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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
02-22-2019, 07:05 AM
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If you look at the cut-away image at the bottom of this page, you can see that the SR mechanism takes up most of the space in the body. There no space for a flash or an EVF.
[High Image Quality] ?GR III | RICOH IMAGING
Their decision makes sense to me. A flash can be added to the hot shoe if you want it. An OVF can be added to the hot shoe if you want it. GPS can be handled through a connection to a smartphone.
But SR can't be added. It has to be in the camera itself or not at all. I personally value SR more than a flash, so I'm happy.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
02-12-2019, 05:30 AM
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Ricoh held an event at a music venue in Tokyo last Thursday. It was open to the general public and they had talks from a number of photographers. They've put a video and report up on the GR blog site.
Youtu.be
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src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wx6b9FY2O94?controls=1" allowfullscreen>
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Here is the article on the GR Blog. This one's only in Japanese for now.
GR LIVE! ????? ???? | GR official | ??????????????
This report from another site (Japanese) is also quite extensive, with a lot of images.
??? GR III ????? #GRlive????????????? | Dmaniax.com
I haven't had time to read through all this yet, but it doesn't look like any new information was released. The release is still expected soon.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
02-09-2019, 08:07 PM
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An interesting tweet from Kimio Tanaka, showing different contacts on the hot shoe of the GR III (below). I believe this is just changed from the Ricoh configuration to the Pentax one.
For people who want a viewfinder, the GV-2 accessory looks like a sensible option.
Here's his twitter.
????? (@thisistanaka) on Twitter |
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
01-05-2019, 06:43 PM
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Among this discussion of the lack of a viewfinder, I haven't seen anyone mention the GV-1 or GV-2 accessories from Ricoh, or the possibility of using any third party one. The GV-2 in particular is very compact.
However, i don't think I would buy either, because once I get a sense for 28mm again, I should be able to see the shot anyway and just pull the camera out to take it. That's what I ended up doing with the GR Digital, and to some extent with my K-01 + 21/40/77mm kit. It's different with zooms. Having said that, I do realize that framing is not the only use for a viewfinder, especially an EVF.
By the way, I just noticed that the code number on the bottom of the GR III says R02010, which means that the new camera Ricoh registered last October is now accounted for.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
12-30-2018, 06:36 AM
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Photographer Kimio Tanaka has had a prototype GR III for while now and has started posting about it on Twitter.
Not much new information, but he explains how to gain quick direct access to an image processing menu by pressing the wi-fi button in playback mode. It seems like a nice shortcut.
His Twitter is here, but of course you’ll need use a translator if you want it in a language other than Japanese.
????? (@thisistanaka) on Twitter |
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
12-28-2018, 09:59 PM
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Sorry. Just misread your post as a comment about the K-70. Should read more carefully.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
12-28-2018, 07:19 PM
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On page three of the features section on the product page, it says so.
“The PENTAX K-70 features PENTAX’s first Hybrid AF system during Live View autofocus operation. By coupling a contrast-detection AF sensor with superior focusing accuracy with an image-plane phase-matching AF sensor positioned on the image sensor’s surface, this innovative hybrid system optimizes the benefits of both AF systems to assure high-speed, pinpoint autofocusing on the subject.”
Features3 | PENTAX K-70 | RICOH IMAGING
It probably still isn’t that fast, because most lenses weren’t designed for it, but it is in the camera.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
12-26-2018, 05:55 AM
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Ooku posted this link several pages back. It includes GIFs that show the touch screen being used for menu navigation. You can use the touch screen or use it with the buttons, just like the GR/GXR interface. The GIFs I'm talking about don't show at first. You need to scroll down a little and click the small grey down arrow.
??? ?????GR III??????????????????????????_????_????? |
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
12-25-2018, 06:59 PM
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The January edition of Nippon Camera has a four-page report on the GR III. It’s basically a report on the same “GR Night” event that was reported a couple of weeks ago online, but they mentioned some information that I do not remember seeing before.
- They mention specifically that the sensor is the same one as in the K-70. I think this makes sense, because that is the only camera that Ricoh has made with on-sensor PDAF (not mentioned in the KP specs).
- They show the menu of the smartphone connection options - Record location information ON/OFF, Automatic Image transfer ON/OFF, Automatic Image Transfer while powered off ON/OFF. The connection can be used for geotagging. I don’t have a GR II or a wifi-enabled Pentax, so I don’t know how this compares to current models.
- The touch screen AF can be set to - Off, AF point selection, AF point selection + Pre AF, AF point selection + Pre AF + Shutter release. In addition, there is a separate menu item to disable the touch screen entirely.
Separately, the magazine had an interview with all the camera manufacturers about their planned new products for 2019. About half of the Ricoh/Pentax one was focused on the GR III with quite a bit of insight into the planning process.
- This is the first time every aspect of the GR has been renewed - meaning the sensor, lens, engine and GUI.
- The decision to make the camera smaller was due to customer feedback that the GR/GR II
had become a bit too big with the jump to the APS-C. So they decided to review the size of the GR and make it smaller again.
