[interested_observer]

Its Oh Dark Thirty here and I just got up to get a drink of water. A couple of things come to mind here. For the professional photographers here, this can mean a difference, and thus keep them here or attract some new users to Pentax. The equipment can probably be rented in time. That is good.

For the 645 folks, a complete high speed flash system for the price of one new digital lens, that makes their entire lens library in to leaf shutters (essentially). For Pentax rather than having to engineer and produce another 2 or 3 leaf lenses, this solves the problem very nicely. Makes the 645 line even more appealing to a wider audience of potential users. For $10K to $15K you can be in, as opposed to $40K for just a body, and with adding in several leaf lenses you are easily up to perhaps $50K to $70K depending on what you need to do. All of this is also reflected in rental rates.

More than a few folks have referred to Wedding photographers - an additional draw to the FF and the 645Z. For say $16K you are in business with a 645 system, offering capabilities others can't systems match (probably to high end clients).

For the rest of us slumming here with the announcement, I also do think it is a positive, that we all benefit from. Knowingly or unknowingly (does it really matter?), Adam and everyone who posted, or read comments on this thread, provided an audience (directly or indirectly) that should have exceeded Ricoh's and the PrioLite's expectations by at least several fold. Rather than just - what did I read - 50 seats, there was probably several thousand eyes that have or will be looking at this (55K+ views at this point over about 3 days). I think that proves several things - especially to Ricoh. There is a very hungry body of users there that are starved for anything. The forum as a user group has legs in terms of amplifying what ever message - and very quickly. Perhaps some marketing is in order. I am thinking that Ricoh should be thinking how they can effectively present to the forum their FF rollout and future products. I would rather not want to go through another weekend of hype - but it was an interesting process to watch.

Rather than beat this event with negativity - the thread has pulled out the positive aspects of it, pretty quickly - all in its own way. I have to think Ricoh, PrioLite and Adam should be pretty pleased with the results. If it attracts a wider audience in the professional group of users, it really does benefit all of us here - both in the present and in the future.

Going back to bed...

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Last edited by interested_observer; 06-09-2015 at 07:22 AM.

[kenspo]

Could You tell if there will be 85/1.8?

No..new primes are not due before 2016.

[Winder]

I've just put an extra question mark behind their FF promises.

These lights had nothing to do with Ricoh. They were not involved with the project or the announcement. A marketing manager from Ricoh was on the call, and he was asking questions about how the system worked.

[gorme]

Could You tell if there will be 85/1.8?

Why just f/1.8 ? The film era one was a 1.4 ? I dream of a new 50mm f/1.2 (back in SMC-M age) and a 85mm f/1.2 would definitely be great

[D1N0]

Why just f/1.8 ? The film era one was a 1.4 ? I dream of a new 50mm f/1.2 (back in SMC-M age) and a 85mm f/1.2 would definitely be great

Yeah 1.8 and Pentax is doomed

[Class A]

Regarding action, I disagree with Class A. You obtain the same image as shot at e.g., 1/4000s or 1/8000s w/o flash. Cameras with a 1/320s shutter (like the D800) produce little enough of that effect for not being any concern.

I did not state that one would get different images at 1/4000s, etc. compared to not using any flash.

Perhaps we still disagree on what constitutes "appropriately stopping action".

I don't regard the method of moving a slit over an imager, resulting in a "rolling shutter" effect, i.e., producing a mixture of exposures from a period of 1/180s or even longer, as "appropriately stopping action". HSS flash photography does not improve on this method, hence my statement.

I may have exaggerated when saying that using shutter speeds higher than the sync speed do not provide better "action stopping power" because indeed motion blur will be reduced accordingly, but motion distortion will not. For professional results, I'd therefore only consider ultra-short flash photography as an appropriate means for truly stopping action and HSS does not accomplish that.

This is, of course, not to say that HSS does not have its usages -- it certainly does -- but I find the emphasis on action photography to be ill-guided.

[derekkite]

The average salary in Romania is around 800Euro (or 900$) per month. Imagine how many of us will consider this strobe a game changer, at this price.

So if you have a business in Romania you don't invest $2000 for tools?

This isn't consumer stuff, neither is the 645z. Ricoh sells lots of expensive stuff to businesses.

[LFLee]

So ... this basically eliminate all those years of saying pentax flash system suck, not suitable for studio, etc.

Good news indeed.

