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11-10-2022, 12:33 AM   #241
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QuoteOriginally posted by nixxo2002 Quote
why to discontinue KP , then release / rebrand old K70 ?? . why KF not K70 II ? and what's so special about this new camera to attract new ones ( or as many says YOUNG ) to Pentax system ??
i don't understand Ricoh marketing system .......... maybe someone can explain !!???

+1....

11-10-2022, 12:41 AM   #242
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QuoteOriginally posted by BruceBanner Quote
I thought the connection was not USBC but only Micro USB??
The charger provided with the camera has a USB-C connector, the camera itself a Micro USB one.

SATOBI can be used with any lens. KATEN and KYUSHU are lens-dependent, including with the KF.
11-10-2022, 12:43 AM - 2 Likes   #243
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Guys at DPreview are right. Basically KF is a waste of resources for Ricoh/Pentax and just a try of revival of K70.
It would be better to put all resources in enhanced K1 and lower the price of K3 mk III. Ricoh/Pentax has to improve their technology a lot to compete with modern mirrorless competition with K1.
For approximately the same price as K3 mkIII you can get OMD E-M1X and brand new OM5, Fuji XPro III, brand new XT5 or XT4, Sony A7c and a6600, Canon R and R7, Lumix S5 and GH5 mk II to name just a few. A looooot of competition.
And with KF now they basicaly put a 6 years old camera on a market to compete with at least 10 other cameras. Woul be interesting to know how many they will actually sell.
11-10-2022, 12:56 AM   #244
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QuoteOriginally posted by Mistral75 Quote
The charger provided with the camera has a USB-C connector, the camera itself a Micro USB one.

SATOBI can be used with any lens. KATEN and KYUSHU are lens-dependent, including with the KF.
Where does it officially say that? Currently the only place that talks about KATEN and KYUSHU being lens specific is for the K-1 and K3iii firmware updates. I have an inkling that the KF is 'special' and that to entice Pentaxians to owning this camera it is unlocking these profiles fully. Do you have a link to anything official from the KF launch page that confirms it is behaving as before and locked to lenses?

11-10-2022, 01:13 AM - 2 Likes   #245
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To listen to some people, Ricoh is refreshing the K-70 and giving it a new name because no one will buy it. I don’t know who their target market is, because it doesn’t include me, but I’d be staggered if a big company like Ricoh wasn’t fairly certain there was a market for it. If I had to guess I’d say the market consists of people who want to use some of the great Pentax glass that’s around, but have no need to spend the money on a more advanced body.
11-10-2022, 01:14 AM   #246
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QuoteOriginally posted by Adam Quote
Here's a quick summary of the delta between the KF and K-70, in case this hasn't already been posted:
  • A 12.5% increase in LCD resolution of the Vari-Angle LCD monitor to 1,037,000 dots (up from 921K dots)
  • Three new custom image modes: SATOBI, KYUSHU, KATEN.
  • Slight difference in weight. Slightly lighter at 625g (v. 628 for K-70) due to internal component changes. Same rugged, durability in magnesium-alloy chassis
  • Battery charger is different from the one included with K-70; it now includes a USB to USB-C connection. Very similar to K-3 III, which uses USB-C
  • Utility software, which used to be on CD, is now in the camera. The K-3 III was the first PENTAX DSLR that incorporated the utility software in the camera
It's great to see the addition of USB-C charging. Also, I'm guessing the internal component change could hint at a fix to the solenoid problem
The battery charger's change is in the charger itself, isn't it? The KF still has a micro USB port, so you could buy the new D-BC186, use it with the K-70 batteries, and you'd have the same functionality. I wouldn't count it as a "camera change".
11-10-2022, 01:14 AM   #247
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QuoteOriginally posted by beli_delfin Quote
Guys at DPreview are right. Basically KF is a waste of resources for Ricoh/Pentax and just a try of revival of K70.
It would be better to put all resources in enhanced K1 and lower the price of K3 mk III. Ricoh/Pentax has to improve their technology a lot to compete with modern mirrorless competition with K1.
For approximately the same price as K3 mkIII you can get OMD E-M1X and brand new OM5, Fuji XPro III, brand new XT5 or XT4, Sony A7c and a6600, Canon R and R7, Lumix S5 and GH5 mk II to name just a few. A looooot of competition.
And with KF now they basicaly put a 6 years old camera on a market to compete with at least 10 other cameras. Woul be interesting to know how many they will actually sell.

Is it really a waste of resources? If the camera is basically the same it's an almost zero-cost effort. No different, from a practical standpoint, than just keeping the K70 in production as-is. Now from a commercial/marketing point of view I fully agree it's a bad move. Better keep silent instead of renaming an old camera, creating expectations and worsening your position as clients will see a camera formally "new" and released in 2022 with very old specifications. However, OM systems made a very similar move with the release of the OM-5 that is basically a little more than a rebadged E-MD 5 MK3. There must be some underlying reason for these underwhelming "releases".