- They were able to do this through miniaturization of the electronic components and developing a smaller version of the DSLR IBIS mechanism that is nevertheless able to stabilize a large APS-C sensor.
- The decision to use IBIS rather than lens-based IS is that having one movable lens element would result in a reduction in image quality.
- The reason they have not made a zoom GR is that it would not be possible to make a zoom lens of the necessary quality to be consistent with the GR line.
- At the suggestion of models with other focal lengths, they said they are not completely focused on the 28mm focal length and they are considering a model with another focal length. However, this was quickly followed up by a comment that having 24mp in the GR III will make the crop modes more usable, whereas 16mp in the prior models made it less practical.
- The two priorities that came up from user feedback were compact size and macro capability. So they improved these two points.
- About the idea of a full frame GR, it would be possible, but there are more drawbacks than advantages. The full size sensor would make the body and lens larger. It would also operate more slowly, so you wouldn’t be able to call it a “snap” camera any more. By the way, when they refer to “snap”, they basically mean what we call street photography in English. The nuance isn’t like holiday snaps.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
12-11-2018, 06:07 AM
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I'm interested in how long the camera takes to start up, how quickly it focuses and minimal shutter lag. How long it takes to write the card afterwards is not too much of a problem, as long as it doesn't lock up the camera for the duration. Are people really going to be using the GR II for sustained burst shooting anyway? Doesn't seem like a priority to me.
So far, we can see from the video that it seems to start up fast, can't really say much about the focusing speed, and shutter lag has not been a problem for previous models. There's no reason to believe it will write slower than a mid range 24mp DSLR, because it seems to have the same sort of power.
The GR series has always has some internal memory to store a few shots, but 2GB seems quite generous. It would be neat if you could write RAW to the card and JPEG to internal memory. That would be a bit like having a dual card setup.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
12-08-2018, 05:55 AM
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
12-08-2018, 03:10 AM
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
12-06-2018, 07:04 AM
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Thanks for that link. Some things that struck me in the images and GIFs were:
- The weight is mentioned on the Ricoh slide as 227g compared to the GRII's 221g. I guess the previously mentioned 257g must have been including the battery.
- The slide also reveals it has the accelerator. I think this is the first time the accelerator chip has been disclosed. So it has a new processor and the accelerator chip.
- It's a bit difficult to judge from a GIF, but the lens barrel seems to extend much quicker. That was something I always disliked about the former models. The screechy noise accentuated how long it took to extend.
- It is clearly easy to reach and operate the screen with your thumb without shifting your grip.
- They already have packaging made up for it and perhaps those images are for the promotional material.
All very exciting!
---------- Post added 12-06-18 at 11:59 PM ----------
Here is another hands-on impression from the Japanese press.
(Japanese) 2019
(English via Google) Google Translate |
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
12-05-2018, 05:49 AM
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Looking at the menu screens in that second article, there is a huge amount of fine control over the visual interface, control behavior and shooting parameters.
I can't translate everything but for the FN button, the assignable functions are:
- Off
- Focus
- Snap focus distance
- File format
- Aspect ratio
- JPEG size
- Metering mode
- ISO sensitivity
- Flash mode
- Flash strength
- Drive mode
- Self timer
- Image control
- Manual mode one-push auto exposure
- Outdoor monitor
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
12-05-2018, 02:46 AM
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Thank you for explaining. It seems that the terminology at least is different. What I find interesting here is that the two items above are "Bluetooth Settings" and "Wireless LAN Settings", which I would expect to be for getting connected. But then what would this new setting be for? My guess would be some deeper integration with phones than we have seen before. The fact that DC Watch chose to show that setting highlighted might be significant.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
12-04-2018, 06:20 PM
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I made a human translation of the December 4 DC Watch article that Ooku linked to. This one: https://dc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/1156660.html
First unveiling of "RICOH GR III" functional machines
On December 4, Ricoh Imaging held the “GR Night”, inviting photographers and the media to try functional samples of the “Ricoh GRIII”, a compact digital camera planned for release in spring 2019.
The GRIII is a fixed lens digital camera, whose development was announced at Photokina 2018. While maintaining the GR series’ characteristic 28mm in 35mm equivalent format, the lens has a fresh optical design. The image sensor is APS-C, with an effective resolution of 24.24 megapixels, and it’s main feature is that it incorporates the sensor shift stabilization mechanism (SR) developed in Pentax DSLRs.
Photo Caption: Compared to the GR/GRII the width has been reduced, making it close to the size of the GR Digital IV.
Photo Caption: The 35mm equivalent 21mm wide converter lens (price to be confirmed)
When we had an interview at Photokina, we were not allowed to see the camera switched on, but this time we could actually operate the camera and shoot. We could also see the menus, said to have been “remade from scratch”. However, since this was still firmware version 0.00, features and changes are likely to be added in various areas before launch. At present, the expected price is projected at “just over 100,000 yen”
Photo caption: The shooting screen. Touch AF is possible.
Photo caption: The menu screen. After selecting a tab, the menus can be scrolled with a flick gesture.
We will post more detailed information we got from the touch and try at a later date.
