This is a translation into English of an entry posted at my Polish blog: Towarzystwo Nieustraszonych Soczewek: 100 lat (-1), czyli dlaczego mi zale?y na milcz?cych
As we are approaching the 100th anniversary of Asahi Optical Co., I will be posting more entries on Pentax cameras and tests of some quite rare lenses, particularly of Pentax-A* line. Because I have always thought Asahi has not been receiving the praise it deserves, here is my short rant:
After a 20-year break I decided to write a column. Perhaps because of the reborn love for products with Pentax logo; perhaps because of the irrational and bound-to-faill rebellion against the contemporary world; or perhaps just to check if I am completely alone on this desert Island or maybe someone else is wandering around here.
We are constantly attacked by pieces of news on premieres. Each of them shouts at us that the best camera or lens in history is going to be just launched; that’s OK, everyone has the right to praise even the most trivial and least outstanding product in an attempt to sell it and it is then up to us to separate the wheat from the chaff. The problem is, this is getting more and more difficult because genuine progress is increasingly illusive, while marketing is becoming increasingly aggressive and removed from real virtues of the advertised equipment. The same happens in the fine arts: the more similar all artists get, the more each of them shouts how original they are. So the louder someone shouts, the more I tend to think they have nothing to shoutabout. Parole, parole, parole.
And on top of that, some companies are fighting for top positions in the rankings so they are forced to constantly outshout each other. The silent ones apparently are never right. Originality, long traditions recede into the background if Pentax K-1 – one of the most interesting DSRLs on the market today – vegetates somewhere on the margins as a curiosity, and while everyone knew well ahead about celebrations of the hundredth anniversary of Nikon (2017), or Leica (2014) then hardly anyone mentions the fact that 2019 will mark one hundred years since establishment of Asahi Optical Co. Leica is a separate matter altogether: for some people it is not a brand but a cult, M6 is a shrine, and Leica Monochrome is God incarnated himself. When I look at the best cameras and lenses made by AsahiOptical Co. I just say that in terms of quality Pentax is a true Japanese Leica,only not so famous and not that expensive.
Proof? Let’s take Pentax LX. A small, lightweight professional SLR, that was clearly superior to the rivals of its times, i.e. Canon New F-1 or Nikon F3, in all respects except popularity and sales volume. The marketing department in Asahi always seemed inert. Or perhaps this was the philosophy of modesty, typical of some authors of great works: yes, we have created a masterpiece, but it would be tactless to praise it; let it defend itself. I am joking a little, I am exaggerating a bit, but not by much. On many occasions I was under an impression that beautiful things created by Asahi Optical Co. were thrown at the mercy of the marketplace and had to cope on their own. And their proved to be too delicate and not feisty enough to do well. Customers rarely want brilliant solutions invented by engineers. Sometimes such solutions sell poorly in terms of image,particularly if one is unable to demonstrate the benefits to be ripped from them by mass users.
I am not going to beat my head against the wall, tilt at windmills and so on. I will not delude myself that if a hundred other people convinced of the benefits of the products of Asahi Optical Co. join me, we will be able to influence mass tastes. But I can do my own thing, i.e. in the year preceding the 100th anniversary ofthe establishment of the company, write more about it, test lenses, discuss cameras, and constantly raise the element of its philosophy that matters to me most, and one that has constantly resurfaced throughout the history of Pentax like a leitmotif in a musical piece: to do everything the best one can at a given moment in history, regardless of the costs entailed or the possibility of suffering a market failure. And with time a camera considered to be a niche product, or a lens that was awarded a top score in an industry test but did not make it to the top of sales rankings, comes to such a person as me, who handles them, delights in the uniqueness of their solutions and magic properties oft he generated images. And such a man starts talking about them. Even if only twenty people read this, ten believe in what I am saying and five decide to try Pentax products for themselves, it will be worthwhile.

[jevans]

that is well said, as we all know, the expectations of new camera's are never ending, so many expect to be able to take pictures in pitch back and have the auto focus system be dead on..... I wander how many remember what it was like to shoot with film,,, everyone should do it, using manual modes..... then they will realize were we are today. Pentax has been a leader in technology for a long time, coming out with innovating products.. I just hope that they continue to get enough product sold to allow them to be who they are..

[JaroslawBrzezinski]

that is well said, as we all know, the expectations of new camera's are never ending, so many expect to be able to take pictures in pitch back and have the auto focus system be dead on..... I wander how many remember what it was like to shoot with film,,, everyone should do it, using manual modes..... then they will realize were we are today. Pentax has been a leader in technology for a long time, coming out with innovating products.. I just hope that they continue to get enough product sold to allow them to be who they are..

Digital came to the world when i was already quite adult. So I know what shooting film is. And my advice to anyone learning photography would be to start with a simple manual SLR and only then move on to digital. I am currently using both digital and film cameras. And how rereshing the latter are. I have assigned an "Asahi" section at my blog and will make 2018 the "Year of Asahi" in anticipation of the 100th anniversary. I am planning to write more about LX, and MZ-S and A* lenses and so on.
Best
Jarek

[sunshiney]

Digital came to the world when i was already quite adult. So I know what shooting film is. And my advice to anyone learning photography would be to start with a simple manual SLR and only then move on to digital. I am currently using both digital and film cameras. And how rereshing the latter are. I have assigned an "Asahi" section at my blog and will make 2018 the "Year of Asahi" in anticipation of the 100th anniversary. I am planning to write more about LX, and MZ-S and A* lenses and so on.
Best
Jarek

I thought SLR is digital? Can you differentiate the two? SLR has those LCD things too.

