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04-30-2021, 05:49 AM   #1
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Pentax Rangefinder?

Looking ahead to when the K3 iii is super successful, the K1 iii is flying out of retailers doors and 645ii has just be launched to great applause

- would Pentax look to do a Rangefinder to compete with Fujifilm?

I know it runs counter to their current stated strategy, and they have no history with such a design (the Q doesnt count), but if Pentax did their own interpretation of a Fujifilm X-Pro I would be really interested

04-30-2021, 05:58 AM   #2
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I don't think Pentax would take this endeavor at this time. Were talking a whole new section of R&D about optics and electronics. Keep in mind they dissed the mirrorless market for this reason. it is worthless for a brand like Ricoh/Pentax to get into a well saturated market with a new line of products. The only camera to cover that sector would be the GR line, but still, implementing a lens mount and a viewfinder on that system would take years.
The Pentax equivalent would be a LX-like digital body, with FF sensor and without any bells and whistles to keep the size down.
04-30-2021, 05:59 AM   #3
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QuoteOriginally posted by LittleSkink Quote
Looking ahead to when the K3 iii is super successful, the K1 iii is flying out of retailers doors and 645ii has just be launched to great applause
This brought a genuine smile on my face. Thank you.

As for the rest of the question, I'm not sure if it belongs to this part of the forum.
04-30-2021, 06:33 AM - 1 Like   #4
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It would not make much sense for Pentax to design a rangefinder as it would require new mount with new lenses.
It is even less likely than Pentax designing a mirorless system with a new mount.

BTW Fuji X-pro cameras are not rangefinders as they lack the rangefinder.


Last edited by Fogel70; 05-19-2021 at 02:58 AM.
04-30-2021, 06:38 AM - 2 Likes   #5
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QuoteOriginally posted by LittleSkink Quote
Looking ahead to when the K3 iii is super successful, the K1 iii is flying out of retailers doors and 645ii has just be launched to great applause

- would Pentax look to do a Rangefinder to compete with Fujifilm?

I know it runs counter to their current stated strategy, and they have no history with such a design (the Q doesnt count), but if Pentax did their own interpretation of a Fujifilm X-Pro I would be really interested
Pentax did not even produce range-finder cameras in the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s.
They certainly will not produce them now.
04-30-2021, 06:43 AM - 2 Likes   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by LittleSkink Quote
Looking ahead to when the K3 iii is super successful, the K1 iii is flying out of retailers doors and 645ii has just be launched to great applause

- would Pentax look to do a Rangefinder to compete with Fujifilm?

I know it runs counter to their current stated strategy, and they have no history with such a design (the Q doesnt count), but if Pentax did their own interpretation of a Fujifilm X-Pro I would be really interested
It is an interesting concept, and actually, I think it's a pretty cool idea. It would involve jumping into the mirrrorless market, designing an entirely new series of short registration distance lenses, and, unfortunately, becoming just another mirrorless manufacturer in what is already a bloated and saturated market.

So, as cool as I think the idea is, no, I don't see it happening. I think all the manufacturers are going to take a somewhat bunker mentality approach over the next while as the market shakes out. For Pentax, that bunker is the SLR.

Last edited by Wheatfield; 04-30-2021 at 08:07 AM.
04-30-2021, 06:53 AM   #7
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Yeah, no matter how interesting a Pentax rangefinder sounds... it doesn't really have chances of happening.
If anything, they might add a viewfinder to one of the Ricoh compacts...

04-30-2021, 07:20 AM - 2 Likes   #8
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Well, they didn't make rangefinder prior to 1952 when it made sense....
04-30-2021, 07:50 AM   #9
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Well... Pentax does have K mount small lenses that can be used in a K mount rangefinder body, such as the 40mm, 35mm and maybe 77mm and 31mm FA and D-FA ones. But as others state, it's doubtful that Ricoh will try a rangefinder. Now, a penta-mirror smaller DSLR body may be something else.
04-30-2021, 08:04 AM   #10
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we never had a rangefinder? mmmm How about the Asahiflex series?
Asahiflex - Wikipedia

Had both a waist-level viewfinder and rangefinder :P
04-30-2021, 08:13 AM   #11
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QuoteOriginally posted by j0n4hpk Quote
Well... Pentax does have K mount small lenses that can be used in a K mount rangefinder body, such as the 40mm, 35mm and maybe 77mm and 31mm FA and D-FA ones. But as others state, it's doubtful that Ricoh will try a rangefinder. Now, a penta-mirror smaller DSLR body may be something else.
If that's the case, toss a rangefinder on a K-01 and there you go. Those lenses require the 45.46 flange to sensor depth, meaning the body has to be at least 50-60mm deep.
If anyone is going to make a viable rangefinder, the flange distance needs to be shorter, much shorter, in the 20mm range.
Consequently, the present K lenses wont work without some sort of adapter, and this negates the mirrorless rangefinder concept of a more compact body.
Having said that, the Fuji X-Pro bodies are anything but petite, though they are quite thin.

Last edited by Wheatfield; 04-30-2021 at 10:21 AM.
04-30-2021, 08:13 AM - 1 Like   #12
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QuoteOriginally posted by FozzFoster Quote
we never had a rangefinder? mmmm How about the Asahiflex series?
Asahiflex - Wikipedia

Had both a waist-level viewfinder and rangefinder :P
Ummmm?? From the same Wiki page:-
QuoteQuote:
Unlike the majority of Japanese camera manufacturers of the time, Asahi made a conscious decision not to produce a mere German rangefinder copy, a relatively simple task. Instead, Asahi decided to copy the Praktiflex, a 1939 design, made in the German Democratic Republic. Asahi's designers (Nobuyuki Yoshida and Ryohei Suzuki) were convinced of the inherent superiority of the SLR and so proceeded along these lines. This effort resulted in the Asahiflex I, which was also the first Japanese 35mm SLR.

It’d be simpler (and possibly cheaper for Ricoh) to buy copies of the Leica M10-P which lacks almost all identifying marks - especially the red dot - and slap a Pentax sticker on ‘em. The lenses are pretty good too.
04-30-2021, 08:19 AM   #13
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might also add that playing copy-cat isn't really in Pentax MO.

Leica, way back when, was the major camera manufacturer and made rangefinders.
Nikon and Canon saw Leica makin' bank and played copy-cat by making their own rangefinders - nothing innovative though.

When Asahi came along they sorta copied the SLR design of Rectaflex and Contax but they really took it to a whole new level with their invention of the quick-return mirror (previous cameras would have to have the film advanced to return the mirror. Another huge advancement in the field brought to you by Pentax was spot metering.
They were leaders in the field of SLR R&D.
When Nikon and Canon saw that Pentax was makin' buck, they played copy-cat yet again and made SLRs.
And more recently, when Nikon and Canon saw Sony makin' buck, they played copy-cat making mirrorless cameras.

Pentax largely stayed within the SLR roots and continues to innovate within.
04-30-2021, 08:19 AM - 1 Like   #14
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QuoteOriginally posted by FozzFoster Quote
we never had a rangefinder? mmmm How about the Asahiflex series?
Asahiflex - Wikipedia

Had both a waist-level viewfinder and rangefinder :P
Isn't that a mere tunnel type viewfinder?
04-30-2021, 08:22 AM   #15
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QuoteOriginally posted by StiffLegged Quote
Ummmm?? From the same Wiki page:-
I don't see the issue?
The Asahiflex wasn't a mere rangefinder copy.
It had a waist-level SLR style viewfinder. BUT ALSO, an "eye-level viewfinder"... that's a rangefinder if I've ever seen one, no?
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