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04-13-2021, 10:57 AM   #1
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KP discontinued then dis-discontinued?

What is going on with the KP, folks?

I purchased my KP recently for a great price of approximately 700 US dollars. A few days later it was listed as discontinued on various photography commerce sites. This made sense to me since the price had been so marked down. I figured it was about to be discontinued, hence the bargain price.

Now I see it listed again, not as discontinued, but at close to 1000 US dollars.

In the midst of this, I heard the Japanese Ricoh site listed the KP as discontinued, but I see the USA Ricoh site still has it listed as a current model.

What is up with the KP? Is it discontinued? Is it not? What’s up with the price? Any theories or facts you folks have?

04-13-2021, 11:26 AM - 1 Like   #2
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Ricoh Imaging America is not a particularly up to date site. You can't even pre-order the K-3 III from them. Nor can you download firmware updates for the K-1 II afaict, you have to download them from Japan.

The KP is discontinued, price went up because there will be no new stock once they are all sold. This is the pattern every discontinued body has followed.
04-13-2021, 02:47 PM   #3
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Have we seen an official announcement?
I'm wondering what that means for a replacement.
Have Ricoh been working on a KPII during the past year?
Or did they just run out of parts and they'll eventually have more?

It seems a potentially lucrative part of the market to leave empty... and the KP is a nice little machine...

-Eric
04-13-2021, 03:33 PM   #4
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QuoteOriginally posted by TwoUptons Quote
Have we seen an official announcement?
I'm wondering what that means for a replacement.
Have Ricoh been working on a KPII during the past year?
Or did they just run out of parts and they'll eventually have more?

It seems a potentially lucrative part of the market to leave empty... and the KP is a nice little machine...

-Eric
It is listed as discontinued on ricoh-imaging.co.jp...that's as official as it gets, there won't be a press release.

There won't be a KP Mark II, the K-3 Mark III is the APS-C in production and the K-70 is the introductory model.

04-15-2021, 01:45 PM   #5
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I also had the impression that the KP was a one-off and something a bit different that didn't fit the usual Pentax hierarchy. As such I'm not expecting a KP-ii but who knows the mind of Pentax. I have to say the more I use it the more I like it. I'm certainly glad they made it. My guess is that going forward we will likely next see a k70 replacement, and then a K1 iii.
04-18-2021, 12:44 PM   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by on6702 Quote
I also had the impression that the KP was a one-off and something a bit different that didn't fit the usual Pentax hierarchy. As such I'm not expecting a KP-ii but who knows the mind of Pentax. I have to say the more I use it the more I like it. I'm certainly glad they made it. My guess is that going forward we will likely next see a k70 replacement, and then a K1 iii.
I completely agree but it would be interesting to know nevertheless.
04-18-2021, 01:21 PM   #7
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Kp is old... compare to few K3 versions. No chance of bring developed further


Отправлено с моего iPhone используя Tapatalk

04-20-2021, 11:29 AM   #8
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After owning a K-x (my first digital camera), and then briefly owning a K-3, I was thinking about maybe getting another Pentax. I hated the K-3 because of the size and weight - which is why I switched to Fuji in 2017.

So, I was checking here to see if maybe I'd be interested in the KP, and if an updated version was expected. Nope. Now discontinued.

I am reminded why I quit Pentax: Continuing contraction of their APS-C model lineup, lack of a smaller, lighter APS-C model, and lack of communication from Ricoh. Sigh.

So that leaves only the K-70 and the K-3 still standing as Pentax APS-C offerings, right? And some small percentage of recent K-70s are still suffering from the dreaded aperture solenoid failures, is that right?
04-20-2021, 05:27 PM   #9
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I'm hoping Ricoh will get around to a replacement. I personally love the tilt screen and the fact it's much lighter than the K-1.
04-20-2021, 06:52 PM   #10
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KP long gone from Australian shelves!
but there are still some K-50 ( white and black ) available , marked as "LOW STOCK"
04-20-2021, 07:01 PM   #11
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I think it is still discontinued in Japan. Silver version still have new units left on many store but Black version has been sold out for some time now.
04-22-2021, 02:11 AM   #12
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QuoteOriginally posted by johndeer3 Quote
Does it just a sales market strategy?
I doubt it, Pentax is too "Japanese" for that kind of strategy...
04-22-2021, 11:47 PM - 1 Like   #13
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QuoteOriginally posted by lhcskm Quote
In the midst of this, I heard the Japanese Ricoh site listed the KP as discontinued, but I see the USA Ricoh site still has it listed as a current model.
Japan is definitive. It will no longer be manufactured, so people should buy up from US stock while they can.
04-24-2021, 04:00 PM   #14
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QuoteOriginally posted by on6702 Quote
I also had the impression that the KP was a one-off and something a bit different that didn't fit the usual Pentax hierarchy. As such I'm not expecting a KP-ii but who knows the mind of Pentax. I have to say the more I use it the more I like it. I'm certainly glad they made it. My guess is that going forward we will likely next see a k70 replacement, and then a K1 iii.
I hope Ricoh keeps the concept of the KP alive in some manner going forward. With the K3iii being a similarly priced camera to the K1ii, each apparently specialising in a different area of "pro" photography, it seems that Ricoh may be restructuring its already small lineup. If we assume that the K70 will eventually see a successor to keep the value-oriented "entry level" enthusiast position filled, then I believe Pentax should also keep at least one tier in between the top and bottom. The KP, being a sort of experiment, filled that role nicely once its price dropped a bit, mostly because it seemed to stray from the typical DSLR style by adopting a "mirrorless-like" style. If the hypothetical hybrid e/ovf ever develops into something tangible, I can imagine it being used in a KPii., even if it's too janky to be implemented into the K3 or K1 lines.
04-24-2021, 09:06 PM   #15
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QuoteOriginally posted by StarTroop Quote
I hope Ricoh keeps the concept of the KP alive in some manner going forward. With the K3iii being a similarly priced camera to the K1ii, each apparently specialising in a different area of "pro" photography, it seems that Ricoh may be restructuring its already small lineup. If we assume that the K70 will eventually see a successor to keep the value-oriented "entry level" enthusiast position filled, then I believe Pentax should also keep at least one tier in between the top and bottom. The KP, being a sort of experiment, filled that role nicely once its price dropped a bit, mostly because it seemed to stray from the typical DSLR style by adopting a "mirrorless-like" style. If the hypothetical hybrid e/ovf ever develops into something tangible, I can imagine it being used in a KPii., even if it's too janky to be implemented into the K3 or K1 lines.
It would be nice but I think Ricoh have settled on a two level approach for APS-C....an entry level model and a pro level model.
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