Photokina 2018 Q&A - What would you ask Ricoh?

sys3175 · 09-27-2018, 12:39 AM

Wasn't this about questions?

I've got one:
Why do you spend large sums on developing excellent lenses, but in the assembly, the quality control leaves much to be desired, so that customers regularly have to buy several times to get one acceptable lens?

It's frustrating to see the lenses' potential in one corner, only to notice the other corner is completely off...

Why don't you just ramp up QC *and* the lens prices and deliver excellency?

Andrea K · 09-27-2018, 12:57 AM

be sure to do the interview the afternoon of the last photokina day

H.Abendsen · 09-27-2018, 02:10 AM

Originally posted by 6BQ5

Thumbstick? No way. I want voice control.

I'm going to name my camera Marlene.

"Marlene, please focus on the young lad with the leather brief in his left hand."

zzzzttt-zztt <Pentax AF confirmation pause> schnick-schnakt

And I want to be able to do this while holding a shot of Whisky in my hand.

Typically ... yeah... SURE ...like a thumbstick for choosing the AF-point would be some kind of futuristic STAR TREK technology... *doublefacepalm*
I am sure you when you buy a new car, the first thing you do is take out the servo steering mechanism.
but hey, everybody to his likings...

Originally posted by reh321

This is not true.

A K-3 is like my K-30 - the top of the prism housing is essentially flat.

The S1 is like the K-1, the K-3ii, and the KP - the prism housing is the bottom half of a four-sided pyramid - all three resemble SLR cameras of thirty years ago.

The S1 has no design elements from the K-3, but like the modern Pentax cameras designed just before it, seems to have borrowed from SLR cameras of the 1970-89 period.

Man... it seems you dont get the idea... this isnt about the prism housing... this is about the handling of our cameras
BTW: evolution is not 100% optical mimickry...
(though the K-1 feels very far away from what once was a calm and FBD-Design in a K-5IIs)

The PENTAX flagships (until the K-1 came up)... used to be very straight.(K-3 also had some straightness in it, though it already looked a bit corrupted)
straighter silhoutte,
Not too much buttons... reasonably sized shoulder display so you can switch off main-lcd. - only buttons and wheels that make sense AND all the buttons on the right places....
no somehow you are right... the K-3 already corrupted the guideline the K-7 introduced (which was very efficient and succesfully continued on to the K-5II bodies.)

nonetheless the PANASONIC S1R still seems to me more of an EVOLUTION out of PENTAX DSLR than out of any Panasonic from a design point of view. just show me one lumix camer thats designed like that.

Look at all the Panasonic bodies before... though somehow "almost there" they had the same bloated feeling and curvy design, I already didnt like on Nikon or Canon DSLRs .... most of them had a 2nd useless wheel on the left of the finder with wich you would have set the shutter mode...
Panys always had the "PASM"-Mode dial on the right side of the finder,
whilst on PENTAXs flagships it that "mode wheel" always sat on the left(for a very good reason)
and up until now, they always thought it would be a great idea to have an additionall wheel on top for choosing the shutter mode(that for some reason always sat on the right. and took away space for an info display.

anyhow, it looks like what i would have loved to be a pentax FF DSLR body design...
somehow perfect.

... the only thing i would miss on a DSLR designed like that, would be a tilted right shoulder so you can read the
info-OLED(or LCD) that sits there much easier...

BTW: When Apple can sue Samsung for stealing their design... Ricoh-Imaging should sue PANASONIC for stealing their design...

reh321 · 09-27-2018, 06:33 AM

Originally posted by H.Abendsen

Man... it seems you dont get the idea... this isnt about the prism housing... this is about the handling of our cameras
BTW: evolution is not 100% optical mimickry...
(though the K-1 feels very far away from what once was a calm and FBD-Design in a K-5IIs)

The PENTAX flagships (until the K-1 came up)... used to be very straight.(K-3 also had some straightness in it, though it already looked a bit corrupted)
straighter silhoutte,
Not too much buttons... reasonably sized shoulder display so you can switch off main-lcd. - only buttons and wheels that make sense AND all the buttons on the right places....
no somehow you are right... the K-3 already corrupted the guideline the K-7 introduced (which was very efficient and succesfully continued on to the K-5II bodies.)

nonetheless the PANASONIC S1R still seems to me more of an EVOLUTION out of PENTAX DSLR than out of any Panasonic from a design point of view. just show me one lumix camer thats designed like that.

