Imaging-Resource Interview With Ricoh

**luftfluss** · 03-05-2015, 09:15 AM - **5 Likes**

CP+ 2015 Interview: Ricoh’s investment in Pentax, full-frame strategy, lens plans and more

osv · 03-05-2015, 09:28 AM

interesting, thx

"To be frank, the number of 645Z sales is much more than our expectations, so our output capacity could not meet the demand, even today, on a worldwide basis."

nice!

**monochrome** · 03-05-2015, 09:35 AM - **2 Likes**

Can I say it yet?

aleonx3 · 03-05-2015, 09:46 AM

Very nice and interesting as well as informative interview... my impression of this is more positive than most people have given them credit for. Thanks for sharing...

JinDesu · 03-05-2015, 09:57 AM - **2 Likes**

No, Pentax is doomed. Go read those threads about marketshare, or bad marketing, or whatever. Doomed!

psychdoc · 03-05-2015, 10:03 AM

Very interesting tidbits from the interview. Seems like Ricoh-Pentax has a strategy!

Different from the path that Ca-Nikon took but a path nevertheless. Only time will tell whether waiting for FF pricing to come down before diving in while focusing on MF and APSC was wise. Having the 645 line appears to have been a big bonus according to their unexpected sales surge with that line.

Mirrorless will be the only low point. I still think the Q is not enough of a mirrorless strategy. One of these days if Olympus goes bust, they should buy the m43 division from them instead...

Scintilla · 03-05-2015, 10:04 AM

So it's not just the American marketing branch talking about "mobile device-oriented user interfaces" in the K-S_ line, it's straight from Global.

**Erictator** · 03-05-2015, 10:10 AM

That is seriously one of the best interviews I've read yet. The questions were well thought out, and KS seemed more forthcoming with his answers for this interviewer for some reason.

I was really impressed to hear from KS the level of care and respect for the existing client base that Ricoh has put into thinking about the "existing 20 million lenses" and making sure to test all current / recent lenses for crop, etc.

The future is looking brighter all the time for Ricoh / Pentax!

JinDesu · 03-05-2015, 10:12 AM

Items I thought were great:

Quote:

KS: Right, or the other way around. If the end user has a certain good interchangeable lens, but if that user is not informed that it's really compatible for full-frames, maybe that user would lose the chance to use their existing lenses. That's why, in both ways, this information should be very accurate. So we intend to announce the compatibility or some advice at the time of the full-frame camera's release. I think this should be our attitude as a manufacturer, to provide the service to our current users.
DE: Yes. So it sounds like some DA lenses do in fact have full-frame circles, but you want to make very certain before you announce which ones, before you officially endorse them. That's very interesting. That will be good news to many Pentaxians.

Quote:

KS: So we have the K-series, and now the K-S series. [The K-S series], we have categorized as the innovation series. We are not [talking about it that way] outside [the company], but internally we think the K-series is for core lines like the K-3 -- the real blood or DNA of Pentax. And then the K-S1 or K-S2; with these models we wanted to attract the users who had not had interest in Pentax before, they're new.
DE: Ah - they're not already Pentaxians, these are new users, yeah.
KS: That's why the K-S series exists. Of course, we put the Pentax brand on this model. So that's OK, but on top of that, it has some new approaches, like Wi-Fi connectivity, or the user interface is more user-friendly. Like for movie mode [showing me the ring around the shutter button] this is Red, and then On is blue. So these mobile device-oriented user interfaces, we have implemented into the K-S1 and K-S2.

Stavri · 03-05-2015, 10:12 AM

Originally posted by monochrome

Can I say it yet?

If you know something spit it out already

Franc · 03-05-2015, 10:16 AM

Originally posted by Stavri

If you know something spit it out already

no, he only want to say that PID, which isn't. On the contrary!!

mee · 03-05-2015, 10:22 AM

Quote:

DE: Yes. So it sounds like some DA lenses do in fact have full-frame circles, but you want to make very certain before you announce which ones, before you officially endorse them. That's very interesting. That will be good news to many Pentaxians.

That is interesting to me. So it seems to me, from this interview, they might not prohibit use of DA lenses with full frame circles in full frame mode..

I wonder, if true and going further, if they announce these (such as the DA 50 f/1.8) as FF capable, if the price goes up now? haha

That specific lens is sharper than the FA rivals at peak sharpness (which is around f/5.6 from the reviews I've seen).. sharper than even most of the Canon L 50mm lenses. Our cheap plastic wonder.

