[THoog]

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Well, it sure wasn't I, who came up with "Smurf", I had honestly thought that it was you also in the other thread, wasn't it?

It may have been me. Someone in the News & Rumors thread posted a picture of a Smurf early on. My intention was to just stick to this thread, as all N&R threads inevitably follow the path:

News Item > discussion > Pentax is Doomed!

while K-01 threads are generally happier and follow the path:

News Item > discussion > It should have been an NEX/NX/Xpro/MFT > Pentax is Doomed!

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Last edited by THoog; 07-04-2013 at 12:13 PM.

[Ron Giddings]

If the K-01 is, in fact, not discontinued, perhaps there is hope for a firmware update with tethering.

[tclausen]

If the K-01 is, in fact, not discontinued, perhaps there is hope for a firmware update with tethering.

And, astrotracer, as they promised, with the O-GPS1

[LeRolls]

If the K-01 is, in fact, not discontinued, perhaps there is hope for a firmware update with tethering.

I'd also really like the ability to use focus peaking while shooting video but I doubt we'll ever get that ability.

[Uluru]

I'd also really like the ability to use focus peaking while shooting video but I doubt we'll ever get that ability.

Tech doesn't stay idle. Prime M engine inside the original K-01 is maybe 3 years old technology.

What new enhancements new generations of the software will bring on, also depends on hardware. And we have no idea what new hardware will be employed. But don't rule out the possibility that Pentax branded future mid-range and upper-range products will have very comprehensive video features. Just because we're not used to have good video features, it doesn't mean they won't come.

If Ricoh is smart enough, and I believe they are, after all, they will "skate where the puck's going, not where it's been."

So if we want to comment right now what the mid-range and upper-range will bring, I say let's rather shut up and wait.

[k5astro]

I don't understand why the K-01 was discontinued here. It probably the best looking mirrorless camera on the market. The Q's are ugly ducklings in comparison. Whatever the issues may have been, they could just fix them and call it something else but keep the styling. Apple goes a long way with styling. Actually most camera companies go a long way with styling. The only reason I didn't buy it was that I prefer a camera with a viewfinder.

[jon404]

Oct 31... looked on the Ricoh/Pentax japan site today, to see if the white & blue K-01 was for sale over there. Nope! No K-01s at all.

What if mine breaks? Where could I get another new one? And -- how long will new ones be available?

And, where can I get that white & blue one?

[Doundounba]

Brand new ones are getting pretty scarce. There are still some on fleabay (including a few smurfs), but prices range from reasonable to outrageous.

[Steve.Ledger]

And, where can I get that white & blue one?

Yahoo Auctions, Japan
► ???????? - ?PENTAX k-01 ????????? - ????!

[jon404]

Thanks Steve -- may be irresistible. Was thinking about buying a GR -- but I still REALLY like my K-01, and having a second blue one might be perfect for me. Bear in mind, though, that I might have to win the lottery to be able to pay a gaffer-tape company to tool up for that sky-blue color. And to get Hoodman to make a sky-blue loupe!*

*For anyone wondering what this is about, I gaffer-taped a loupe to my black K-01, and it's just wonderful, functionally speaking. But aesthetically -- have had reactions ranging from "Way cool!" to "Butt ugly!" But that's the price of being on the cutting edge of fashion...

[jon404]

@Steve.Ledger -- followed up on your Yahoo Auction tip... bought the blue K-01... it arrived today, right on schedule as promised by Buyee, the excellent service used by Yahoo that makes it easy to purchase from Japan. Worth the small extra cost -- otherwise would have been totally confused.

The blue color is sort of a deep cyan... sky blue... if mixing paint, Cerulean blue. It makes the camera look like a toy, which is fun and very non-threatening for street photography. Using the black one with its attached loupe, I get questions like "what kind of pro camera is that?" But the blue one tonight, a guy assumed it was a camcorder. Fun!

Anyway, I like the white body -- in the dark, so much easier to see the black buttons than those on my black K-01. This one's even more intuitive. Manual in the box is Japanese, but the strap says Pentax in English, and when setting up the camera, English was the first language choice, above Japanese. Go figure.

Here's something interesting. When I first used it, with a fully charged battery, it had a lot of trouble auto-focusing... using the Pentax 35mm f/2.4 lens. Oh, no! Did I buy a dud? But then I checked the firmware version, and it was 1.00. Put in the latest 1.04, and it was instantly fixed... working exactly like my black one. I'll tell you, when they first brought the K-01 to market with version 1.00 -- there must have been a LOT of very unhappy owners! But maybe it worked better with the two kit zoom lenses and that pancake 40mm prime.

EDIT -- no plans for a gaffer-taped loupe on this blue one. Will try an old 1950s Kodak folding metal viewfinder tomorrow... fits into the hotshoe... and see how that works for snapshots with the 35mm lens, now that the autofocus is working.

[Steve.Ledger]

@Steve.Ledger -- followed up on your Yahoo Auction tip... bought the blue K-01... it arrived today, right on schedule as promised by Buyee, the excellent service used by Yahoo that makes it easy to purchase from Japan. Worth the small extra cost -- otherwise would have been totally confused.

Excellent! Good to hear it went well.

the strap says Pentax in English, and when setting up the camera, English was the first language choice, above Japanese. Go figure.

And I bet it says PENTAX on the front of the camera in English too right? You made me LOL, Jon

[jon404]

Excellent! Good to hear it went well.



And I bet it says PENTAX on the front of the camera in English too right? You made me LOL, Jon

It does, it does! Not a whisper of (gasp) Ricoh... not even a single character in Japanese! Not anywhere... not even on the bottom plate. And, God help us, Marc Newson's signature is also in... English!

This is fascinating. They probably geared up to sell the blue model overseas, like the previous ones... but then pulled back, maybe following the (gasp) Ricoh takeover, to cut their losses. You know, my Dad had a saying -- "You can't p*ss into the wind," and that's what Pentax was doing, marketing this beautiful design to an uncaring audience of 'advanced amateurs' who actually wanted a cheap DSLR that looked 'professional'. Oh well. As they say, 'pearls before swine', and so on.

Even more fascinating -- here's the UPS tracking list -- what a kick! But it got here exactly when the Buyee service promised. Mega go figure!

[Steve.Ledger]

22,000 yen equals AUD$236 - pretty good.
What was the buyee fee Jon?

[jon404]

Here's the Buyee fee list. There could also be a Customs charge, which for me would be a US government thing, not a Buyee charge... but the K-01 went straight through without any customs fees or delays.

from a Buyee e-mail --
<Total Shipping and Handling Costs>
10916 yen ... $108 US. A lot, but keep in mind that the Japanese auction website is totally incomprehensible to me... let alone arranging for fast shipment. I don't have any friends who can read Japanese. At my end, Buyee is VERY good value for the money... and their working with UPS is excellent.

[Fee Breakdown]

<Domestic (Japan) Shipping Fee>
740 yen
<Consumption Tax>
1485 yen

<International Shipping Fee>
8591 yen
<Insurance Fee>
100yen