[kwb]

I was looking at Ricoh Imaging Japan's twitter feed.
????????? (@ricohimaging_jp) on Twitter

First thing I noticed is that it's much more active than the twitter feed of Ricoh Imaging USA. But then I noticed that they created a mascot "KP Man" out of a KP body, various lenses and what seems like torso/arm/legs made out of some fabric. WTH? He looks like this:
Twitter


This is apparently a long-term low budget PR campaign. There seems to be a nonsense back story, he seems to be Ricoh's PR guy, does various things to attract customers but he's not very good at it. As a result he's "demoted" and is moved to various places in Japan. And people can go to that place (e.g. Ricoh Imaging Square Shinjuku) and see KP Man while he's "working" there.

Sometimes fake KP Men show up, they all claim that they are KP Man but "KP" logo is painted on using white marker or something, like this one (seems to be K-1 Man):
Twitter


Probably this kind of WTH-ness doesn't work in USA, but Ricoh PR people in Japan seem to be doing a good job of engaging customers through twitter. KP Man's tweets consistently attract more likes and retweets than other types of tweets from Ricoh Imaging Japan.

(Sorry admins, this is NOT a discussion about PENTAX DSLR, when I think about it.)

---

Last edited by kwb; 07-04-2017 at 09:35 PM. Reason: message for admins added.

[mee]

There was the K-r based off the Kore Janai Robo http://www.zariganiworks.co.jp/korejanairobo/ which was a spoof of a cheap robot toy that a kid wouldn't want as a gift (but would be gifted with in place of their actual desired robotic toy). Which is kind of funny that Pentax would do that to one of their cameras.

[DeadJohn]

Marketing in the USA can be just as odd as in Japan. A large city has a blog about their street maintenance. The mascot is a chunk asphalt.

P.S. The chunk of asphalt looks similar to Mr. Hanky, the talking poo, a character from the South Park cartoon.

[lytrytyr]

Nice to see that they gave KP Man a Fish-Eye Takumar!

[kwb]

There was the K-r based off the Kore Janai Robo http://www.zariganiworks.co.jp/korejanairobo/ which was a spoof of a cheap robot toy that a kid wouldn't want as a gift (but would be gifted with in place of their actual desired robotic toy). Which is kind of funny that Pentax would do that to one of their cameras.

Thanks mee, I knew about Kore-ja-nai Robo but had no idea PENTAX actually made and sold cameras collaborating with them. I googled around, apparently they made limited edition K-x Kore-ja-nai model first, all 100 were sold out in 10 minutes, and this K-r followed. So this was apparently a huge PR success.

(To me however, this K-r lacks true kore-ja-nai ("this isn't the one") feeling. Designers just used Kore-ja-nai Robo, as opposed to trying to poorly copy some other product's design with plenty of bad taste such that the end result would be very unstylish, sad and totally disappointing. The reason why Kore-ja-nai Robo was funny was because somebody intentionally made a toy with these characteristics and the execution was just right. I don't know why I'm writing this, am I making sense? )

[pathdoc]

using white marker or something, like this one (seems to be K-1 Man)

Bearing, somehow, the Leica version of the FA43. Is that even possible? I guess so... Pentax to Leica, then Lei-taxed back to Pentax again? LOL!

[talgarik]

I was looking at Ricoh Imaging Japan's twitter feed.
????????? (@ricohimaging_jp) on Twitter

First thing I noticed is that it's much more active than the twitter feed of Ricoh Imaging USA.

much more active than every other Ricoh Imaging Twitter feed I'd say and a lot of promotion for the KP, probably it makes sense since it is a SFF camera trying to catch the attention of the mirrorless people that are much more numerous in Japan and Asia than in the US and Europe.

[Jeff Lopez]

shuks...seems that the Pentax gold strap sold out...the tshirts are nice, though..

[photodesignch]

Bearing, somehow, the Leica version of the FA43. Is that even possible? I guess so... Pentax to Leica, then Lei-taxed back to Pentax again? LOL!

It's not possible at all. It's just some dude's fantasy. Unless Pentax gives us a mirrorless KP. Otherwise it's simply impossible to bend the physical.

Also.. 43 Special is MUCH smaller than that.. Keep in mind Leica M mount is much smaller in circumference.

[The Squirrel Mafia]

There was the K-r based off the Kore Janai Robo http://www.zariganiworks.co.jp/korejanairobo/ which was a spoof of a cheap robot toy that a kid wouldn't want as a gift (but would be gifted with in place of their actual desired robotic toy). Which is kind of funny that Pentax would do that to one of their cameras.