It would be a joy to use these in FF mode on the new body.

---------- Post added 03-05-15 at 11:24 AM ----------

Originally posted by Stavri

If you know something spit it out already

I think he is just saying he knew all along Pentax wasn't being flushed away and wanted to show everyone he was right.

normhead · 03-05-2015, 10:46 AM - **1 Like**

OK so , all you nay sayers....those saying those of us saying an FF was definitely coming... don't make me hunt down your posts, how about we fess up?

As the Pentax exec put it

Quote:

In reality, we have somehow told [Pentaxians] about our full-frame development for a long time...

Some of us read it correctly, some of us said it was coming, some of us mocked everything we said. At this point, who was right.?
So if you ever want me to listen to anything you have to say, ever again, you have to admit the error of your ways.

So let this be the thread.

After all, the first thing you have to do with having a problem, is admitting you had a problem.

Really, I'm just saying "I told you so", I don't honestly expect anyone to man up and admit they were wrong.

You had to know deep down in your hearts, this day was coming.

Winder · 03-05-2015, 10:47 AM

Best interview I have ever seen from the corporate owners of the Pentax brand. Hoya was awful and the first 3 year of Ricoh ownership have all been poor interviews.

I really want to see the 645 line take off. Hopefully the success will bring more investment and we will see increased production of bodies and glass.

pete-tarmigan · 03-05-2015, 11:03 AM

Originally posted by monochrome

Can I say it yet?

This interview makes it look like Ricoh has a plan! Oh, wait...hasn't somebody been saying that all along?

I found his comments about the 645Z attracting professionals from "full"-frame users interesting. Did a lot of people ditch their film Mamiya RB/RZ67s, Pentax film 645s, Bronicas and Hasselblads and pick up 36mm x 24mm dSLRs?

I wonder if there is any market among the pro 645Z users for the Pentax full-frame as a parallel system for certain kinds of shooting situations.

03-05-2015, 09:15 AM - 5 Likes	#1
luftfluss Site Supporter Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: NJ Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 11,619	Imaging-Resource Interview With Ricoh CP+ 2015 Interview: Ricoh’s investment in Pentax, full-frame strategy, lens plans and more

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03-05-2015, 09:28 AM	#2
osv Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: So Cal Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,080	interesting, thx "To be frank, the number of 645Z sales is much more than our expectations, so our output capacity could not meet the demand, even today, on a worldwide basis." nice!

03-05-2015, 09:35 AM - 2 Likes	#3
monochrome Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Working From Home Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 26,276	Can I say it yet?

03-05-2015, 09:46 AM	#4
aleonx3 Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Brampton, Ontario Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,996	Very nice and interesting as well as informative interview... my impression of this is more positive than most people have given them credit for. Thanks for sharing...

03-05-2015, 09:57 AM - 2 Likes	#5
JinDesu Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: New York City Photos: Gallery Posts: 5,638	No, Pentax is doomed. Go read those threads about marketshare, or bad marketing, or whatever. Doomed!

03-05-2015, 10:03 AM	#6
psychdoc Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Bham Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 949	Very interesting tidbits from the interview. Seems like Ricoh-Pentax has a strategy! Different from the path that Ca-Nikon took but a path nevertheless. Only time will tell whether waiting for FF pricing to come down before diving in while focusing on MF and APSC was wise. Having the 645 line appears to have been a big bonus according to their unexpected sales surge with that line. Mirrorless will be the only low point. I still think the Q is not enough of a mirrorless strategy. One of these days if Olympus goes bust, they should buy the m43 division from them instead...

03-05-2015, 10:04 AM	#7
Scintilla Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2013 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 347	So it's not just the American marketing branch talking about "mobile device-oriented user interfaces" in the K-S_ line, it's straight from Global.

03-05-2015, 10:10 AM	#8
Erictator Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2011 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,345	That is seriously one of the best interviews I've read yet. The questions were well thought out, and KS seemed more forthcoming with his answers for this interviewer for some reason. I was really impressed to hear from KS the level of care and respect for the existing client base that Ricoh has put into thinking about the "existing 20 million lenses" and making sure to test all current / recent lenses for crop, etc. The future is looking brighter all the time for Ricoh / Pentax!

