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12-11-2017, 01:46 PM - 1 Like   #1
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MIke Johnson Says About K-1

MIke Johnson (The Online Photographer) made the following comment about the K-1, in response to a reader's comment.

"Mike replies: The K-1 has everything, even a low price. Seriously."

His site is one of only two I regularly support (his and ours). He does not in the main deal with equipment/how to.

12-11-2017, 03:18 PM   #2
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Also he gave it some love a while ago as well:

The Online Photographer: The Best Digital Cameras Part I
12-11-2017, 04:13 PM   #3
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QuoteOriginally posted by leekil Quote
Also he gave it some love a while ago as well:

The Online Photographer: The Best Digital Cameras Part I
A bit off-topic but not really! what is it mean when he said:
"Pentax's lenses are hopeless as a lineup—it's the anti-Fuji in terms of the lineup making internal sense."

Can somebody elaborate? I am not familiar with another brand enough to understand it.
Pentax's lens line up is really that bad? I mean.."Hopeless", really? And by say Anti-Fuji, he means Fuji lenes' lineup made more sense for photographer?
I don't have an issue at all seeing people saying something about Pentax. I could be one of the last person to be branded as a fanboy of anything, but I really wonder about Pentax lense's lineup because this is not the first time I see a comment like this.


Last edited by pakinjapan; 12-11-2017 at 07:33 PM.
12-11-2017, 04:41 PM - 1 Like   #4
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QuoteOriginally posted by pakinjapan Quote
A bit off-topic but not really! what is it mean when he said:
"Pentax's lenses are hopeless as a lineup—it's the anti-Fuji in terms of the lineup making internal sense."

Can somebody elaborate? I am not familiar with another brand enough to under stand it.
Pentax's lens line up is really that bad? I mean.."Hopeless", really? And by say Anti-Fuji, he means Fuji lenes' lineup made more sense for photographer?
I don't have an issue at all seeing people saying something about Pentax. I could be one of the last person to be branded as a fanboy of anything, but I really wonder about Pentax lense's lineup because this is not the first time I see a comment like this.

I had to read his article to see just what he meant, and it’s not a bad thing.
Fuji has a limited lens line up, high quality and covers pretty much all the focal lengths most would need.

For Pentax, we have decades worth of lenses to chose from and experiment with, the options are hopeless in our 70 years worth of lenses.

As far as current offerings, you’ll hear a lot about the line up being hopeless, that there isn’t enough in the way of modern lenses. But that’s not how he wrote it here.

12-11-2017, 04:47 PM - 3 Likes   #5
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QuoteOriginally posted by pakinjapan Quote
what is it mean when he said:
"Pentax's lenses are hopeless as a lineup—it's the anti-Fuji in terms of the lineup making internal sense."

Can somebody elaborate? I am not familiar with another brand enough to under stand it.
Pentax's lens line up is really that bad? I mean.."Hopeless", really? And by say Anti-Fuji, he means Fuji lenes' lineup made more sense for photographer?
It's mostly a subjective (and highly-opinionated) view from him and a few others. And a very poor comparison, frankly, as the K-1 is a full-frame camera while the Fujis he's talking about are APS-C. Almost everybody would love to see fast, small, modern, digitally-optimised and optically-outstanding lenses for any camera. Ricoh / Pentax chose to release the K-1 with a very limited number of new full-frame lenses. The trio of fast, constant aperture zooms are big and heavy (precisely because they're fast, constant aperture zooms). New primes are coming, but until they arrive, it's the older (but still excellent) film-era glass that's available. Many people - very sensibly - don't let that bother them, and they shoot with the huge range of current and legacy lenses already available...

Last edited by BigMackCam; 12-11-2017 at 05:55 PM.
12-11-2017, 05:29 PM   #6
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thanks
@twilhelm , @BigMackCam
12-11-2017, 06:04 PM   #7
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The availability of fabulous F and FA lenses (not to mention 24,000,000 manual lenses) that in their time were cutting edge makes criticism of the current catalog sort of short-sighted.

Buying a 2016 model TV that was $1000’s when newly issued for $249 today is similar. If you had bought it in 2016 when it was cutting edge you would still have it, right?


Last edited by monochrome; 12-12-2017 at 02:16 PM.
12-11-2017, 06:25 PM   #8
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Something of a fake controversy here.

