[reh321]

Lack of new products? They presented 5 new cameras - two of them pushing the edge of the technology envelope, a new DA* lens that so far is a jaw dropper according to those who have received it - and a reworked HD overlay on a proven FA lens. How do you rate that ‘lack of new products’?

In the next two years there will be at least one FF, one 645 and one APSC - all with major tech advances. They schedule things one-at-a-time due to their production limitations.

There have been no new Pentax cameras in over a year.

[monochrome]

There have been no new Pentax cameras in over a year.

The K-1ll was released March, 2018. The DA*50/1.4 was May. Then they did holiday production.

One thing at a time. Wait for tomorrow’s interview posts by Mistral75

[reh321]

In the next two years there will be at least one FF, one 645 and one APSC - all with major tech advances. They schedule things one-at-a-time due to their production limitations.

There is nothing in this sentence that disagrees with my expectations.

[reh321]

Wait for tomorrow’s interview posts by Mistral75

That is fair. We already know that many are disappointed by the news from yesterday's interview that the 'K-3ii replacement' is scheduled for next year

[Mistral75]

(...) They schedule things one-at-a-time due to their production limitations.

It's not production that's the bottleneck and dictates the pace of new Pentax products. It's R&D spent, itself determined by the 'positive operating income' constraint and the amounts allocated to other lineups (Theta mainly).

[D1N0]

I have no real interest in aps-c anymore. I like full frame much better.
I think the K-1 is my last Pentax, unless I replace it with another one or Ricoh goes mirrorless. Mirrorless is now at a point it can be a real alternative and since three other companies have joined in the full frame mirrorless game there is also choice and there will be great deals. The K-1 is good enough to shoot with as long as it lasts. It still beats anything on the market with sensor performance. I inadvertently under exposed this shot 5+ stops. I thought my shutter had died. Lifted it in lightroom:


I would only be getting mirrorless to be able to focus and frame manually with an evf. (and get my hands on some legacy glass I cannot use on the K-1).If ricoh wants to keep me they will have to go mirrorless. Maybe join L-mount and make a prettier and more compact alternative for the ungainly Lumix.

[Drinkkeri]

Im glad they scrapped the fisheye zoom as in my opinion it's a novelty lens at the best.

Now we just need the announced lenses to hit the shelves.

[gazonk]

Im glad they scrapped the fisheye zoom as in my opinion it's a novelty lens at the best.

I’m not so happy for that, fisheye is by no means just a novelty.

But then, if I remember right, @kenspo has made some really great shots with a Samyang fisheye on a K-1, so the need for a Pentax fisheye is not urgent.

[Ishpuini]

Im glad they scrapped the fisheye zoom as in my opinion it's a novelty lens at the best.

Now we just need the announced lenses to hit the shelves.

Actually, among my lenses that I still frequently use, the DA10-17 is one I purchased the longest ago. All others that I used when I got it, have been replaced in the mean time. The DA10-17 is a small lens (as was the FF F17-28FE) and as such always seems to find a place in my bag. There's always a handful of shots that it gets used for, generally keepers. Note that I *always* make more images with the other lenses in the bag (though at a much lower keeper rate), but I consider the DA10-17 a vital part of my kit.

Well... to me no fisheye zoom is just yet another reason why I won't go FF...

Wim

[northcoastgreg]

The DA10-17 is a small lens (as was the FF FA17-28FE) and as such always seems to find a place in my bag. There's always a handful of shots that it gets used for, generally keepers. Note that I *always* make more images with the other lenses in the bag (though at a much lower keeper rate), but I consider the DA10-17 a vital part of my kit.

I have a similar experience with the DA 10-17. Since purchasing one in 2010, I haven't used it all that often, but when I do, it results in some of my best, or at least most interesting, shots. While I haven't necessarily sold more images from that lens than other lenses, in terms of percentage of images sold per lens, the DA 10-17 is easily my top ranked lens.

Despite the lack of a DFA fisheye zoom, I did end up acquiring a K-1 last August. Since I sensed it would be a while before we'd ever see a DFA fisheye zoom, I went ahead and purchased an F 17-28 which, while not a particularly sharp lens, renders beautifully and produces images of beautiful contrast and color.

[superdave]

That is fair. We already know that many are disappointed by the news from yesterday's interview that the 'K-3ii replacement' is scheduled for next year

Actually it's a good news, it mean that it will be a huge improvement.

[JPT]

In the CP+ on-stage interview between Kimio Tanaka and Ricoh engineers, Tanaka went through the items on the roadmap one by one, trying to get more information.

Having seen the video of the Thursday session, as well as the one I attended myself, I feel confident that I’ve understood what was said, even though it was rather vague and incomplete.

A lot of this was the interviewer throwing out numbers and the product planning guy reacting with with either denials or positively or something unbetween. There’s a lot of scope for misunderstanding, but this is what I understood.

DFA/1.4 - Is at the same stage of development as the DFA 50/1.4 was when shown at CP+. That means launch is still probably a year away. The mock-up at the booth didn’t have glass in it. The lens is being designed to the same standards as the DFA 50mm.

DFA 70-200/4 - Has been delayed for some unspecified reason. The key characteristics of this lens will be that it is small and lightweight.

Wide angle star lens - From positioning in the roadmap, I was under the impression that this would be 35mm, but apparently 24mm is a possibility.

Ultra wide angle lens - They are planning around 20mm for this one.

The longer telezoom - Expect 70-300.

Fisheye zoom - This one has been put aside for now.

DA standard zoom - Looks like a replacement for the DA* 16-50/2.8 is the most likely scenario. From the position in the roadmap, I would assume this is coming first.

Please realize my understanding is not perfect, and this is compounded by the fact that the speakers were being deliberately vague.

Another thing is that Tanaka mentioned Ricoh has developed a hardened version of its Aerobright nano coating that can be applied to many more surfaces of lenses. The current coating is fragile and limited to certain internal surfaces apparently. I don’t think he was supposed to mention this actually, based on the glances.

Finally, one question from the audience was whether the FA Limited lenses would get updated coatings like the FA 35/2. They said that they had certainly considered this, but they are very concerned about maintaining the character of those lenses. I guess this means they tried it with HD coating and didn’t like the results.

[sbh]

Thank you for your efforts, I enjoy your posts a lot.

[Tony Growden]

So no Teleconverter for Full Frame in list

[Paul the Sunman]

So no Teleconverter for Full Frame in list

I'm starting to get the impression that teleconverters of a standard commensurate with the recent lenses may be beyond them, and so they may not appear.

How good are the Canon and Nikon TCs (relative to cropping)? This is an actual question, not rhetorical.