Hahaha! This is not a robo(t)! Sucks to be that kid.

I never paid attention to that.

[monochrome]

It's not possible at all. It's just some dude's fantasy. Unless Pentax gives us a mirrorless KP. Otherwise it's simply impossible to bend the physical.

Also.. 43 Special is MUCH smaller than that.. Keep in mind Leica M mount is much smaller in circumference.

Really? I could have sworn the 43 Ltd. Special Leica-M was exactly the same as a 43 Ltd. Pentax-K, given that it is the same lens with a simple mount swap. 2000 pieces were made for the Japanese market and they came with a special rangefinder. They weren't actually intended for Leica cameras, rather they were for other cameras that used Leica-M mount. Quite similar in concept to the Canon 50/1.2 Leica-M re-mount.

Forum discussion thread

[Jeff Lopez]

Thanks mee, I knew about Kore-ja-nai Robo but had no idea PENTAX actually made and sold cameras collaborating with them. I googled around, apparently they made limited edition K-x Kore-ja-nai model first, all 100 were sold out in 10 minutes, and this K-r followed. So this was apparently a huge PR success.

(To me however, this K-r lacks true kore-ja-nai ("this isn't the one") feeling. Designers just used Kore-ja-nai Robo, as opposed to trying to poorly copy some other product's design with plenty of bad taste such that the end result would be very unstylish, sad and totally disappointing. The reason why Kore-ja-nai Robo was funny was because somebody intentionally made a toy with these characteristics and the execution was just right. I don't know why I'm writing this, am I making sense? )

Or probably someone at Pentax had vision that these Korejanai Robo KR will have an extremely hard to get status like those wooden robots right now. Might as well be the Pentax 100 year celebration trinket..

[photodesignch]

Really? I could have sworn the 43 Ltd. Special Leica-M was exactly the same as a 43 Ltd. Pentax-K, given that it is the same lens with a simple mount swap. 2000 pieces were made for the Japanese market and they came with a special rangefinder. They weren't actually intended for Leica cameras, rather they were for other cameras that used Leica-M mount. Quite similar in concept to the Canon 50/1.2 Leica-M re-mount.

Forum discussion thread

They are not even the same dimension. C'mom! that can't be the same lens. FA is a bit fatter, but shorter. But you need to realize, Leica SM cameras are much shorter. So in reality, they could end up in the same "length".. But in the width, they are completely different.

[mee]

I was looking at Ricoh Imaging Japan's twitter feed.
????????? (@ricohimaging_jp) on Twitter

First thing I noticed is that it's much more active than the twitter feed of Ricoh Imaging USA. But then I noticed that they created a mascot "KP Man" out of a KP body, various lenses and what seems like torso/arm/legs made out of some fabric. WTH? He looks like this:
Twitter

Now I know where I place him... Patrick Starr from the Spongebob cartoon

[monochrome]

They are not even the same dimension. C'mom! that can't be the same lens. FA is a bit fatter, but shorter. But you need to realize, Leica SM cameras are much shorter. So in reality, they could end up in the same "length".. But in the width, they are completely different.

The barrels were apparently made a third party, (Cosina) but the lenses are optically identical. If you remove the rear caps and slide the M-mount hood back into the body, remove the Pentax hood and the filter and accept that the aperture ring for the M-mount lens is front mounted while it is rear mounted on the Pentax, the optical formulas, element placements within the barrels and internal mechanisms are still identical and the barrel lengths themselves by definition must also be identical. {The M-mount barrel is 20mm longer to compensate for the different register difference.} They're optically the same lens. We both agree and disagree.

The M-mount isn't that much bigger without the hood.



Scroll down to the bottom of Stephen Gandy's Camera Quest entry on the 43 Limited

"

However, that still leaves the 43/1.9 in Leica Screw mount. Apparently the design and optics are by Pentax, but the lens barrel is produced by another, yet un-named company.
Of course any sane person will probably asks what difference does it make, so long as Pentax is on the filter ring? The answer is that it's fun for camera techno nuts to search a bit further beyond the label to see what is really going on.While Pentax lovers may grumble at the speculation that a Pentax lens might be a Cosina,{[I]it isn't{/i]} without the open discussion on the internet, I would not have been able to apparently confirm that the 43/1.9 Leica Screw mount Pentax is not entirely Pentax -- so perhaps open speculation and discussion is not such a bad thing after all.

"