A note about the price. The original GR was launched at 100,000 yen ($800 elsewhere), so this is not much of a price increase, especially compared the industry trend. I would caution about using currency converters to infer a local price from the Japan price because it rarely works like that. However, it might be fair to say it will be a little bit above the initial GR price was in your country.
---------- Post added 12-05-18 at 10:40 AM ----------
By the way, the item highlighted in the menu reads "Smartphone Connection Functions". I'm not sure I've seen that wording before. Is that in the KP or K-1 II menus? I'm wondering if indicates some deeper level of integration with smartphones.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
09-28-2018, 07:58 PM
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
09-28-2018, 07:19 PM
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The GR Blog has some articles about the GRIII in English. I think this is where OGL got his images. I may have missed it, but I haven't see the link to the articles themselves yet.
GR official | RICOH official community site
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
09-28-2018, 08:57 AM
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I can think of a few.
- Some people found the EV comp toggle on the thumb rest frustrating because it was easy to inadvertently hit. I personally never found that a problem, but I read it in numerous reviews and user comments. They have moved this somewhere else. Not sure how it will work in practice.
- When they moved to APS-C from the smaller sensor GRD IV, they sacrificed a few things - the phase detect AF sensor, sensor shift image stabilization, and the 1cm macro function went to 10cm. They have addressed all of these things in some way.
- People had trouble with dust on the sensor and the new one has the Pentax DRII system to vibrate it off. This is what a lot of people wanted better sealing for.
I'm happy to see a touch screen because I hate dealing with menus through the tiny 8-way buttons. I think being able to swipe through the options will make me more likely to experiment with the deeper settings of the camera. I don't see why people object to touch screens. Do they really feel satisfied with the old routine? - right, right, right, down, down, down, down, OK, left . . .
As for the size, I think smaller is better. I would want to carry this in my pocket, but inside a protective case. This is like the older GRD, so it should be possible to get neoprene case for it and still have it fit in an inside jacket pocket.
Anyway, that's my take on it.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
09-28-2018, 07:06 AM
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There's video interview with Takahiro Tomohiro Noguchi on DC Watch about the GR III. Noguchi-san is someone very closely associated with the GR. He runs the GR blog site. I saw him interviewed about Ricoh cameras before the Pentax acquisition, so I'm sure he is from the Ricoh side originally.
For the most part it's just what we've heard before. He stresses hat this not a minor change but the whole camera is redesigned from the ground up. The interviewer comments on how the Gas all look the same since 1993. Nogichi-san answers that every time they go through a process of considering other designs, but when they think about the use of the camera, they come back to a similar design. He does say that users are going to feel more of a change when they operate it.
What I found interesting were his comments about demand for the camera. He said that over the years smartphones have taken sales away from compact cameras, but that the GR is stable. It has not been affected at all. He also said that the camera is particularly popular in Asia and China in particular.
Here's the video for anyone who can understand.
Youtu.be
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src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YigUxOb-Sfk?controls=1" allowfullscreen>
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
09-26-2018, 04:08 PM
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If you look at the back view, there seems to be a join just below the hot shoe, as if there is a cut out section that needs to be covered by the hot shoe coming down around the back. That cut out is most likely for an EVF or maybe “smart” OVF that can relay shooting parameters in my opinion.
On previous versions, that space was taken by a green focus confirmation light. It was quite well placed, because if you used the OVF attachment, you could see that light in you peripheral vision. It looks like they have a different solution now.
That’s what makes me think we might get an EVF attachment option. They had one before for the GXR, but it never worked with the GR.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
09-26-2018, 04:22 AM
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
09-25-2018, 06:15 PM
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Ricoh markets two viewfinders for the GR, both of which are superior to the tunnel-like thing that used to be built in to the film GRs. It was only ever there because in the film days that was the only way to frame.
I find that with a fixed focal you soon learn to know what will be in the frame. With snap focus, you can almost shoot blind with a GR.
And lame is entirely subjective. I wasn’t even slightly tempted by the K-1 for myself, but I don’t go around saying it’s lame.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
09-25-2018, 04:23 PM
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Almost every spec on the GRIII is improved over the GRII. And the spec list is quite specific, so I have no doubt these features are locked in.
Regarding the size, the GR feels noticeably bigger than the GRD models the preceded it. This is back to the GRD dimensions so it will be noticeable. Compactness is not a side issue with the GR; it’s a key characteristic.
The extra pixels on the GRII were additional white ones to brighten up the image. They did not increase the overall resolution. So if this has a newer screen, it is most likely superior, and it is a touch screen too.
Another poster claimed that the GR has a non-standard hot shoe. The GR series has always had a standard sized hot shoe. Since the GRII it has supported the Pentax flash system.
I’m probably one of the “ take my money” people. Fortunately, I’ll be able to try before I buy. In any case, I don’t trust any websites to review Ricoh cameras fairly and promptly, so I’ll trust my own judgement.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
09-25-2018, 02:36 AM
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I really want this. Looks as small as the GRD series. I’m sure this has some tech from Pentax in it, but there’s no way that camera has the Pentax magnetic SR in it. It must be a whole new smaller system. That could come back to Pentax DSLRs. A few months to get my finances in order.
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