[reh321]

There are three differences to the Cactus system:

1. HSS is possible without using an HSS-capable flash for triggering or using remote shutter release.
2. The lights are a lot more powerful.
3. The prices are much higher.

Before we start pouring too much scorn on this, we might reflect that Ricoh sold almost twice as many 645Zs as they anticipated, on release. Anything that makes the 645Z (and maybe the forthcoming 35FF body) more attractive to professional users has to be good for the longevity and development of future Pentax camera systems, including the ones the majority of us use.

Granted, it's a collaborative venture with a lighting system maker, intended to bring a new feature to some Pentax cameras. Perhaps it will find its way into future Pentax bodies: after all, we started with the FLUcard on the K-3 and now we have built-in Wi-Fi on the K-S2. Catastrophise no more, though some will, sadly.

Edit: the first few reactions posted while I was composing this seem to agree with me. Good start!

That is all great ... but most regulars here don't use the 645Z and don't need a large flash solution to our small problems. We don't even appreciate the problems this solution addresses.

I'm thinking that this wasted a lot of time of those of us who aren't anywhere near the target audience, so it would have been nice to target the pitch, and the pitch of the pitch, to a more limited group.

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Last edited by reh321; 06-08-2015 at 07:55 PM.

[Imp]

The Ricoh marketing manager was in the meeting, but only to talk about how the product benefited Ricoh. It doesn't appear that Ricoh was part of any of the design or collaboration.

That seems really weird to me. If Ricoh isn't involved, why would this company remain attached to Pentax medium format... why not expand into hasselblad, phase one, canikon fullframe...

[Qwntm]

And to think Pentax doesn't even have a flash unit 1/3rd as good as a Nikon SB-910... Particularly painful when I did a commercial shoot today with studio monolights, a Metz 58 Af 2 on my K-3 and a Nikon SB-910 as a back/fill light set to OPTICAL TRIGGER in the SU-4 mode. I don't even have a Nikon Digital camera anymore and the SB-910 is useful. There's a lesson there somewhere. makes me really consider picking up a D810 again. Just sayin'

[Winder]

That seems really weird to me. If Ricoh isn't involved, why would this company remain attached to Pentax medium format... why not expand into hasselblad, phase one, canikon fullframe...

Hassy and P1 both have leaf lenses. Pentax has a higher shutter speed and can achieve a higher speed with their system. The 645Z can sync to 1/4000 of a second with this system. I think Alex Munoz has been working with the company and Alex happens to be a Pentax 645z user. He says he has been involved in the development of the system from the beginning. He is a Pentax forum user and posts on the MF board. I'm sure his inbox is full right now.

[Poit]

So is this unique to Ricoh/Pentax, or can it be used with any make? It doesn't really give Pentax a 'unique selling point' if it's available to all makes.

Either way, I think it's positive that one of the draw-backs of the Pentax system (and particularly the MF system) has been addressed by this system. Even if it's priced for the pro market, anything the generates more sales for Pentax benefits all of us in the long-run (i.e. more money in the coffers to develop new toys ).

I think it was a bit melodramatic to say everything changes with this announcement, though....

[Craig66]

Is that it....... No free beer ??... I didn't win lotto ... Nothing has changed !!

[Winder]

So is this unique to Ricoh/Pentax, or can it be used with any make?

Either way, I think it's positive that one of the draw-backs of the Pentax system (and particularly the MF system) has been addressed. Even if it's priced for the pro market, anything the generates more sales for Pentax benefits all of us in the long-run (i.e. more money in the coffers to develop new toys).

They make Canon & Nikon systems, but Pentax is the only medium format brand that is works with.

[jeryst]

Kind of funny to me. Years ago. Dean Kamen announced he was revealing a product that would revolutionize personal transportation. People speculated on everything from personal jet packs to Star Trek transporters.
Turned out to be the Segway. A high priced, niche product, that wound up mostly being used by mall cops, and did little for the average user. Big letdown.

Same thing here. May be good for the pros, but of no use at all to guys like me who cant afford it.