[MarkJerling]

I thought SLR is digital? Can you differentiate the two? SLR has those LCD things too.

SLR = Single-Lens Reflex camera.
DSLR = Digital Single-Lens Reflex camera.
A DSLR is an SLR but an SLR can be a film or digital SLR.

[JaroslawBrzezinski]

I thought SLR is digital? Can you differentiate the two? SLR has those LCD things too.

Someone was quicker than me to answer this question. Single Lens Reflex term simply denotes a camera design with a mirror reflecting the image formed by a lens into the optical viewfinder regardless of whether the image is recorded on film or a digital sensor. DSLRs are digital SLRs.
Best
Jarek

[dipo 1]

Wow is about all I can say about Mr. Brzezinski's article/post, however I will say this. I'm 70 years old, bought my first SLR (film) in 1970, an Asahi Pentax Spotmatic, used it until it became too hard to find a developer close by. Bought a PENTAX K5 (used) in 2017 and have spent the last several months learning to use it. I have always loved my Spot, and still do, but the K5 is now my camera and I don't think I will ever go back to film, well maybe. Mr. Brzezinski's article/post shouts LOVE PENTAX FOR EVER! and that is me. I am the soft spoken, silent one he is speaking about and too. UP PENTAX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[onlineflyer]

What a well thought out and descriptive blog, Jaroslaw. Your sharing these thoughts with fellow pf members is greatly appreciated.

[thazooo]

Great Post !
I'm older and came up in the Film Era. It use to be about that final Print. Now it's more about the Tech and what the Tech can do for you.
And since it's Tech, you need to Upgrade constantly (Ha). I still prefer the print and my *ist D can hold it's own against my KS-2

[reh321]

Great Post !
I'm older and came up in the Film Era. It used to be about that final Slide. Now it's more about the Tech and what the Tech can do for you.
And since it's Tech, you "need to" Upgrade constantly, but I resist that pressure just as I do for all other devices, especially these days for cell phones. I switched to digital only when digital could give me a better image than film did. I occasionally take pictures with film, but I prefer digital now and convert my film images to digital.

[LensBeginner]

Are we starting a "thing"? ok then...

I'm not old nor young anymore, but grew up with film cameras. It used to be about 10*15 prints. Now it's more about viewing photos on a smartphone screen.
And since it's a tiny screen, anything goes.
I try my best to get good pictures, that can be printed bug if I feel like it, even if they will probably be seen on a smartphone screen.
I feel like my technique has to be up to the possibility that digital allows, otherwise it just feels like wasted potential.
We live in an exciting age, but how we exploit all those technological marvels is entirely up to us.

[JaroslawBrzezinski]

Wow is about all I can say about Mr. Brzezinski's article/post, however I will say this. I'm 70 years old, bought my first SLR (film) in 1970, an Asahi Pentax Spotmatic, used it until it became too hard to find a developer close by. Bought a PENTAX K5 (used) in 2017 and have spent the last several months learning to use it. I have always loved my Spot, and still do, but the K5 is now my camera and I don't think I will ever go back to film, well maybe. Mr. Brzezinski's article/post shouts LOVE PENTAX FOR EVER! and that is me. I am the soft spoken, silent one he is speaking about and too. UP PENTAX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I appreciate your kind words. Our love for Pentax will rather not shake the world but it seems unshaken by world's indifference.

[JaroslawBrzezinski]

What a well thought out and descriptive blog, Jaroslaw. Your sharing these thoughts with fellow pf members is greatly appreciated.

Thank you! Recently I have neglected my blog badly but that;s because I have had too much work, which I need to pay for my Pentax follies. But I can the light in the tunnel and in late July, when I'm done with loads of work, writing about Pentax will be my focus again.

[JaroslawBrzezinski]

Great Post !
I'm older and came up in the Film Era. It used to be about that final Slide. Now it's more about the Tech and what the Tech can do for you.
And since it's Tech, you "need to" Upgrade constantly, but I resist that pressure just as I do for all other devices, especially these days for cell phones. I switched to digital only when digital could give me a better image than film did. I occasionally take pictures with film, but I prefer digital now and convert my film images to digital.

Whatever you choose - film or digital - just enjoy it. Nothing else matters much.

[JaroslawBrzezinski]

Are we starting a "thing"? ok then...

I'm not old nor young anymore, but grew up with film cameras. It used to be about 10*15 prints. Now it's more about viewing photos on a smartphone screen.
And since it's a tiny screen, anything goes.
I try my best to get good pictures, that can be printed bug if I feel like it, even if they will probably be seen on a smartphone screen.
I feel like my technique has to be up to the possibility that digital allows, otherwise it just feels like wasted potential.
We live in an exciting age, but how we exploit all those technological marvels is entirely up to us.

Well said. We are obsessed with more pixels in sensors, yet we hardly ever show our pictures in a manner that would allow those enhanced possibilities to be manifested.