[JimmyDranox]

Yesterday I have said that Ricoh rarely do advertising. It seems that they want to contradict me. Last night I received an email from Ricoh US with an advertising for Pentax Q camera. Not very impressive, IMO, but that's not all. This morning I enter the Imaging Resource to read an article about the new 42Mp sensor from sony, and to my surprise, I was encountered by not one but two advertisings, one for Pentax 645, and another for Ricoh Theta.

Maybe things are beginning to change for better.

[Dan Rentea]

Yeah, FF camera coming and two new FF, professional level lenses shown. More on the lens road map. Innovative cameras (whether we like them or not) released. Just slipping away.....

It is a very good news, but what if I don't have 2.500$ to pay for a professional lens?
I would love in my bag a D FA 24-70mm f2.8 and a D FA 70-200m f2.8, but as an amateur photographer to spend 4-5.000$ on 2 lenses it's not an option. I'm not sure that even 10% of the people from this forum are shooting professionaly with their Pentax cameras, in order tu justify buying top lenses. The inexistent marketing from Ricoh it is one of many reason why third party manufacturers are not interested in Pentax.

Look at the new lenses from Tamron and Sigma (24-70mm, 70-200mm, and those telephoto lenses), they are quite good and you don't have to sell an arm to buy them.

I also have a Godox AD180 flash (it is known also under the name Genesis Reporter 180, or Cheetah AD180) which is very good, but there is no trigger from Godox (or other manufacturer) to work in HSS mode. But there are many triggers which work in HSS mode for Canon and Nikon. And this is sad.

Without support from third party manufacturers Pentax will never compete with Canon/Nikon and Sony, even if the new full is frame around the corner.

For those reasons I said that if I will leave Pentax, it will be because I don't have less expensive alternatives (lenses and triggers) from third party manufacturers.

[Rondec]

There is no reason for doom and gloom.

My feeling is that Ricoh probably is selling as much as they comfortably can without increasing the size of their production facilities. If they started advertising more heavily, it would be a double edged sword, in that it would probably increase sales somewhat, but it would also pressure them to increase production at a time when they can't do that without opening a new plant, hiring new employees -- all of which would have considerable expense. It must be understood that Pentax can turn a nice profit without achieving nearly the sales of Canon/Nikon, while Canon and Nikon have excess capacity that has driven the prices of their gear down due to over production.

My expectation would be that over time we will see increased support from Sigma and Tamron, but that isn't really Pentax's concern. They would rather have all of the full frame lens sales going their way, rather than sending business to third party companies.

Certainly, as first released, full frame will be a top end option and quite expensive. APS-C is still the place to begin if you don't have a lot of money, but still want excellent quality. There was price watch listing of the K50 for just 277 dollars a couple of weeks ago -- an amazing price for a camera that has the same sensor as the K5. Having full frame in the lineup will give another selling point to lower end cameras as an option "to move up" if folks ever want to (most won't).

Maybe it is because I remember all too clearly the dark days under Hoya when new products dried up, but I see only positives at this point. Sure, Pentax could advertise a little more. Sure, they could have a little better product placement. But in the end, they are selling cameras, releasing new gear, and investing in the brand in a way that makes me believe that Pentax has bright days ahead.

[beachgardener]

As they say the first FF is aimed at the pro market, i do certainly hope they release a lesser and cheaper FF model, a simple camera. The next apsc flagship should be a beauty

[Shanti]

Alice Cooper from earlier this evening. Mark II with 16-50mm F/2.8

wow he's still Alive!! or is he -- maybe a PS shot could of been done!! I guess Norwegians will listen to anything heh.. like 1970 he was cool but 2015mmm
still good shot, but I wonder how much better FF will be

[Dan Rentea]

Maybe it is because I remember all too clearly the dark days under Hoya when new products dried up, but I see only positives at this point. Sure, Pentax could advertise a little more. Sure, they could have a little better product placement. But in the end, they are selling cameras, releasing new gear, and investing in the brand in a way that makes me believe that Pentax has bright days ahead.