From now on, I'm never going to bother waiting for "Ground breaking", "Change everything", "Life will change as you know it" announcements, because they never live up to the hype, and are never worth it to the little guy.

[RobA_Oz]

That is all great ... but most regulars here don't use the 645Z and don't need a large flash solution to our small problems. We don't even appreciate the problems this solution addresses.

I'm thinking that this wasted a lot of time of those of us who aren't anywhere near the target audience, so it would have been nice to target the pitch, and the pitch of the pitch, to a more limited group.

HSS is one of the issues that some people here used to grizzle about, at length.

To paraphrase what I said in the rest of my post, which you seem to have missed, anything that benefits professional users will likely move across to the other systems over time, and the fact is that the more professional photographers are using Pentax systems, the better for the rest of us, on a couple of levels.

The greater waste of time was probably associated with the effort expended in this thread on bagging something that wasn't even known about before the presentation, rather than the half-hour it involved. Nobody forced anybody to watch or participate, let alone comment. We could have all waited for the summary, but some folks were having too good a time.

---------- Post added 9th Jun 2015 at 01:48 PM ----------

Kind of funny to me. Years ago. Dean Kamen announced he was revealing a product that would revolutionize personal transportation. People speculated on everything from personal jet packs to Star Trek transporters.
Turned out to be the Segway. A high priced, niche product, that wound up mostly being used by mall cops, and did little for the average user. Big letdown....

You obviously haven't seen how many Segways are used for tourist party groups in Europe - they're quite a boon for people getting around the narrow streets in the older cities, especially for people with mobility issues.

[Winder]

Same thing here. May be good for the pros, but of no use at all to guys like me who cant afford it.

From now on, I'm never going to bother waiting for "Ground breaking", "Change everything", "Life will change as you know it" announcements, because they never live up to the hype, and are never worth it to the little guy.

If the lights are well made and function as well as advertised, then they will be picked up by the high end medium format crowd. This opens the door for the 645z to be used by a lot of high end users and the increased exposure and demand will get the brand into more stores who service those pros. If the system actually works, it could help sell a lot of Pentax cameras and raise brand recognition. Eventually technology like this will work its way down. Over the long run I think all Pentax users will benefit.

[Zygonyx]

PRIOLITE PENTAX HSS SOLUTION


1/4000th Flash sync on Medium Format



PRIOLITE is proud to announce its Hot Sync Solution for Pentax cameras. Pentax users are now able to synchronize their cameras with the help of the Priolite Hot Sync System, and use Priolite’s high-powered Li-Ion battery operated strobes at up to 1/8000th of a second. Utilizing the entire range of possible shutter speeds with the Priolite Hot Sync System allows photographers to shoot with wide-open apertures in sunlit environments, freezing motion of fast moving objects, and enables them to create images difficult or impossible to capture before. The ability to remotely control high-powered battery operated studio strobes anywhere between 17 w/s and up to 1000 w/s per light with the Priolite Remote Control opens up endless possibilities for creatives all around the world.

Thanks Bob, i am very happy to get my firts Priolite equipements 1 year from now, i new this small familial Enterprise had that kind of innovative power

[fuent104]

It is cheapis than LS lenses. It's just another option. ND filters are a solution to most of the problems LF lenses solve, too.

[Class A]

N.B., HSS is not really suitable for anything moving fast.

As the duration of the entire exposure is still the sync-speed, any fast moving object is subject to the "rolling shutter" effect, i.e., will be distorted according to its motion.

Fast action can only be faithfully captured by using short flash pulses. HSS is hence good for reducing ambient light by increasing shutter speed, but does not provide "action stopping power".

[Adam]

Alex's exclusive first look at the system is now live on the homepage:
Priolite: Sync Speeds Up To 1/8000s With Pentax - Third-Party Announcements | PentaxForums.com

I was not aware of this up-front but for the sake of clarification, this is a third-party announcement of a product that supports current Pentax DSLRs. Pretty exciting news for professionals shooting with the 645Z.

[LaurenOE]

So glad I rode my bicycle and didn't rush back to attend this.
Losing weight is more beneficial to me, than this new system.
Now back to our regularly scheduled broadcast(s).