[starjedi]

---------- Post added 02-24-16 at 10:19 PM ----------

Thank you very much!

[timautin]

Thanks @OoKU ! Any word on this slide? I guess that:
- full round: fully supported on K-1, plus lens profile correction
- round: fully supported on K-1
- triangle: supported on K-1 when stopped down
- square: not supported

Can you confirm?

[Simen1]

The phone company Oppo might be inspired by Pentax to develop sensor stabilization in their camera modules.

Introducing SmartSensor - All About OPPO - OPPO Community

You Tube

You Tube

[ogl]

it seems that 85mm f1.8 tamron is coming....

I don't know if this "tamronization" of Pentax brand is good or not.

85/1.4. not 1.8 IMO

[rawr]

I think we all need to step back a minute

Good advice. Pls do.

I suggest you take up your issues directly with CRK or the ACCC, if the matter troubles you so.

[Doundounba]

Thanks @OoKU ! Any word on this slide? I guess that:
- full round: fully supported on K-1, plus lens profile correction
- round: fully supported on K-1
- triangle: supported on K-1 when stopped down
- square: not supported

Can you confirm?

I'd guess more like:
- full round: fully supported on FF mode with lens profile correction
- round: supported in crop mode, but covers full frame
- triangle: supported in crop mode, vignettes slightly in FF mode
- square: supported in crop mode, vignettes heavily in FF mode

[Pepe Guitarra]

it seems that 85mm f1.8 tamron is coming....

I don't know if this "tamronization" of Pentax brand is good or not.

WELL, we want low prices. Tamron delivers!!

[normhead]

Until I've heard that Pentax employees are no longer in their own buildings, and have merged completely with the Ricoh camera division, there is a Pentax, and a Pentax corporate culture. When Ricoh and Pentax product are being made on the same production lines in the same facilities then you can say Pentax is just a brand. Right now, I suspect it's a little more than that. I've seen no evidence of Pentax plants being merged or closed or the they are operating in any way they didn't before. For sure there are new faces representing the company and I'm pretty sure there is no more separate Pentax marketing division, but apart from that, ti's the same old Pentax.

---------- Post added 02-25-16 at 09:03 AM ----------

WELL, we want low prices. Tamron delivers!!

And which part of Jun Hirakawa now works at Tamron is it these guys don't get? DO you really think you can ditch your best and most famous lens designer, bring in a bunch of Hoya, Canon or Nikon lens designers and still be Pentax? If your, a real Pentax guy and a fan of the 77 et. al. you'll check out Jun's designs. He's more Pentax than these new guys. When the new guys have produced one single lens as loved as the 77 ltd. they can then become the new face of Pentax. Until then the face of Pentax works at Tamron.

The new guys are doing a fine job of "what everyone else does." Jun did, "Pentax personality."

Am I a Pentax fan or a Jun Hirasawa fan? I never had to decide before Hoya, now I'm not sure. But if Jun produces an update 85 over at Tamron, I sure hope Pentax is smart enough to pick it up. IN fact it wouldn't surprise me at a ll if they paid Tamron to design it as a way of retaining Jun's services, even though he's flown the coup.

[Erictator]

Funny that Ricoh didn't have that sort of expertise- I bought a new Ricoh Singlex SLR, virtually a dead copy of the Pentax Spotmatic, which was concurrent, but the Ricoh was cheaper, though not as nicely made. Good camera though. 1969? not sure.
So they definitely have made SLRs before. Still, Pentax have specialised for longer.
And haven't Ricoh subbed for a lot of other firms? Anyway, the main thing is, they are promoting and advancing Pentax well, I reckon, and I'm temped to go for a K-1.

Oddly enough, I had a Ricoh Singlex back when I was in "collector mode"... funny thing is, it had a Nikon F lens mount! Turns out it was made by Mamiya for both Ricoh as the Singlex and Nikon as the Nikkorex.

Ricoh embraced the m42/Practica and R-K mount long before this recent buy out, albeit some with the "pin" that might leave it stuck on your Pentax longer than you wanted.

Camera makers over "there" are probably a lot more practical about how they conceive partnerships and brand loyalty. I didn't bother to look it up, but I bet there was somebody high up at Ricoh who had a family member or college buddy working across the street for the "other guys" and deals were made, just like happens here in the states. Business is business, no matter where you go. What the marketing arm does in the end is what we get to perceive as the face of the company we become familiar with.

Go to a restaurant, you could have the best cook back in the kitchen, but if you have a lousy waiter/waitress, it will ruin your whole experience eating there.


Pentax engineers were always the great cooks, who you could tell loved their job and being innovative. Their taskmasters came and went over the years, but you could tell who was still doing the cooking.

Eric

[monochrome]

Jim Malcolm's first job with Ricoh when he came over from Sony was to integrate Pentax into the Ricoh business process. In one of his first interviews he stated the philosophies were at odds and the employees entrenched in their processes - and it took significantly longer to merge the corporate operations than anticipated. Clearly, Ricoh brought to the table more modern, productive manufacturing and operating processes than Pentax. Hoya also encountered this problem in the operations they targeted. As an operating company Pentax Corp. had not kept up, which is part of the reason it could be acquired in a hostile takeover at a value price.

None us knows what actual changes have occurred inside Pentax manufacturing facilities, surely there have been process changes. For clean-sheet design products, process changes are engineered into camera and lens designs. To the extent K-1 is clean-sheet process design it is Ricoh. To the extent it is legacy Pentax process design it is Pentax.

I've lived through this. My company was acquired. My division was the jewel in the crown. The new owner systematically dismembered the internal processes, flattened the personnel structure, installed their own internal processes amd people, but kept the core internal science and external brand que's. From my perspective, though the name was continued, my original company no longer exists.

[normhead]

Your experience may or may not be relevant.

It might have happened that way at Pentax/Ricoh, it may not have.

[rangercarp]

This kind of collaboration happens in most industries - automotive springs immediately to mind. Some high end Jaguar cars are fitted with engines from Ford (3.0 V6 and 5.0 V8), for example.

I don't think it counts as collaboration when one company is a subsidiary of the other, as Jaguar was to ford for 20 years (sold off in 2009).

[fromunderthebridge]

*Ahem* I believe it is supposed to be spelled Zuul.

My apologies, I guess my ancient Sumerian is a bit rusty at the moment. *tips hat*

On another note, the news threads are really a moving target at the moment. Two pages already since morning.

[Franky2step]

I am wondering about Pentax K-1 pricing for Canadians. You can preorder the K-1 in the US for $1799 or $2499 Canadian. That is a 40% premium, reflecting the abysmal decline in our Cdn petro dollar. However, Fuji's new X-Pro2 can be preordered in the US for $1699 vs $1899 Cdn, a roughly 13% premium. Just doesn't make sense to me but thanks, Fuji, for doing us Canadians a real favour.

[BigMackCam]

I am wondering about Pentax K-1 pricing for Canadians. You can preorder the K-1 in the US for $1799 or $2499 Canadian. That is a 40% premium, reflecting the abysmal decline in our Cdn petro dollar. However, Fuji's new X-Pro2 can be preordered in the US for $1699 vs $1899 Cdn, a roughly 13% premium. Just doesn't make sense to me but thanks, Fuji, for doing us Canadians a real favour.

I agree that it reflects the decline in the Canadian dollar, but - since the currency itself is devalued against the US dollar - it isn't a 40% premium over the price. It's almost exactly the same price taking into account the current exchange rate. What's more surprising is that the Fuji is - in real terms - heavily discounted in Canada. Maybe Fujifilm locked in a futures or options contract to offset potential devaluation of the Canadian Dollar...