03-05-2015, 10:12 AM	#9
JinDesu Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: New York City Photos: Gallery Posts: 5,638	Items I thought were great: Quote: KS: Right, or the other way around. If the end user has a certain good interchangeable lens, but if that user is not informed that it's really compatible for full-frames, maybe that user would lose the chance to use their existing lenses. That's why, in both ways, this information should be very accurate. So we intend to announce the compatibility or some advice at the time of the full-frame camera's release. I think this should be our attitude as a manufacturer, to provide the service to our current users. DE: Yes. So it sounds like some DA lenses do in fact have full-frame circles, but you want to make very certain before you announce which ones, before you officially endorse them. That's very interesting. That will be good news to many Pentaxians. Quote: KS: So we have the K-series, and now the K-S series. [The K-S series], we have categorized as the innovation series. We are not [talking about it that way] outside [the company], but internally we think the K-series is for core lines like the K-3 -- the real blood or DNA of Pentax. And then the K-S1 or K-S2; with these models we wanted to attract the users who had not had interest in Pentax before, they're new. DE: Ah - they're not already Pentaxians, these are new users, yeah. KS: That's why the K-S series exists. Of course, we put the Pentax brand on this model. So that's OK, but on top of that, it has some new approaches, like Wi-Fi connectivity, or the user interface is more user-friendly. Like for movie mode [showing me the ring around the shutter button] this is Red, and then On is blue. So these mobile device-oriented user interfaces, we have implemented into the K-S1 and K-S2.

03-05-2015, 10:12 AM	#10
Stavri Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: at a Bean & Leaf Photos: Albums Posts: 1,832	Originally posted by monochrome Can I say it yet? If you know something spit it out already

03-05-2015, 10:16 AM	#11
Franc Pentaxian Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Hoevelaken Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,212	Originally posted by Stavri If you know something spit it out already no, he only want to say that PID, which isn't. On the contrary!!

03-05-2015, 10:22 AM	#12
mee Veteran Member Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 7,403	Quote: DE: Yes. So it sounds like some DA lenses do in fact have full-frame circles, but you want to make very certain before you announce which ones, before you officially endorse them. That's very interesting. That will be good news to many Pentaxians. That is interesting to me. So it seems to me, from this interview, they might not prohibit use of DA lenses with full frame circles in full frame mode.. I wonder, if true and going further, if they announce these (such as the DA 50 f/1.8) as FF capable, if the price goes up now? haha That specific lens is sharper than the FA rivals at peak sharpness (which is around f/5.6 from the reviews I've seen).. sharper than even most of the Canon L 50mm lenses. Our cheap plastic wonder. It would be a joy to use these in FF mode on the new body. ---------- Post added 03-05-15 at 11:24 AM ---------- Originally posted by Stavri If you know something spit it out already I think he is just saying he knew all along Pentax wasn't being flushed away and wanted to show everyone he was right.

03-05-2015, 10:46 AM - 1 Like	#13
normhead Pentaxian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Near Algonquin Park Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 40,451	OK so , all you nay sayers....those saying those of us saying an FF was definitely coming... don't make me hunt down your posts, how about we fess up? As the Pentax exec put it Quote: In reality, we have somehow told [Pentaxians] about our full-frame development for a long time... Some of us read it correctly, some of us said it was coming, some of us mocked everything we said. At this point, who was right.? So if you ever want me to listen to anything you have to say, ever again, you have to admit the error of your ways. So let this be the thread. After all, the first thing you have to do with having a problem, is admitting you had a problem. Really, I'm just saying "I told you so", I don't honestly expect anyone to man up and admit they were wrong. You had to know deep down in your hearts, this day was coming.

03-05-2015, 10:47 AM	#14
Winder Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Tennessee Posts: 6,617	Best interview I have ever seen from the corporate owners of the Pentax brand. Hoya was awful and the first 3 year of Ricoh ownership have all been poor interviews. I really want to see the 645 line take off. Hopefully the success will bring more investment and we will see increased production of bodies and glass.

03-05-2015, 11:03 AM	#15
pete-tarmigan Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Conception Bay South, New-fun-land Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,272	Originally posted by monochrome Can I say it yet? This interview makes it look like Ricoh has a plan! Oh, wait...hasn't somebody been saying that all along? I found his comments about the 645Z attracting professionals from "full"-frame users interesting. Did a lot of people ditch their film Mamiya RB/RZ67s, Pentax film 645s, Bronicas and Hasselblads and pick up 36mm x 24mm dSLRs? I wonder if there is any market among the pro 645Z users for the Pentax full-frame as a parallel system for certain kinds of shooting situations.