Look at all the Panasonic bodies before... though somehow "almost there" they had the same bloated feeling and curvy design, I already didnt like on Nikon or Canon DSLRs .... most of them had a 2nd useless wheel on the left of the finder with wich you would have set the shutter mode...

When I look at cameras I see shapes. When I handle a camera, I want to feel controls .... external controls that allow me to stay out of menus. Before I purchased my Q-7, I was using Canon exclusively for twenty years. The Q-7 was very comfortable, because the controls were similar to what my the Rebel had. When the Rebel died, I purchased a K-30, which was very comfortable because the controls were similar to what the Rebel and the Q-7 had. I'm guessing that both Canon and Pentax retained industrial designers, who found optimal ways of organizing the controls. Perhaps even Panasonic has received advice from experts.

H.Abendsen · 09-27-2018, 09:40 AM

FTF:... really sorry for my ebulition/emotional outbreak... but its really when i saw the Pana i thought WTF?...

actually this thread would be about questions we would like to have answered by RICOH reps...:
My last addition to the list:

Is it true that PENTAX/RICOH-Imaging started a co-operation of some kind with SAMSUNG or some other maker who supplies circuitry and sensors for cameras - other than SONY?

DeadJohn · 09-27-2018, 10:06 AM - **2 Likes**

Originally posted by Andrea K

be sure to do the interview the afternoon of the last photokina day

Wait until they've experienced some Oktoberfest and are primed to spill secrets

**WillWeaverRVA** · 09-27-2018, 01:55 PM - **2 Likes**

After reading the article on the front page, I have a new question: the Pentax K-3 II is discontinued. Why is it on display in your booth as a current product?

Enrique S Toso · 09-27-2018, 02:37 PM

About video. In this new mirrorless war (despite if Pentax is going milc or not) the 4k 60p 10bit 4.2.2 its been the key factor.

Kunzite · 09-27-2018, 03:16 PM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by WillWeaverRVA

After reading the article on the front page, I have a new question: the Pentax K-3 II is discontinued. Why is it on display in your booth as a current product?

Sigh... It's not on display. The article is wrong.

They have the Theta, 645z, K-1 II, KP, K-70 and the GR.

**monochrome** · 09-27-2018, 04:24 PM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by ffking

I think the biggest question is this - and I'm not the only one by any means to ask it:

There are a lot of diehard Pentaxians on Pentax Forums who are feeling discouraged by the slow progress of bringing products to market and the lack of a clear picture of where Ricoh istaking Pentax - and a lot of less diehard Pentaxians who are simply giving up and leaving Pentax. We love the products, but we want to feel secure in the future. We want Pentax to not just survive, but become a force in photography again. What can you say to us?

FWIW I’m contemplating selling off my entire manual focus kit and everything digital not listed in my sig. Frankly, I If you plot my faith in Pentax on a graph the line slopes generally downward, interrupted by occasional bumps up when something interesting happens. In my business this is called a pattern of lower highs and lower lows. In that pattern you’re well advised to sell the highs rather than buying the lows.

Think about that for a moment. I of all people wrote that.

**WillWeaverRVA** · 09-27-2018, 05:21 PM

Originally posted by Kunzite

Sigh... It's not on display. The article is wrong.

They have the Theta, 645z, K-1 II, KP, K-70 and the GR.

Ah, that figures.

photoptimist · 09-27-2018, 06:00 PM - **2 Likes**

Originally posted by monochrome

FWIW I’m contemplating selling off my entire manual focus kit and everything digital not listed in my sig. Frankly, I If you plot my faith in Pentax on a graph the line slopes generally downward, interrupted by occasional bumps up when something interesting happens. In my business this is called a pattern of lower highs and lower lows. In that pattern you’re well advised to sell the highs rather than buying the lows.

Think about that for a moment. I of all people wrote that.