Let's hope so!
In terms of image quality I can stay side by side with Nikon or Canon cameras without any problem. My K-3 II is pretty awesome...

But if Ricoh wants to target PRO photographers with their new cameras, they will have to invest not only in developing new lenses, but they have to:
- resolve the flash system (sync speed more than 1/180 in normal mode and they need triggers that will work in HSS also)
- offer lenses for rent
- better service (it takes too long until a camera is being fixed and until it returns to the owner if it has some operational problems)
- better advertising

Otherwise Ricoh aims only the PRO photographer who already have Pentax gear.

Anyway, since I just bought K-3 II, I'm willing to wait another 3-4 years and see what is going to happen.

[Class A]

- resolve the flash system (sync speed more than 1/180 in normal mode and they need triggers that will work in HSS also)

Independently of whether Ricoh gets their act together with the outdated flash system, Cactus have announced a future HSS-capable version of their V6 radio trigger:

"..., we are working on version that will support HSS and the current V6 will be supported by a simple firmware update."

[Rondec]

Let's hope so!
In terms of image quality I can stay side by side with Nikon or Canon cameras without any problem. My K-3 II is pretty awesome...

But if Ricoh wants to target PRO photographers with their new cameras, they will have to invest not only in developing new lenses, but they have to:
- resolve the flash system (sync speed more than 1/180 in normal mode and they need triggers that will work in HSS also)
- offer lenses for rent
- better service (it takes too long until a camera is being fixed and until it returns to the owner if it has some operational problems)
- better advertising

Otherwise Ricoh aims only the PRO photographer who already have Pentax gear.

Anyway, since I just bought K-3 II, I'm willing to wait another 3-4 years and see what is going to happen.

It seems like Ricoh has a professional service that is available in the US that gives faster turn around on repairs. There are also several shops now that rent out Pentax equipment.

The flash thing is addressable with the Cactus triggers, which have come a long way over the years and are really a decent option.

Clearly there is room for growth and improvement, but I don't think Ricoh is stupid either. They have broken down the holes in the Pentax line up and niches that they believe they can target and now they are implementing a plan to become a more significant player in the digital camera sphere. It will take time, but I believe that they are OK with playing a long game and having slow but consistent gains in market share over time.

[jatrax]

But if Ricoh wants to target PRO photographers with their new cameras, they will have to invest not only in developing new lenses, but they have to: - resolve the flash system (sync speed more than 1/180 in normal mode and they need triggers that will work in HSS also) - offer lenses for rent - better service (it takes too long until a camera is being fixed and until it returns to the owner if it has some operational problems) - better advertising Otherwise Ricoh aims only the PRO photographer who already have Pentax gear.

I think they have made it quite clear they are targeting pro photographers regardless of current gear affiliation. Kenspo was a Nikon shooter before they recruited him.

Your list is all true, but expecting them to wave a magic wand and recover from 20 years of neglect, poor management and bad decisions is unrealistic. I am confident that Ricoh has things on a very good path particularly compared to where Pentax was just 5 years ago.

Maybe it is because I remember all too clearly the dark days under Hoya when new products dried up, but I see only positives at this point. Sure, Pentax could advertise a little more. Sure, they could have a little better product placement. But in the end, they are selling cameras, releasing new gear, and investing in the brand in a way that makes me believe that Pentax has bright days ahead.

+1 well said.

Independently of whether Ricoh gets their act together with the outdated flash system, Cactus have announced a future HSS-capable version of their V6 radio trigger: "..., we are working on version that will support HSS and the current V6 will be supported by a simple firmware update."

That is very good news, particularly about it being possible via firmware update.

[Class A]

That is very good news, particularly about it being possible via firmware update.

Firmware updates for the V6 have added numerous new pieces of functionality but I'm pretty sure in the case of native HSS support, the V6 will just be compatible to the new model after a firmware update. It won't support native HSS itself.