[SMPhoto]

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The only bad impression it's going to leave on most westerners will be among superficial people who read gadget blogs. No one else will see it.

Your tone isn't necessary. Get a grip.

Exactly!

Not all of us care so deeply about the way a few thousand (maybe not even a few?) limited edition model K-r's look. It's not like anybody HAS to buy that particular version, nor will it be half as widely available as the black/red/white versions.

Also, agreed with Adam; the hotshoe thingie is awesome! If only it were a real flashgun.

[woof]

Yes, I do. I know it may be hard for your feeble little mind to comprehend, but this leaves a bad first impression to most. If someone was looking for a camera starting today, and they saw that Kr, doesn't matter if it was in a store or on the internet, they would think that Pentax is somewhat of a joke.

Dude, about 4,574 posts ago, Séamuis proved his worth around here.

If you want to talk about bad first impressions, I'm going to tell you that YOU just made one. That's fact, not opinion.

This really is no way to behave and you ought to moderate your tone a little. It's not Pentax that looks bad here.

woof!

[macTak]

I don't want this...

[mrrifleman]

if the price premium were no more than $50 USD, i'd buy one.

keep in mind, most people shopping for a camera in the KR class aren't photographers. they're people who want to take better pictures of their kids running around. so looking professional isn't a concern. i work in an electronics department at a big box retail store, and when people look at cameras, especially female buyers and young buyers in general, color is often more of a concern than lens roadmaps and high ISO performance. (the most painful thing in the world is trying to explain ISO to people who don't know how to use a camera...)

[sjwaldron]

[YT]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvtBjcRKFSE[/YT]
I have no idea what is going on here, but G4 totally needs to do an english dubbed version.

Basically, the show looks like they have celebrities who watch a sequence and decide if it what they are being shown is real or fake. It looks like only one of the girls thought it was real.

"Kore ja nai robo" (This is not a robot) toy
- Price is a round $30
- They go over the "features" of the robot such as wheels and replaceable arms.
- It has a rival robot.
- The music they are playing when showing off the robot is from Neon Genesis Evangelion, a really popular robot anime.
- It's a complete joke for them too, but it does exist as an eccentric toy. Basically, the toy is a pun on classic Gundam robot design with the colors, gold head piece, and general structure.
- They try to surprise a kid with "Kore ja nai robo" birthday present, but he was expecting a Zeta Gundam toy and gets really pissed off. Saying "this isn't what I wanted" "this isn't...(kore janai!)" *tosses it*
- They surprise another kid another kid who is in some movie with it. Same result as above.
- At the end the girls say it should only be worth $5 instead of $30.
- That green robot costume the interviewer was in is from an anime called Gundam as well.

Pentax has done special cameras for a long time. Wasn't there one 40 years ago that was a gaudy gold with alligator skin hand grip? It's all in good fun.

[jbinpg]

Raylon - Could I please see the paper that gives you license to speak for most westerners?

[KungPOW]

Pentax first did this with the K-x, it is based on a Japanese toy (ƒRƒŒƒWƒƒƒiƒCƒ�ƒ{�@ƒIƒtƒBƒVƒƒƒ‹ƒTƒCƒg)

I don't where this toy falls in the relm of anime, robot culture, or nerdom in general, but it is real.

here is the K-x version:

Japan gets the Pentax K-x in “robotic colors” (limited edition)

The first time I saw a Pentax White K-m, I was offended. What the hell, where is my full frame camera? Then the rainbow cameras came out. Then I eventually "got it"

These cameras are collectors items. They are fasion accesories. They have nothing to do with photography. They just happen to be cameras. It now see that these cameras were one of teh best marketing ideas Pentax could have ever had. The web press that these cameras generate is enormous. Love them or hate them, people talk about them.

Limited edition "stuff" is not uncommon in Japan.

[KungPOW]

"IT IS NOT THIS"

Looks like this is bigger then I could have expected.

Here is a link to the soundtrack that goes with the camera:

Amazon.co.jp： IT IS NOT THIS!コレジャナイロボ!: 水木一郎, ザリガニワークス, MARS: 音楽

Now I'm disipointed that Pentax did not release the "bad guy" for this series:

ƒRƒŒƒWƒƒƒiƒCƒ�ƒ{�@ƒIƒtƒBƒVƒƒƒ‹ƒTƒCƒg

Second one down.

[KungPOW]

The final piece of the puzzle:

Damn It I Asked for a Gundam! Fanboy.com

This explains it.

My work is done.

[Rondec]

You do what you need to, to sell in a given market. The same things that sell cameras in Japan don't necessarily sell them in Europe and North America. I don't think Pentax would ever do something similar with their upper end cameras like the K5/K7 and certainly not the 645D, but who really cares what the camera looks like anyway?

[ghelary]

I think western people fail to see something with this camera, as a photographic tool it would fantastic for taking picture of children.

A big dark camera is intimidating, this one is a joke, meaning it is great to make people smile and take candid shots.

Sure this camera was meant as a collector item, but surely I can find it use to take pictures.

[rparmar]

I think they should release the 645D in this look!

<ducks for cover>

[johnmflores]

That video KungPOW is all sorts of awesome!

Interesting, I'm still waiting for the chorus of "Pentax is doomed...they can't be a company for serious photographers if they come out with silly color and silly special editions". That's what folks were saying when the K-x colors and special editions came out.

I guess that success and great cameras like the K-5 and 645d have gone a long way towards quelling those voices?

Dude, about 4,574 posts ago, Séamuis proved his worth around here.

If you want to talk about bad first impressions, I'm going to tell you that YOU just made one. That's fact, not opinion.

This really is no way to behave and you ought to moderate your tone a little. It's not Pentax that looks bad here.

woof!

Aww I made a bad first impression? Oh darn....Sorry that I responded to him with my own opinion.

Want to hear what most people think about this camera? Read the comments section here:

Pentax K-r receives a rainbow paintjob, 35mm prime lens for limited edition kit -- Engadget

Sure there are one or two people who realize that Pentax is great, but the rest just see this as a joke.

And yes they are superficial gadget blog people. But guess what, they are the people who are going to be buying cameras. Just one more reason for them to completely ignore Pentax.

[SMPhoto]

Aww I made a bad first impression? Oh darn....Sorry that I responded to him with my own opinion.

It's hard to believe, but did you know that there are ways of voicing your opinion without reverting to passive-aggressive name-calling? Pretty cool, huh?