As Mr Johnson must know, for most users, all you may ever need for the K-1 could be very well taken care of by the core Pentax f2.8 'Trinity'(15-30, 24-70, 70-200) lenses, or similar, and maybe one or two specialised lenses like a macro lens or a fast 50mm. Everything else will just be icing on the cake. Same story in Nikon, Canon, Sony, or Fuji land.
12-11-2017, 08:09 PM   #9
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As far as "New FF lenses", a majority of photographers will always suggest the 3 f2.8 amigos (the14mm-35mm range, 24-70, 70-200 lenses) for almost everything, in Pentax's case they got covered pretty much out the gate with the K-1.

When you get into certain niches that's when primes come into play (i.e. a fast 24mm & wider for landscapes, a macro lens+35mm+50mm+85/90/105mm or 135mm for weddings, etc.), and to me is where Pentax is slowly but surely going to be bringing them out (they already have a 50mm & 85mm set to be released sometime soon), they just need to fill in the small gaps (i.e. a 24mm, 35mm, 135mm, 200mm)
12-11-2017, 09:19 PM   #10
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I now have the K1, which is head and shoulders above any APS-C camera in IQ at any light level.


I have 4 stellar FF Pentax lenses: FA 43mm F1.9, FA77mm F1.8, DA* 200mm F2.8, DA* 300mm F4.


All of those are also great on the K3ii and K7.


Far from a hopeless line up, even with just my small collection. Add a 85mm F1.8ish and a 135mm F2ish and that is everything that isn't a macro or a super-long tele that I could want for.
12-11-2017, 10:09 PM   #11
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I really think Ricoh needs to re-classify some of their DA lenses which work well with the K-1 as DFA.
Since the first DA lenses were released in 2003, and only a few DFA's were released for the dwindling 35mm SLR market, there was no reason for Pentax to make DFA or designate it as such until the K-1 was born.

Writers, bloggers, critics, etc, need something to criticize that the glass is half empty. I remember since forever how the Pentax 645 was not considered a real MF camera because it didn't have interchangeable backs. But I didn't need an interchangeable back, and I didn't want (or need) all the theoretical lenses that would make a bigger system.
"You can't always get what you want. But if you try sometimes well you might find, you get what you need."
12-11-2017, 10:59 PM   #12
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I don't think he was particularly being critical. The full quote is:

QuoteQuote:
Accepts all the marvelous and fun Pentax lenses from a number of eras. Pentax's lenses are hopeless as a lineup—it's the anti-Fuji in terms of the lineup making internal sense. Yet that's half the fun. So many lenses, so little time.
Fuji's lens lineup is coherent and orderly, due to being developed newly from scratch. Pentax's is definitely not that, given that they still keep around things like the FA Limiteds, which are basically completely different from what they are putting out now for lenses. The lens lineup isn't bad (other than the complaints that Pentax people typically have, I suppose), but it isn't a coherent, planned lineup of lenses.

Last edited by leekil; 12-12-2017 at 11:12 AM.
12-12-2017, 02:00 AM   #13
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I think he meant quite opposite, since next statement is: "Yet that's half the fun. So many lenses, so little time." I think he is prizing the lens back-compatibility of K-mount and the huge amount of lenses from different eras that can be used on modern Pentax DSLR. Coz that is truly part of fun with Pentax, at least for me.
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12-12-2017, 03:29 AM   #14
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I think last 2 posters nailed it. Indeed the lens line looks a bit all over the place - from screw drive FA lenses to modern D FA*s, but that's to be expected with a system several decades old.
Ricoh's current strategy is very much coherent, however that won't make the legacy lenses disappear. Fortunately.

---------- Post added 12-12-17 at 12:30 PM ----------

I think last 2 posters nailed it. Indeed the lens line looks a bit all over the place - from screw drive FA lenses to modern D FA*s, but that's to be expected with a system several decades old.
Ricoh's current strategy is very much coherent, however that won't make the legacy lenses disappear. Fortunately.
12-12-2017, 05:59 AM   #15
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Poor word choice, if that's what he meant...
Not what I'd expect from a native English speaker (based on his name alone, don't know him)... perhaps he meant "boundless", "endless", "limitless", "measureless", "countless"...
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