[cxdoo]

Well I put that wink wink nudge nudge smiley specifically because of the ever going philosophical discussion of need vs want.

[JPT]

How does the new box looks like?

Nothing special. Just looks like the other Ricoh boxes with a photo of a familiar FA lens on the side. I would say it is a bit strange to see the DFA50mm on this style of box, because it looks like an older design - somehow dated. As a meter of fact, I'm always curious as to why the DFA50mm never got the same metal/WR treatment that the 100mm got. Perhaps they feel the DA35mm macro serves the same purpose on APS-C and the 50mm isn't as appealing.

[RonHendriks1966]

Nothing special. Just looks like the other Ricoh boxes with a photo of a familiar FA lens on the side. I would say it is a bit strange to see the DFA50mm on this style of box, because it looks like an older design - somehow dated. As a meter of fact, I'm always curious as to why the DFA50mm never got the same metal/WR treatment that the 100mm got. Perhaps they feel the DA35mm macro serves the same purpose on APS-C and the 50mm isn't as appealing.

Maybe sales of the 50mm macro are so low it isn't worth the trouble to update. To short to be anything.

[jatrax]

I suppose in fairness monochrome didn't use the word discontinued. I don't want to misrepresent what he said. The thing is that all lenses could be described as out of production until the manufacturer needs a new batch, so this kind of comment could panic people into buying a lens or holding off, but it's just business as usual.

All true. I sometimes wonder how many sales Pentax loses when potential customers read these forums or see excerpts in search engine announcing "Pentax is Doomed" or similar. It truly is a unique fan base. I have never seen a user community so determined to find fault with their chosen brand. And if we are the "fan boys" what is the rest of the world saying?

The new box could actually be a good sign indicating stock has nearly run out and they had to move to the new packaging. Amount of packaging and amount of product does not always match exactly. I really doubt that if the FA Limiteds were going to be discontinued Ricoh would go to the trouble of designing and having new packaging printed. That is not inexpensive to do. Unless the box just had Ricoh stickers on it?

[cali92rs]

People here would be unhappy if they released a 12-1200mm F/1

Only 100X? And why isn't it F/.95

Such a cop out response...
PRIC hasn't given the consumers what they want and hence the mid-single digit marketshare.

Instead of a exaggerating with your unrealistic zoom, how about mentioning the modern primes and zooms that people have been requesting for years which are useful and reasonable?

[WillWeaverRVA]

All true. I sometimes wonder how many sales Pentax loses when potential customers read these forums or see excerpts in search engine announcing "Pentax is Doomed" or similar. It truly is a unique fan base. I have never seen a user community so determined to find fault with their chosen brand. And if we are the "fan boys" what is the rest of the world saying?

The new box could actually be a good sign indicating stock has nearly run out and they had to move to the new packaging. Amount of packaging and amount of product does not always match exactly. I really doubt that if the FA Limiteds were going to be discontinued Ricoh would go to the trouble of designing and having new packaging printed. That is not inexpensive to do. Unless the box just had Ricoh stickers on it?

But Pentax IS doomed! DOOMED, I TELL YOU!

Just kidding.

It could be a simple matter of Ricoh streamlining its packaging to be consistent (for example, the K-3, K-50, and K-500 all come in similar looking packages).

[todd]

how many of you people owning those fine lenses would need to upgrade?

I don't know.. Pixie Faeries on steroids seems a bit dangerous...

[boriscleto]

Such a cop out response...
PRIC hasn't given the consumers what they want and hence the mid-single digit marketshare.

Instead of a exaggerating with your unrealistic zoom, how about mentioning the modern primes and zooms that people have been requesting for years which are useful and reasonable?

I was simply making a point that no matter what Ricoh releases people here will complain about it. Sorry if you can't recognize sarcasm. Back into the ignore list...

[cali92rs]

I was simply making a point that no matter what Ricoh releases people here will complain about it. Sorry if you can't recognize sarcasm. Back into the ignore list...

