of tea. He offered some practical advices e.g. "if you have to shoot with your non-WR lens in rain, put a towel on camera/lens and you'll be fine for a short while", "but don't retract your zoom when wet, wipe off dry first", and "make a halo around the illumination by breathing on your lens, but don't do that in the freezing temperature". His work as well as his students' were featured in the entire gallery (two separate rooms).

The audience was probably 60 years old on average. There seemed to be a sharp cut-off at around late 30s. Though there were younger people, they're more like an exception.

Most of current Pentax/Ricoh bodies and lenses are on display in another room. There are also a whole bunch of binoculars. You can try most of the bodies (K-S2 was just a plastic display so apparently you cannot). I've never seen 645Z before, and I was totally impressed by the big viewfinder. I was also surprised by how shallow the depth of field was using 55mm F2.8 lens. Most of the lenses are on the shelves with glass doors (not pictured, sorry) and you cannot touch them.

The entrance directly leads to the Theta room, I didn't have time to try everything but it's apparent this is as important for Ricoh as conventional cameras. One side of that room is a service counter, a few were sitting there waiting for their turn. If repair is needed they'll send the customer's camera to repair center, but it seems like they can check the camera and clean the sensor on the spot.

They sell some Pentax goods like calendar, mugs, T-shirts, towels and bags. They also have a tiny "outlet" room (last picture), selling lens hoods, straps, and some cases. There were some interesting Q cases on sale.

I'm actually visiting my parents in Japan, Ricoh Imaging Square Shinjuku is within an hour from their house door to door. I don't know why I've never been there before, it was definitely worth the trip.

Attached Images

View Picture EXIF

File Date

 

View Picture EXIF

File Date

 

View Picture EXIF

File Date

 

View Picture EXIF

File Date

 

View Picture EXIF

File Date

 

View Picture EXIF

File Date

 

View Picture EXIF

File Date

 

View Picture EXIF

File Date

 

[kwb]

Shinjuku Station would be a great place to test drive gear. It is an astonishing place.

Oh yes, two retail giants Bic Camera and Yodobashi Camera as well as the biggest(?) second hand shop Map Camera, a bunch of smaller players, and Ricoh Imaging Square, all in 10 minutes walk.
As far as the shops go, over the years some went bankrupt (even Sakuraya, once a powerful giant, is no more) but some new ones emerged, it's surprising that all these shops can co-exist in such a small place.

[UncleVanya]

It seems so cluttered and unpolished. I'd expected slicker more glossy looking displays.

[c.a.m]

Thank you @kwb for giving us a glimpse into the Ricoh Imaging Square! Seems that you had a fun visit.

Yes, as @UncleVanya says, it does look cluttered. But maybe this is just the quirky, understated (Ricoh) Pentax way. The two last images suggest something like a yard sale or garage sale or boot sale - stuff piled on some portable tables sporting various colours of price tags. Nestled in between the flagship K-1 and some GR material are the trays of Pentax-green pouches for sale (lens caps, adapters, filters?). However, there are plenty of items on display, and that's the important thing in my opinion.

Is that the new D-FA* 50/1.4 I see in the second image - price 210,000 yen? (Just kidding).

[roberrl]

Hmmm, there was plenty of Q on display in BIC Shinjuku when I was there in April.

A non photographic question - there is a small model railway or tramway in the middle of the display, was this just a Christmas decoration? or a sample target for people to try focussing on? or maybe Ricoh diversifying their product line?

[kwb]

Yes, as @UncleVanya says, it does look cluttered. But maybe this is just the quirky, understated (Ricoh) Pentax way. The two last images suggest something like a yard sale or garage sale or boot sale - stuff piled on some portable tables sporting various colours of price tags. Nestled in between the flagship K-1 and some GR material are the trays of Pentax-green pouches for sale (lens caps, adapters, filters?). However, there are plenty of items on display, and that's the important thing in my opinion.

I agree with UncleVanya and c.a.m. My impressions concerning that:

1. They need to acknowledge that presentation matters.
2. Theta demo space is the best looking of the bunch, though I have to say that some of the Theta demos weren't working (or I couldn't figure out).
3. Camera/lens/bino display is cluttered and amateurish. At least binos need to be moved to the space by the wall (filters, some ornaments, action cams and Q-S1, and even K-S2, too) to make more space for cameras, and they could use better lighting.
4. Table for Pentax tees etc. as well as that for outlet goods are a chaos. Buy nice furnitures/displays that blend well with the rest of the space. Organize.
5. It's VERY good that you can test almost all Pentax/Ricoh cameras there. I wrote that you cannot touch lenses behind the glass door, but the yellow card in my second picture says this: "Customers: We have various lenses. If you'd like to test, please ask our staff". So apparently you can test drive almost anything.

Hmmm, there was plenty of Q on display in BIC Shinjuku when I was there in April.

A non photographic question - there is a small model railway or tramway in the middle of the display, was this just a Christmas decoration? or a sample target for people to try focussing on? or maybe Ricoh diversifying their product line?

roberrl, as for Q, I think you're responding to another thread of mine. That's good to know, and I don't claim that I searched thoroughly, and certainly I didn't ask them.

As for the model railway diorama thing, I don't think that this was just for Christmas. From the looks of that I guess it's been there for years. I looked at it through 645Z viewfinder and amazed to find out how thin the DOF was, so probably that's just that, something to aim lenses at. The train was not running so I couldn't test tracking AF

[lesmore49]

I wouldn't mind shopping there. Lots of interesting stuff. Although as the OP mentioned, most of the people there were 60 +. I'm 60+ and Ricoh has to somehow get younger generations interested in Pentax equipment. The future of any company is the youth...or at least the younger market.

[normhead]

That's cool looking place.