[thibs]

Of course, as usual. Sadly.

[Mikesul]

Rumor sites have little to offer.

[thibs]

Rumor sites have little to offer.

They sometimes have in completely different subjects than Photo but on the photo topic, I agree I never found anything useful.

[lytrytyr]

Actually, It's kind of interesting to see that Pentax Rumors reported this information including my screw-up with Tokina in the product name, while attributing it to Nokishita. It indicates that they just copy-paste information from this site with no fact-checking.

Map-makers used to produce maps with deliberate errors, so they could tell who was stealing from them. So now you are free to reveal that the "Tokina" in your post was just one of those copyright-violation tell-tales.

[JPT]

Pentax has announced this new kit with the K-3 III and the 20-40 lens for the Japanese market in a black and silver variant. There's nothing in the announcement to suggest it is Japan only, so I guess it is likely to be available elsewhere in due course.

(In Japanese) ?PENTAX K-3 Mark III 20-40 Limited ???????????????RICOH IMAGING

It's not clear yet what the price will be, because it just says "open price". If it weren't for the fact that I bought the 20-40 last year, I'd find this kit quite an attractive package.

[DamienW]

It looks like there will soon be an official kit with the K-3 III and the DA 20-40 Limited (black or silver). This should sweeten the deal for some people.

Nice one...that will be a good kit!

I look forward to the monochrome version

[JPT]

It's confirmed that the official price of the new kit is 299,800 yen compared to 249,800 yen for the the K-3 III body kit. That's what you'd pay to buy from from Ricoh directly, but it's likely to be somewhat cheaper from other retailers. So it works out about $100 cheaper than paying 63,310 yen for the lens as a separate purchase.

[reh321]

They sometimes have in completely different subjects than Photo but on the photo topic, I agree I never found anything useful.

When the K-3iii first came out, I learned about it’s focusing here, right here in this section.
I found that to be very interesting and useful, even though I don’t expect to ever afford a K-3iii.

[i_trax]

I never linked Kenko with Tokina in the past but perhaps it is the same brand?

?????????,KENKO???? ?????,??????400mmF8NIIS | ??????????????????????

The price is set for ~ US$262

---------- Post added 12-18-21 at 04:13 ----------

?????? 400mm F8 N II S | Kenko | ?????????

[RobA_Oz]

I never linked Kenko with Tokina in the past but perhaps it is the same brand?

?????????,KENKO???? ?????,??????400mmF8NIIS | ??????????????????????

The price is set for ~ US$262

---------- Post added 12-18-21 at 04:13 ----------

?????? 400mm F8 N II S | Kenko | ?????????

Kenko bought out Tokina some years ago, which I still think was a wasted opportunity on their part.

[JPT]

I think there is a lot of misunderstanding about Kenko Tokina. They are in fact one company. Also their main business is not really their own lenses, but being the Japan distributor for a number of more popular overseas brands. For example, they distribute Zeiss, Samyang and Less Baby in Japan. They also sell Tamrac, Aosta, Skin, Meade telescopes and a number of other brands in Japan. They also seem to have other interests in making goods for people with disabilities and some other random stuff.

Their head office is quite near to where I live. It's a kind of shabby building, but I have a soft spot for it because the showroom/shop is a kind of messy curiosity shop of optical related items. When you go in they have a small Horseman museum. There is a display of the Tokina designs from the past (they haven't made that many lenses when you think about it). Then there quite a bot photo studio area, which Ricoh Imaging sometimes rents out for events. They usually have a display of photography, but it's not a nice gallery. The main part is just rows of filters, reflectors, lenses, microscopes and other stuff.

Kenko also make their own compact cameras, which are not very special or good. But I do remember they made a fixed-lens fisheye compact a few years ago, which I was tempted to pick up just for the novelty value.

You can see the products they sell by category here.
??????????KenkoTokina?????

And here is the page that shows some images of their showroom in Nakano, Tokyo.
?????????????????????????????

So given the modest scale of this company, it always seems silly to me to hear commenters claim that Ricoh relies on them for lens design. It's totally the other way round. They are mostly in the business of distributing and rebranding the lenses of others, including Pentax on occasion. Despite that, I think they are a cool little company.

I notice that some commenters on DPR are complaining of the doughnut bokeh on mirror lenses. It's a distinctive look, but at least it is consistent and looks intentional. The nasty tendency for mirrorless lenses to transition to cats-eye bokeh at the edge of the frame is much more obnoxious in my opinion. That seems to be a compromise to make the lenses smaller that everyone seems to be OK with, but I personally think it looks like a defect and the doughnut bokeh of mirror lenses is comparatively benign.

[RobA_Oz]

I think there is a lot of misunderstanding about Kenko Tokina. They are in fact one company. Also their main business is not really their own lenses, but being the Japan distributor for a number of more popular overseas brands. For example, they distribute Zeiss, Samyang and Less Baby in Japan. They also sell Tamrac, Aosta, Skin, Meade telescopes and a number of other brands in Japan. They also seem to have other interests in making goods for people with disabilities and some other random stuff.

I only knew Kenko for their tele-converters. Does what you say imply that they were someone else’s rebranded product?

On the other hand, Tokina had been well-regarded for their optical designs. From memory, they were founded by several ex-Nikon optical engineers and designers. I guess they failed to produce enough lenses for the right market segments in the finish. Just what Kenko were thinking when they took over Tokina is a mystery to me, but I assume the original personnel had long gone by then.

[JPT]

I only knew Kenko for their tele-converters. Does what you say imply that they were someone else’s rebranded product?

On the other hand, Tokina had been well-regarded for their optical designs. From memory, they were founded by several ex-Nikon optical engineers and designers. I guess they failed to produce enough lenses for the right market segments in the finish. Just what Kenko were thinking when they took over Tokina is a mystery to me, but I assume the original personnel had long gone by then.

I think the teleconverters and macro rings are genuinely Kenko products. They also sell a wide range of filters.

Most of the new Tokina products seem to be rebranded these days, including Pentax (Opera) and the recent mirrorless lenses that seem to be the same as Viltrox. I think this is where the rebranding occurs. I guess they have some design capacity in house, but it doesn't seem to result in a lot of original products.

Honestly, I don't know the origins or history of Tokina or Kenko, but this seems to be the situation now.

[RobA_Oz]

I think the teleconverters and macro rings are genuinely Kenko products. They also sell a wide range of filters.

That’s what I had thought. Their teleconverters were widely liked, and I’d never seen them referred to as being someone else’s.

Most of the new Tokina products seem to be rebranded these days, including Pentax (Opera) and the recent mirrorless lenses that seem to be the same as Viltrox. I think this is where the rebranding occurs. I guess they have some design capacity in house, but it doesn't seem to result in a lot of original products.

Honestly, I don't know the origins or history of Tokina or Kenko, but this seems to be the situation now.

They probably aren’t a takeover target for any corporate predator, then.

[thibs]

Well, if even Ricoh isn't interested....