Having lived with the ever-evolving products and violently oscillating reputation of Apple Computers for more than 33 years, the vagaries of public opinion about the company and it's often forecast doom have ceased to concern me. I've lived with Pentax products for only a decade but I feel the same ambivalence about the Pentax pessimists as I do with the Apple pessimists.

I'll let others worry about who is might become the most popular in PCs, smartphones, and cameras. I'm not looking for devices that satisfy everyone. I'm only looking for devices that satisfy me. And, for now, Pentax satisfies me better than any other camera maker.

That said, we all have different needs which may drive us toward different cameras. I hope you find cameras you like and I hope Pentax remains among them.

Mountain Vision · 09-27-2018, 07:30 PM

I'd love to know if Pentax ever plans to release a fast normal prime for APS-C? Something like the FA* 24mm f/2. In fact, I'd have loved if they just re-released that lens as a DA/DFA*. It was a great design and very underrated.

Obviously, this would follow the question of when will a K-3II successor reach market.

MarkJerling · 09-27-2018, 07:49 PM

Originally posted by derekkite

Two questions. The Image Sync application doesn't work. Can we expect a fix soon?

It works for me. Could be more fully featured, but it certainly functions.

**RobA_Oz** · 09-27-2018, 09:29 PM

Originally posted by derekkite

Two questions. The Image Sync application doesn't work. Can we expect a fix soon?

Originally posted by MarkJerling

It works for me. Could be more fully featured, but it certainly functions.

The iOS update is available now, and it works for me (on iOS 12). Don’t expect RAW downloads to be any faster, though.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Sports Flygfesten 2018/Airshow 2018	findus	Post Your Photos!	6	08-23-2018 10:43 PM
When in doubt - Ask, then Ask again......	interested_observer	General Photography	16	08-16-2018 11:12 PM
some kind of SHOW or attractive EVENTS at this years RICOH booth at PHOTOKINA ?	hitrate	Photographic Industry and Professionals	10	05-28-2018 04:48 PM
Fuji XT3 at PhotoKina 2018 speculation.	surfar	Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands	8	04-23-2018 04:25 PM
DPReview: Photokina 2016 interview: Ricoh aims for visual revolution	EssJayEff	Pentax News and Rumors	50	10-09-2016 01:03 PM

09-27-2018, 12:39 AM	#151
sys3175 Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2017 Posts: 50	Wasn't this about questions? I've got one: Why do you spend large sums on developing excellent lenses, but in the assembly, the quality control leaves much to be desired, so that customers regularly have to buy several times to get one acceptable lens? It's frustrating to see the lenses' potential in one corner, only to notice the other corner is completely off... Why don't you just ramp up QC and the lens prices and deliver excellency?

09-27-2018, 12:57 AM	#152
Andrea K Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Rome, Italy Posts: 822	be sure to do the interview the afternoon of the last photokina day

09-27-2018, 02:10 AM	#153
H.Abendsen Forum Member Join Date: Sep 2018 Posts: 95	Originally posted by 6BQ5 Thumbstick? No way. I want voice control. I'm going to name my camera Marlene. "Marlene, please focus on the young lad with the leather brief in his left hand." zzzzttt-zztt <Pentax AF confirmation pause> schnick-schnakt And I want to be able to do this while holding a shot of Whisky in my hand. Typically ... yeah... SURE ...like a thumbstick for choosing the AF-point would be some kind of futuristic STAR TREK technology... doublefacepalm I am sure you when you buy a new car, the first thing you do is take out the servo steering mechanism. but hey, everybody to his likings... Originally posted by reh321 This is not true. A K-3 is like my K-30 - the top of the prism housing is essentially flat. The S1 is like the K-1, the K-3ii, and the KP - the prism housing is the bottom half of a four-sided pyramid - all three resemble SLR cameras of thirty years ago. The S1 has no design elements from the K-3, but like the modern Pentax cameras designed just before it, seems to have borrowed from SLR cameras of the 1970-89 period. Man... it seems you dont get the idea... this isnt about the prism housing... this is about the handling of our cameras BTW: evolution is not 100% optical mimickry... (though the K-1 feels very far away from what once was a calm and FBD-Design in a K-5IIs) The PENTAX flagships (until the K-1 came up)... used to be very straight.(K-3 also had some straightness in it, though it already looked a bit corrupted) straighter silhoutte, Not too much buttons... reasonably sized shoulder display so you can switch off main-lcd. - only buttons and wheels that make sense AND all the buttons on the right places.... no somehow you are right... the K-3 already corrupted the guideline the K-7 introduced (which was very efficient and succesfully continued on to the K-5II bodies.) nonetheless the PANASONIC S1R still seems to me more of an EVOLUTION out of PENTAX DSLR than out of any Panasonic from a design point of view. just show me one lumix camer thats designed like that. Look at all the Panasonic bodies before... though somehow "almost there" they had the same bloated feeling and curvy design, I already didnt like on Nikon or Canon DSLRs .... most of them had a 2nd useless wheel on the left of the finder with wich you would have set the shutter mode... Panys always had the "PASM"-Mode dial on the right side of the finder, whilst on PENTAXs flagships it that "mode wheel" always sat on the left(for a very good reason) and up until now, they always thought it would be a great idea to have an additionall wheel on top for choosing the shutter mode(that for some reason always sat on the right. and took away space for an info display. anyhow, it looks like what i would have loved to be a pentax FF DSLR body design... somehow perfect. ... the only thing i would miss on a DSLR designed like that, would be a tilted right shoulder so you can read the info-OLED(or LCD) that sits there much easier... BTW: When Apple can sue Samsung for stealing their design... Ricoh-Imaging should sue PANASONIC for stealing their design...

