[mlag]

Is it only me that finds this odd?
https://ricohimagingstore.com/pentaxlens/k-mount.html

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Last edited by mlag; 09-17-2022 at 02:05 PM. Reason: link added

[KoenR]

Is it only me that finds this odd?

No.

Al least we do not have to visit Japan when we want it .
Kamera Express sells it.

Rudy

[AfterPentax Mark II]

I guess that your fellow Belgian means that it is strange that Ricoh should offer this thirdparty lens as "New item" in the Ricoh shop. It would raise some question marks with me as well. And Kamera-Express is not Ricoh... so, odd, YES!

[Adam]

It's indeed interesting. Lensbaby was supposed to be discontinuing Pentax lenses, so the fact that the are showing up as "new" on the official store might suggest that they will continue. Either that or there was just too much leftover stock

Adam
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[ramseybuckeye]

It does seem odd, but the Ricoh US store has some tripods from Benro and Manfrotto, and Lowepro bags. Of course those are not "competing" for the same money.

[biz-engineer]

Indeed that's really weird.

[JPT]

Yes. Those two Lensbaby lenses have been on sale at the Ricoh Imaging store for a few months now. It’s also interesting that they have started selling used cameras/lenses on another page of the store. So actually you can buy a KP and other discontinued items direct from Ricoh now, albeit used items.

Lensbaby is one of many accessory makers distributed by Kenko-Tokina in Japan. Ricoh has in fact been selling other brands of bags, tripod and filters distributed by Kenko-Tokina for a long time, so it can be seen as a n extension of that. However, it remains to be seen whether other Kenko-Tokina distributed lens brands will appear, such as Samsung or Zeiss. I guess it’s unlikely at this point.

It’s interesting though that while other brands are trying to stop third parties from selling lenses for their systems, Pentax is cooperating with one.

This and the used cameras/lenses are all part of Pentax’s new strategy to sell as much as possible direct to customers, cutting out the middleman. Basically, if you want something for you Pentax system in Japan, Pentax wants to sell it to you direct.

[Reed]

I think that going against the mainflow in this case might be a good choice for Ricoh. There is more to "enjoy" the process of taking pictures with those if one look for special rendering and unusual aesthetics. It's in line with Pentax "pixie dust" lenses fun of usage. This is nice finding JPT. I would be really happy if Lensbaby delivers a cooperative with Ricoh as third party but officialy authorised "accessory" lenses. Quality and joy from using their products is just great.

[mlag]

I guess that your fellow Belgian means that it is strange that Ricoh should offer this thirdparty lens as "New item" in the Ricoh shop. It would raise some question marks with me as well. And Kamera-Express is not Ricoh... so, odd, YES!

Exactly. It is the japan official store for pentax gear and lensbaby (2 lenses) lines up next to the fullframe and apsc pentax lenses .

[KoenR]

I guess that your fellow Belgian means that it is strange that Ricoh should offer this thirdparty lens as "New item" in the Ricoh shop. It would raise some question marks with me as well. And Kamera-Express is not Ricoh... so, odd, YES!

The question was “ Is it only me that finds this odd?”
My answer was: “No”.

So, od, yes indeed.

If Lensbaby is really abandoning production of the pentax version, whoever is interested should buy it.


Rudy

[kiwi_jono]

I don't think the Lensbaby Velvet lenses sell that well as they are more a specialist lens and there are several blogs not overly positive about them (it depends what you are looking for). I have one (56mm) and don't use it much at all - sometimes I like the soft look but most of the time I prefer other lenses.

[AfterPentax Mark II]

The question was “ Is it only me that finds this odd?”
My answer was: “No”.

So, od, yes indeed.

If Lensbaby is really abandoning production of the pentax version, whoever is interested should buy it.


Rudy

U heeft helemaal gelijk!

[Fogel70]

It says "only a few left" on them, so maybe Ricoh bought the last inventory of these K-mount lenses from Lensbaby? Or they got a batch of them for a good price.

[gatorguy]

It says "only a few left" on them, so maybe Ricoh bought the last inventory of these K-mount lenses from Lensbaby? Or they got a batch of them for a good price.

Lensbaby still sells them new on their site
https://lensbaby.com/collections/collection/pentax-k?sort_by=manual
but the latter is certainly possible. They sometimes offer their lenses at very good pricing compared to listed retail. Somewhat recently B&H (or was it Adorama) had some very good discounts on Lensbaby products. I'm guessing all the lens manufacturers are seeing demand softening whether DSLR or MILC and thus more likely to run sales.

I like seeing Pentax promoting these 3rd party products, particularly when they aren't competing with very similar in-house offerings.

[Brahampix]

The Pentax mounts have been available direct from the lens baby manufacturer for awhile now…