Originally posted by pcrichmond A few years back I bought a K01 solely for the purpose of converting to FS, primarily for monochrome imaging.
I grew up with black and white film (along with b&w television, homemade movies, etc.) and while adjusting sliders can produce great images, for me it is always similar to printing a color negative on b&w paper, just seems to lack something in the process.
Anyway, I enjoyed it so much I soon purchased a FS converted K1 to accompany my other K1 and the little K01 slowly went from the shelf to the closet.
This weekend I decided to travel light and again grabbed the K01 with a k30/2.8 and an 850 narrowband filter.
Still very impressed at what a basic yet solid performer this little camera is.
I wonder if part of the reason it had such a mixed reception was being a product ahead of its time?
Will always keep this little gem as my poor man’s Leica M.
Ricoh should revisit the K01, wouldn’t need much tweaking to have a great new K02.
I’m pretty much done with my camera & lens buying days, but if they were to do so, I’d probably buy it just to show the appreciation.
If Ricoh would ever release a K-02, they should make a lot of changes to the design of the K-01. First of all they should make the body thinner. K-mount lenses should then be equipped with an adapter, but that should not be problematic. Then they should equip it with an image sensor that has more megapixels, maybe even a full-size like in the K-1. Next they should improve the AF. Under low light conditions, my K-01 keeps hunting, even with high speed prime lenses. Last, but not least I would like to have an electronic viewfinder. Anyway, the K-02 will be too expensive and there is no real market for such a camera, I think. Still, I keep dreaming about such a camera. I use mine more often than my K-1.
I sold my blue&white K-01 because I was annoyed by the AF and the display, which is illegible in high light. Since then I use my KP, which is a blast compared to the K-01. For the HQ images I bought a second hand K-1 II. End of story.
Last edited by Argos; 11-02-2020 at 12:42 PM.