11-10-2022, 01:21 AM   #248
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QuoteOriginally posted by zapp Quote
The KF is a solid camera.
Of course it is, the K-70 is a very solid camera. This is the same, so why shouldn't it be?


QuoteOriginally posted by zapp Quote
Now they present a new camera and the forum complains.
Because it's not "they presented a new camera". They changed to a different SKU for a couple of components inside (probably some of the PCB's chips) and, even though the new ones don't change the camera's operation, they changed the name despite there being no changes whatsoever to the customer. Tape the model's name, hand a K-70 and a KF to a person and they won't be able to tell the difference because the only one is... checks notes Ah, 10% more dots on the screen.


Oh, since it's a new product it costs 300€ more than the K-70 did a month ago.

---------- Post added 11-10-22 at 01:22 AM ----------

QuoteOriginally posted by RobA_Oz Quote
To listen to some people, Ricoh is refreshing the K-70 and giving it a new name because no one will buy it. I don’t know who their target market is, because it doesn’t include me, but I’d be staggered if a big company like Ricoh wasn’t fairly certain there was a market for it. If I had to guess I’d say the market consists of people who want to use some of the great Pentax glass that’s around, but have no need to spend the money on a more advanced body.

Which probably means the K-70 was selling well up until the day it stopped being available. My issue is not even with the KF existing and being a K-70, because honestly it's still perfectly cromulent for entry-ish level, it's with them acting (and pricing it) like it's a new thing when it's a change from K-70 (2016) to K-70 (2022).
11-10-2022, 01:26 AM - 2 Likes   #249
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QuoteOriginally posted by BruceBanner Quote
Where does it officially say that? Currently the only place that talks about KATEN and KYUSHU being lens specific is for the K-1 and K3iii firmware updates. I have an inkling that the KF is 'special' and that to entice Pentaxians to owning this camera it is unlocking these profiles fully. Do you have a link to anything official from the KF launch page that confirms it is behaving as before and locked to lenses?
From the Pentax Japan website detailing the KF features it says :

"The special-edition Custom Image modes are highly unique, creative imaging tools that allows you to capture attractive images with distinctive themes. Each special-edition mode is partnered with particular lenses for optimum visual effects." Imaging Power | PENTAX KF | RICOH IMAGING


Now they have not updated yet the page that is specific to the special-edition modes, but i would expect from reading the above that on the KF, the KYUSHU/KATEN modes will be lens dependent.
11-10-2022, 01:57 AM - 1 Like   #250
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QuoteOriginally posted by Serkevan Quote
Oh, since it's a new product it costs 300€ more than the K-70 did a month ago
SRS are taking orders for the KF at £849. That's £150 more than they are still selling the K70 for.
11-10-2022, 02:06 AM   #251
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QuoteOriginally posted by pschlute Quote
SRS are taking orders for the KF at £849. That's £150 more than they are still selling the K70 for.
Good deals on the K-70 incoming then on Black Friday. I don't think there is a lot of inventory so they will probably clear most of them.
11-10-2022, 02:09 AM - 2 Likes   #252
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DPReview sums it up pretty nicely:
"The KF is the K-70 DSLR with only a few very minor tweaks, most of which were made as a result of changes in component availability."

That's all it is, really. Obviously, Ricoh must see enough of a market for the K-70, to not simply discontinue it when they can no longer get certain components for it. Obviously, this "update" was a quick and easy fix to a real problem around global supply line issues. I'd argue that they spent very little time on it and therefore, the "update" is costing them very little. They would not do it if they did not think they could make money from the venture.

I'd not be surprised if, after initial higher pricing, it does not settle down to K-70 pricing pretty quickly.
11-10-2022, 02:15 AM   #253
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QuoteOriginally posted by pschlute Quote
From the Pentax Japan website detailing the KF features it says :

"The special-edition Custom Image modes are highly unique, creative imaging tools that allows you to capture attractive images with distinctive themes. Each special-edition mode is partnered with particular lenses for optimum visual effects." Imaging Power | PENTAX KF | RICOH IMAGING


Now they have not updated yet the page that is specific to the special-edition modes, but i would expect from reading the above that on the KF, the KYUSHU/KATEN modes will be lens dependent.
Super, good to know, and in that case that's a little sad
11-10-2022, 02:15 AM   #254
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Very disappointing premiere!

Nothing new , only a new rear screen and 20 photos less on battery!

High price , old hardware...

Last edited by Oxygenum; 11-10-2022 at 04:10 AM.
11-10-2022, 02:18 AM - 1 Like   #255
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I don't know what to think of this. You'd expect some developments from K-3 iii to arrive in a cheaper model (like new menus) but it looks like Ricoh is not interested in releasing a new entry level DSLR model (nor lowering the price of K-3 iii to a more budget friendly level), but would rather keep the old offering as long as the supply of sensors lasts. It doesn't look great.
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