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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
10-10-2023, 02:25 AM
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Found this aditional explanation.
(translated with DeepL)
Greetz, JHvD
Ricoh Announces Nano-coated Composite Aspherical Lenses
Summary:
The top photo shows the conventional distillation multi-layer coating.
The lower picture shows the new patented nanostructure coating.
1. Traditional distillation multi-layer coating, large angle incident light, reflectivity will suddenly increase, the patent adopts nanostructured coating to improve significantly (all wavelength reflectivity are controlled within 0.5%, even if the incident light is 30 degrees, in the full visible light domain can be completely controlled in the 0.1% or less).
2. Since resin is not resistant to high temperature, conventional distillation coating requires the use of low-temperature materials.
Since conventional distillation coating requires the use of low-temperature materials, it is difficult to achieve sufficient anti-reflective effect due to cost and choice constraints.
Nano-structured coating uses UV curing resin to form a high precision nanostructure by using two layers of resin with different viscosities.
The Nano-structured coating is formed by two layers of resin with different viscosities to achieve high precision.
The core of PENTAX patented coating technology is the position of the coating.
This time, PENTAX has further realized Nano-coating on composite aspheric lenses.
The effect is very obvious, the patent application date is March 22, 2022, and we are looking forward to using it on new lenses.
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Forum: Photographic Industry and Professionals
09-05-2023, 10:47 AM
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"We can no longer recommend Pentax cameras"
...Did they ever?
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
08-27-2023, 04:45 AM
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OK guys. As two moderators alluded to earlier, the discussion seems to have descended into personal agenda.
A toss of a cold-water balloon can be expected. Who among us hasn't posted the occasional (or more ;) )negative comment of the brand? There are times they deserve it. But why are a couple of the participants in this thread so driven to respond with mocking and/or negative comment to anyone seeing a ray of sunshine in a simple story? Is it so dangerous for Pentax users to hope that the future is still as secure as with any of the camera companies? Pentax will never be Canon, but that can be OK.
If someone has decided their own Pentax marriage is on the rocks, why beat the kids and kick the dog too?
ThThThThat's all folks. |
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
12-30-2022, 06:12 AM
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Looks now like the brand websites are completed....
On the website there is also reference to Slik stative (tripods etc...)
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
08-03-2023, 12:49 PM
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The reason why the firmware of the original K-1 hasn't been updated (the following is an answer to a tweet from Kimio Tanaka, who was wondering why such a minor update was proposed for the K-1 Mark II, K-3 Mark III and K-3 Mark III Monochrome):
https://twitter.com/kumataiyou/status/1687048577770721280
"Last year, a new simplified font (GB18030-2022) was established and from 1st August 2023 onwards, only [the devices using] the new simplified fonts approved by the Chinese government can be sold in China."
The K-1 is discontinued and therefore does not need such an update. The same goes for the 645Z.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
07-03-2023, 05:13 PM
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All, I thought long and hard whether I should NOT post this (more about that later) but I decided that this is a useful and good news that most of you deserve to know, so let's get to the numbers first.
On Jun/26/2023, RI posted FY2022-23 balance sheet to 官報 or the Official Japan Gazette, a newspaper published by the National Printing Bureau to notify citizens all sorts of legal matters. This is not a new development or anything, it's been going on from the start of Ricoh-Pentax merger. Anyway, back to FY 2022-23.
Total assets: ~7.46B JPY as of March 2023 (Current Assets ~5.4B, Fixed ~2.06B, yes it's a small company today). That's ~1.7 billion JPY increase from the previous FY. Still smaller than pre-COVID March 2020 (~11B) but already larger than March 2021 (~5.85B) and March 2022.
Liabilities total: ~7.07B (Current ~6.56B, Fixed ~0.51B).
Shareholders' equity: ~0.39B.
Net profit: ~1.14 billion JPY (about 7.9 million USD) after three consecutive FYs of net loss.
I'll add that shareholders' equity bounced back into positive due to 1.14B profit after two consecutive FYs of negative (yes I've been REALLY concerned for two years).
RI has done countless things in the past while NOT making functional updates to DSLR nor GR for FY20222-23. At least some of these things worked, otherwise they couldn't have pulled this off. Things don't look rosy or anything, but this is the first good quantitative financial news about RI after so many years. They're in the process of morphing into something that is different from their pre-COVID selves, and in that process they're coming back financially, it seems to me. I don't know if this continues or not. We'll see.