Sorry if you don't know the definition of sarcasm.
Maybe if you left people off your ignore list, they could possibly learn teach you the definition of a word or two,

[IchabodCrane]

I was simply making a point that no matter what Ricoh releases people here will complain about it. Sorry if you can't recognize sarcasm. Back into the ignore list...

Do you mean "people" or "some people"? More important, the "people will complain" line is not a legitimate excuse to negate criticism of Ricoh if it's really justified.

[Doundounba]

Meanwhile, Ricoh's already announced the new Q and 645 lens, so that certainly won't be the Photokina news. Let's hope they have something up their sleeve, because a "cosmetic refresh" of the Q7 isn't exactly making my top 10 most exciting camera news for 2014...

[JimmyDranox]

There are 42 days until the opening of Photokina, and a lot of rumors about new products from different manufacturers are already circulating. It's the usual preparation for this big event. And I think that Pentax is making his own, in his style, first with some leaks, than, after few days, announcing the products. No long term leaks or rumors, long before the announcement.

As last week we had two leaks, and now the official confirmation, I hope that in the next 6 weeks we will have 6 or more announcements (dreaming, 6new lenses and 6 new cameras)

[MarkJerling]

People here would be unhappy if they released a 12-1200mm F/1

Only 100X? And why isn't it F/.95

Such a cop out response...
PRIC hasn't given the consumers what they want and hence the mid-single digit marketshare.

Instead of a exaggerating with your unrealistic zoom, how about mentioning the modern primes and zooms that people have been requesting for years which are useful and reasonable?

Sorry if you don't know the definition of sarcasm.
Maybe if you left people off your ignore list, they could possibly learn teach you the definition of a word or two,

I think I get boriscleto's point. There seems to be a tendency on these forums to have largely negative responses to whatever Rikoh does with their Pentax brand. I suppose, many of us feel that we've been part of the Pentax family a lot longer than Rikoh has been. We're the kids from the previous marriages and we don't particularly care for mom's new husband, even though he's a hell of a lot better off (financially) than the previous two partners. So, when dad Rikoh whips out his wallet and says, who would like a new bike, kids? many of us start to bitch about the colour, the number of gears, the size of the wheels, etc, before we've even taken a ride.

Let's try to keep the personal insults to a minimum at least?

[cali92rs]

I think I get boriscleto's point. There seems to be a tendency on these forums to have largely negative responses to whatever Rikoh does with their Pentax brand. I suppose, many of us feel that we've been part of the Pentax family a lot longer than Rikoh has been. We're the kids from the previous marriages and we don't particularly care for mom's new husband, even though he's a hell of a lot better off (financially) than the previous two partners. So, when dad Rikoh whips out his wallet and says, who would like a new bike, kids? many of us start to bitch about the colour, the number of gears, the size of the wheels, etc, before we've even taken a ride.

Let's try to keep the personal insults to a minimum at least?

Except new daddy hasn't given us a new bike, he gives us the same bike the old daddy (hoya) gave us sanded down and painted a new color (Q series, Rebadged DA lenses with new coatings, K-50).

[Cynog Ap Brychan]

Well, if the bike still gets us to where we want to go, what's the problem? Because other manufacturers are making newer and more exciting bikes? But they won't go any faster because it's still us that have to push the pedals. OK, the K-3 doesn't have built-in GPS or WiFi, but it has solutions for those who want them, and it takes great photographs. I have a D7100 and the K-3 beats it in almost every respect, including autofocus. So, we already have probably the best APS-C camera made today. I'm a little tired of the constant drone about FF. The only reason I bought an FF camera was for the 36 MP of the D800: I see no particular advantage in a 24 MP FF camera over the K-3. A little less DoF.... a stop more ISO - totally irrelevant to me and, I suspect, to most people who take photographs. In the 645z we have one of the finest picture-taking machines on the planet, and the Q7 has its own distinctive charm. If you really need what Pentax can't give you, then you have to look elsewhere. But I can't think of much else that I would wish for.