09-27-2018, 06:33 AM	#154
reh321 Pentaxian Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: South Bend, IN, USA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 23,175	Originally posted by H.Abendsen Man... it seems you dont get the idea... this isnt about the prism housing... this is about the handling of our cameras BTW: evolution is not 100% optical mimickry... (though the K-1 feels very far away from what once was a calm and FBD-Design in a K-5IIs) The PENTAX flagships (until the K-1 came up)... used to be very straight.(K-3 also had some straightness in it, though it already looked a bit corrupted) straighter silhoutte, Not too much buttons... reasonably sized shoulder display so you can switch off main-lcd. - only buttons and wheels that make sense AND all the buttons on the right places.... no somehow you are right... the K-3 already corrupted the guideline the K-7 introduced (which was very efficient and succesfully continued on to the K-5II bodies.) nonetheless the PANASONIC S1R still seems to me more of an EVOLUTION out of PENTAX DSLR than out of any Panasonic from a design point of view. just show me one lumix camer thats designed like that. Look at all the Panasonic bodies before... though somehow "almost there" they had the same bloated feeling and curvy design, I already didnt like on Nikon or Canon DSLRs .... most of them had a 2nd useless wheel on the left of the finder with wich you would have set the shutter mode... When I look at cameras I see shapes. When I handle a camera, I want to feel controls .... external controls that allow me to stay out of menus. Before I purchased my Q-7, I was using Canon exclusively for twenty years. The Q-7 was very comfortable, because the controls were similar to what my the Rebel had. When the Rebel died, I purchased a K-30, which was very comfortable because the controls were similar to what the Rebel and the Q-7 had. I'm guessing that both Canon and Pentax retained industrial designers, who found optimal ways of organizing the controls. Perhaps even Panasonic has received advice from experts.

09-27-2018, 09:40 AM	#155
H.Abendsen Forum Member Join Date: Sep 2018 Posts: 95	FTF:... really sorry for my ebulition/emotional outbreak... but its really when i saw the Pana i thought WTF?... actually this thread would be about questions we would like to have answered by RICOH reps...: My last addition to the list: Is it true that PENTAX/RICOH-Imaging started a co-operation of some kind with SAMSUNG or some other maker who supplies circuitry and sensors for cameras - other than SONY?

09-27-2018, 10:06 AM - 2 Likes	#156
DeadJohn Pentaxian Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: New York Posts: 4,833	Originally posted by Andrea K be sure to do the interview the afternoon of the last photokina day Wait until they've experienced some Oktoberfest and are primed to spill secrets

09-27-2018, 01:55 PM - 2 Likes	#157
WillWeaverRVA Site Supporter Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Richmond, VA Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,071	After reading the article on the front page, I have a new question: the Pentax K-3 II is discontinued. Why is it on display in your booth as a current product?