OK, now that an important part is out, here's how I obtained this information (you can too) and why I haven't posted anything before. If you're not interested, just skip it as this will be long.
Despite popular belief/rumor in PF, RI would post its balance sheet to Official Japan Gazette in late June or very early July each year (they're legally bound to post it somewhere). Free online version of the Gazette is the most inconvenient source for me as they only keep it online for 90 days, you get each page as one separate pdf, each pdf is just a big image and therefore not searchable at all using letters (e.g. "リコーイメージング" or "Ricoh Imaging"), but I had/have to use that as there's no alternatives. If you live in Japan you can pay 2200 Yens per month for the access to search in the past issues (you'll send your application to one of their 48 branches) or go to large public libraries. Either way, it's mostly out of reach for me except when I go back to Japan. There are third parties who somehow build their own database off of the Gazette and publish for free, I don't know about the legality of that. Information on the Gazette is considered public domain but the Printing Bureau claims copyright to some of the digital contents, so e.g. using a screenshot beyond the personal purpose might be problematic. In addition, if you subscribe to the Gazette's search service you'll consent to the TOS that explicitly prohibits you from using the data and graphics beyond the personal use. Third parties might be buying paper copies to scan in and use OCR to automate the information extraction, which I guess is legal.
That's why I made it a habit to check the free online version of the Gazette everyday in late June. I'll save your time to do what I did, here's the page for RI's FY2022-23 data (top left is RI, no easy auto-translation because it's just a big image and no real character information):
Jun/26/2023 issue, "Extras" section, page 80.
Anyway, I promised myself that I won't post anything about RI's balance sheets unless there is an obviously good news. It would be vulgar and irresponsible of me if I talk about "bad" finances of a company when in reality I have zero understanding of how to read nuances of balance sheet of any company, let alone a 100% subsidiary of a bigger corporation. And anyway how RI is doing in general could be guesstimated from the investor relation events of Ricoh Co. Ltd. (the mothership), so writing "RI itself made a loss" wouldn't have helped anybody except haters and masochists :lol:. And there hasn't been any "obviously good" year before. So I just sat on the knowledge.
This past FY was different. Making a net profit is always good. Total assets springing back toward pre-COVID level (not quite, but they're already bigger than Mar/2021) is great. Shareholders' equity getting back to positive is huge (at least for me). Should I post it? I mean, it seems to pass my own "obviously good" criterion. Will this somehow make a neutral person to stop buying Pentax products? Like, I don't know, maybe the person is shocked that RI is so small and avoid it based on that? Not impossible, but I decided that I shouldn't be worrying about each and every corner case. If you're searching for negative materials in this news, this is not the only source for you, and this is not the worst one either. In other words, you're not affected by this news.
OTOH this will give everybody a glimpse that RI's actions are maybe, sort of, actually working. There's no denying that whatever they did made money for them. So, for those of you who can see positive things as positive, you deserve to hear this news, thus this post.
BTW I'm still sticking to "no post unless obviously good" thing concerning this subject. If you go for third parties (to find out the past data), that's your choice not mine, please don't post about that in this thread. Thanks for reading!
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Forum: General Photography
06-12-2023, 02:20 AM
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It may not be news to us, but it may be news to all the people who've eschewed the DSLR and the the joy of an OVF for the mirrorless world.
It's a short but interesting article in a magazine that has always sung the praises of mirrorless and talked about the end of the DSLR. I'm sure many of us will have a few thoughts about this.
I think both have a valuable part to play and each has their strengths.
Here?s why the DSLR will always be in demand... - Amateur Photographer |
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
06-07-2023, 06:16 PM
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This firmware adds some features to both K-3 III cameras.
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[Additional features]
Added limited function [Grad ND Shooting].
* A special activation key (release key) obtained from a website or other source is required to activate the limited functions.
Note: The Grad ND Shooting activation key issuance is a service that will be launched first in Japan. the launch of this service outside of Japan has not yet been determined.
[Enhanced features]
Added Type 3 to the item of the AF.C tracking AF point method.
Added focus sensitivity setting item for AF.C.
Added USER mode setting [BOX] write/read function. For more details click here
[Others]
Improved the number of consecutive frames when shooting with crop.
Improved stability for general performance.
* When this update is done, the contents of version 1.80 and earlier will be also updated.
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The paid upgrade to Grad ND is now available, but still only in Japan.
Even so, there are meaningful upgrades here other than Grad ND.
More info here.