Now wait for some "revolutionary AF system" announcement and the FF will sell like hotcakes.

Thanks Ricoh!

[Dan Rentea]

So if you have a business in Romania you don't invest $2000 for tools?

This isn't consumer stuff, neither is the 645z. Ricoh sells lots of expensive stuff to businesses.

Derekkite, I was talking about us, the ones which uses K-5 or K3/K3 II. And you need to buy at least 2 of Priolite strobes in order to have some better option when comes to on locations shooting.

When they launched a news like that "This is about sharpness, resolution, speed, fidelity, and so much more. It's a game changer" hopes are up high for the most of pentaxian, with APS-C cameras. How many people from this forum are shooting with 645Z?

[mee]

So ... this basically eliminate all those years of saying pentax flash system suck, not suitable for studio, etc.

Not really. This is more of a patch/workaround than a full featured solution that should start in camera and be obtainable by many more than the few with thousands to spend on lighting without... blinking.

---------- Post added 06-09-15 at 09:11 AM ----------

Btw, Adam, are you ready for your noogie yet?

[reh321]

My last post on this thread was back on page 40 - since then I've gotten a good night's sleep, and new clarity on what I was trying to express back there. I never expected a true revolutionary announcement - I always expected that the title was mostly hype. But, when on page 33, we saw

The subject of the announcement is......... A new Strobe System. Not from Ricoh.

my pulse quickened a tad. The last time we saw so much excitement/activity was when the K-3ii was unveiled, and I got a series of quick tutorials on Pentax flash from several members who are passionately attached to their on-board flashes. I can now see from their usage patterns how the K-3ii presents problems. I see this as a problem because I have been assuming that anything new for the full-frame camera, apart from sensor size, would be implemented first on the K-3ii so the full-frame roll-out will be as smooth as possible. Thus, Pentax really really needs an AF202FGZ, a flash with the size (or even smaller) of the newly-announced AF201FG, but able to function as master. Thus, my pulse quickened when I saw those words from Winder ... but that all died quickly when I went to their web site and saw the size of their stuff ... this will have very limited usefulness.

Yes, I am sure that this will be great for 645Z users, and therefore good for Pentax, but I really don't see any "trickle down" benefit for the rest of us, nor do I see this as something that will ensure the future of Pentax. As we went from film to digital, many of us went from full-frame to APS, and many professionals went from medium format to full-frame. Thus the K-3ii and the upcoming full-frame product are much more important to the future of Pentax than the 645Z line is, and a greater source of "trickle down" all the way down the line. I don't mean to minimize the 645Z line, nor this announcement, but the announcement came in way way way below my lowered expectations. In the short run, I guess this excitement was even good for the Forum ... but too many cases like this and announcements here could even begin to lose credibility, and everyone should hope that the launch of the full-frame camera(s), regardless of name, will be a time of true excitement, not a time when people are looking around for the "catch".

[Class A]

So ... this basically eliminate all those years of saying pentax flash system suck, not suitable for studio, etc.

No, the Pentax flash system proper still sucks as it hasn't been changed.

The good news is about a third-party solution which improves on -- but does not revolutionise -- what has been offered by Cactus, Godox, and Yongnuo before.

[jon404]

We might also ask the government to de-mothball a few older RF-84 Thunderflash reconnaisance planes, that taxpayers could schedule on demand, sort of like Uber cars, to arrive over a wedding and at a given moment and drop brilliant magnesium flares over the excited wedding party.

I think the sense of this announcement is that pros can get into high-speed powerful flash now for a LOT less money than yesterday. But portable? Yes... if you are on an outdoor shoot with a couple of helpers to carry the Priolites...

[mamethot]

These lights had nothing to do with Ricoh. They were not involved with the project or the announcement. A marketing manager from Ricoh was on the call, and he was asking questions about how the system worked.

Indeed.

And thinking about it that whole announcement might have taken Ricoh by surprise...

[jsherman999]

What strikes me is how *few* Pentaxians are affected by this.

Those who use strobe lighting, worry about sync speed and leaf lenses to the point where the current offerings don't quite cut it. I think there are more Pentaxians currently in Peru trying to get shots of the Andean Condor.

NEW LIFE-CHANGING ANNOUNCEMENT: Andean Condor distractor array! The Andean Condor is rendered stunned by perfectly-timed flashes matched to their cycladian sub-rhythms! Get your shot, even with the 55-300! Pentax: We change lives. That's what we do.

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