09-27-2018, 02:37 PM	#158
Enrique S Toso Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Mendoza - Argentina Posts: 141	About video. In this new mirrorless war (despite if Pentax is going milc or not) the 4k 60p 10bit 4.2.2 its been the key factor.

09-27-2018, 03:16 PM - 1 Like	#159
Kunzite Pentaxian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Romania Posts: 15,132	Originally posted by WillWeaverRVA After reading the article on the front page, I have a new question: the Pentax K-3 II is discontinued. Why is it on display in your booth as a current product? Sigh... It's not on display. The article is wrong. They have the Theta, 645z, K-1 II, KP, K-70 and the GR.

09-27-2018, 04:24 PM - 1 Like	#160
monochrome Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Working From Home Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 26,276	Originally posted by ffking I think the biggest question is this - and I'm not the only one by any means to ask it: There are a lot of diehard Pentaxians on Pentax Forums who are feeling discouraged by the slow progress of bringing products to market and the lack of a clear picture of where Ricoh istaking Pentax - and a lot of less diehard Pentaxians who are simply giving up and leaving Pentax. We love the products, but we want to feel secure in the future. We want Pentax to not just survive, but become a force in photography again. What can you say to us? FWIW I’m contemplating selling off my entire manual focus kit and everything digital not listed in my sig. Frankly, I If you plot my faith in Pentax on a graph the line slopes generally downward, interrupted by occasional bumps up when something interesting happens. In my business this is called a pattern of lower highs and lower lows. In that pattern you’re well advised to sell the highs rather than buying the lows. Think about that for a moment. I of all people wrote that.

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

09-27-2018, 05:21 PM	#161
WillWeaverRVA Site Supporter Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Richmond, VA Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,071	Originally posted by Kunzite Sigh... It's not on display. The article is wrong. They have the Theta, 645z, K-1 II, KP, K-70 and the GR. Ah, that figures.

09-27-2018, 06:00 PM - 2 Likes	#162
photoptimist Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2016 Photos: Albums Posts: 5,121	Originally posted by monochrome FWIW I’m contemplating selling off my entire manual focus kit and everything digital not listed in my sig. Frankly, I If you plot my faith in Pentax on a graph the line slopes generally downward, interrupted by occasional bumps up when something interesting happens. In my business this is called a pattern of lower highs and lower lows. In that pattern you’re well advised to sell the highs rather than buying the lows. Think about that for a moment. I of all people wrote that. Having lived with the ever-evolving products and violently oscillating reputation of Apple Computers for more than 33 years, the vagaries of public opinion about the company and it's often forecast doom have ceased to concern me. I've lived with Pentax products for only a decade but I feel the same ambivalence about the Pentax pessimists as I do with the Apple pessimists. I'll let others worry about who is might become the most popular in PCs, smartphones, and cameras. I'm not looking for devices that satisfy everyone. I'm only looking for devices that satisfy me. And, for now, Pentax satisfies me better than any other camera maker. That said, we all have different needs which may drive us toward different cameras. I hope you find cameras you like and I hope Pentax remains among them.

09-27-2018, 07:30 PM	#163
Mountain Vision Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: America's First Wilderness Posts: 529	I'd love to know if Pentax ever plans to release a fast normal prime for APS-C? Something like the FA* 24mm f/2. In fact, I'd have loved if they just re-released that lens as a DA/DFA*. It was a great design and very underrated. Obviously, this would follow the question of when will a K-3II successor reach market.

09-27-2018, 07:49 PM	#164
MarkJerling Moderator Site Supporter Join Date: May 2012 Location: Wairarapa, New Zealand Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 20,402	Originally posted by derekkite Two questions. The Image Sync application doesn't work. Can we expect a fix soon? It works for me. Could be more fully featured, but it certainly functions.

09-27-2018, 09:29 PM	#165
RobA_Oz Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Tasmania, Australia Photos: Gallery Posts: 8,191	Originally posted by derekkite Two questions. The Image Sync application doesn't work. Can we expect a fix soon? Originally posted by MarkJerling It works for me. Could be more fully featured, but it certainly functions. The iOS update is available now, and it works for me (on iOS 12). Don’t expect RAW downloads to be any faster, though.