Function Expand Firmware | PENTAX K-3 Mark III | RICOH IMAGING
Get it here:
K-3 III: Latest PENTAX K-3 Mark III Firmware Update : Software Downloads | RICOH IMAGING
K-3 III Monochrome: Latest PENTAX K-3 Mark III Monochrome Firmware Update : Software Downloads | RICOH IMAGING |
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Forum: Photographic Industry and Professionals
05-27-2023, 05:28 AM
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“The trouble with our Digital Camera World friends is not that they’re ignorant. It’s just that they know so much that isn’t so.”
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Forum: Photographic Industry and Professionals
05-27-2023, 01:07 AM
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A supposedly professional journalist whose job is to write about cameras but seems unaware that Pentax exists? Welcome to the age of the internet.
When he says , "We did that. It's our fault," he's presumably referring to the writers and readers of Digital Camera World, and he's right. It's a publication whose only purpose is to sell the latest shiny new camera stuff to people who aren't really much interested in actual photography but love buying high tech gear.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
05-28-2023, 04:05 AM
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Yes, seems right. I'm glad to be wrong. My apologies.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
05-23-2023, 04:41 AM
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I thought Ricoh / Pentax are singlehandedly keeping DPR alive with announcements :D
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
05-22-2023, 02:19 AM
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
05-20-2023, 05:05 AM
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The SDM motor in the 16-50 wouldn't be able to move the focusing elements in the DFA*85/1.4.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
05-19-2023, 06:04 AM
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
05-19-2023, 07:08 AM
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I'm guessing that the auto focus will be a bit better than the M, Takumar, and K lenses... :)
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
05-17-2023, 06:14 AM
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On pentax.eu site, are product sample/render pics and optical scheme for both, while the optical formula is exact the same, it shows that front element in HD is twice as deep within front chassis part than in Classic. Also MTF tables are there along with sample pictures:)
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Forum: Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras
05-11-2023, 05:22 AM
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Expect to wait several months. This is Pentax we're talking about :D
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
05-10-2023, 06:19 AM
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Now you've done it: You've used facts instead of imagination. So how is anyone supposed to make negative posts on the camera results without sounding silly? Party-pooper. :)
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
04-26-2023, 12:08 PM
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There are a small few members here on PF with a rich, well-established history of frequent, non-constructive brand negativity (including sarcasm) toward Pentax / Ricoh - which would be OK, I guess, in a brand-agnostic forum, but significantly reduces the "fun factor" in one that's supposed to be all about Pentax / Ricoh. It's a BIG part of why I stopped participating here, and why some folks - myself included - tend to interpret their posts as somehow negative by default. That's a shame, because those same few members sometimes have really good stuff to say about technical and/or artistic matters. If only they'd lay off what often appears to be non-constructive brand negativity (even when it's not) because of their well-earned reputation...
Insincere bold, positive comments are just as unhelpful as non-constructive negative ones, biz. Perhaps 6 - 12 months of sincere, helpful, balanced, non-pontificating posts smattered with just occasional constructively-critical comments might change folks' default interpretations? Just sayin'...
That's my one post for 2023. Not a selflessly-crafted free tutorial that took hours to write, nor a response to someone's request for assistance, like the stuff I used to post when I was an active participant... but still something I hope might one day help the community as a whole.
Best wishes to all in the old "club house"... I still hold PF dear in my heart ;)
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
04-26-2023, 12:41 PM
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Miss having you around Mike.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
04-25-2023, 06:09 PM
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Why is there no K1m2 monochrome?
Because IMX094 has been out of production for many years, Pentax cannot order the Monochrome version at all.
Why not use monochrome version of other CMOS?
Because that requires a complete remake of the camera, the workload is huge and the priority is significantly lower than the new FF camera.
Why not make a new FF camera?
How do you know that Pentax is not doing it? Based on imagination?
Some discussions have made me wonder if some people really don't know the internal structure of digital cameras.
In my opinion, releasing the K3IIIm is the best way for Pentax to ease the awkward atmosphere of new product delays with minimal effort.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
04-25-2023, 02:16 PM
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Agree, disagree, whatever you like, just do it politely, guys. Thanks in advance.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
04-25-2023, 04:47 AM
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Have you somehow managed to miss all the complaints and concerns about [name a controversial feature or lack thereof], or are you just ignoring those? :D
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
04-22-2023, 06:15 AM
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PENTAX K-3 Mark III Monochrome in Guangzhou.
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