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Post by Chester PB on Apr 15, 2023 16:22:06 GMT
Writing as a Pentax owner since 1980, and currently owning a K-5 that I'm quite happy with, I think the problem goes back to the introduction of the first Fuji APS-C 'retro styled' mirrorless camera bodies that looked more like a 1960s Pentax than any digital Pentax ever has. Somebody at Ricoh/Pentax should have begun working on something very similar (but with a PK lens mount) within minutes of seeing the first one. Or perhaps discussing with Fuji the feasibility of them making one with a PK mount...
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Post by nimbus on Apr 15, 2023 17:25:59 GMT
^Making a mirrorless with a PK mount would bypass the advantage of the mirrorless camera where lens design is concerned, in that the lens mount to sensor distance is substantially reduced. So such a camera would be immediately handicapped, Pentax have simply missed every boat for the last thirty-odd years, this new offering isn't imho going to sell many units, Fujifilm could probably do it better.
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Post by zou on Apr 15, 2023 17:32:03 GMT
^Making a mirrorless with a PK mount would bypass the advantage of the mirrorless camera where lens design is concerned, in that the lens mount to sensor distance is substantially reduced. So such a camera would be immediately handicapped, Pentax have simply missed every boat for the last thirty-odd years, this new offering isn't imho going to sell many units, Fujifilm could probably do it better. That was the K-01. Another let-Homer-Simpson-design-a-car-for-the-people moment from Pentax. |
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Post by nickr on Apr 15, 2023 18:32:16 GMT
Writing as a Pentax owner since 1980, and currently owning a K-5 that I'm quite happy with, I think the problem goes back to the introduction of the first Fuji APS-C 'retro styled' mirrorless camera bodies that looked more like a 1960s Pentax than any digital Pentax ever has. Somebody at Ricoh/Pentax should have begun working on something very similar (but with a PK lens mount) within minutes of seeing the first one. Or perhaps discussing with Fuji the feasibility of them making one with a PK mount... Oh I don't think so, their problems go back much further to the start of the AF era. Their first efforts were very lukewarm and uncompetitive, and they rather missed the boat. Then at the start of the digital age, there were about a gazillion almost identical versions of the *ist D, itself a marketing disaster and again got themselves behind the market. Zou has accurately described the K-01. And although I like the Q, it wasn't exactly a success. Besides, Pentax were one of the very first manufacturers to move away from traditional dials on SLRs with the rather awful pushbutton shutter speed controls, so I don't think there was ever any logic for them to do what Fuji did. Nor for that matter, the money to do it. |
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Post by John Farrell on Apr 15, 2023 19:51:35 GMT
Writing as a Pentax owner since 1980, and currently owning a K-5 that I'm quite happy with, I think the problem goes back to the introduction of the first Fuji APS-C 'retro styled' mirrorless camera bodies that looked more like a 1960s Pentax than any digital Pentax ever has. Somebody at Ricoh/Pentax should have begun working on something very similar (but with a PK lens mount) within minutes of seeing the first one. Or perhaps discussing with Fuji the feasibility of them making one with a PK mount... Oh I don't think so, their problems go back much further to the start of the AF era. Their first efforts were very lukewarm and uncompetitive, and they rather missed the boat. Then at the start of the digital age, there were about a gazillion almost identical versions of the *ist D, itself a marketing disaster and again got themselves behind the market. Zou has accurately described the K-01. And although I like the Q, it wasn't exactly a success. Besides, Pentax were one of the very first manufacturers to move away from traditional dials on SLRs with the rather awful pushbutton shutter speed controls, so I don't think there was ever any logic for them to do what Fuji did. Nor for that matter, the money to do it. Ah, the ME and ME Super. I have an ME - a very nice little camera. To get the shutter speed I want, I select the appropriate diaphragm setting. The Super will work the same way. |
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Post by nickr on Apr 15, 2023 20:55:45 GMT
Oh I don't think so, their problems go back much further to the start of the AF era. Their first efforts were very lukewarm and uncompetitive, and they rather missed the boat. Then at the start of the digital age, there were about a gazillion almost identical versions of the *ist D, itself a marketing disaster and again got themselves behind the market. Zou has accurately described the K-01. And although I like the Q, it wasn't exactly a success. Besides, Pentax were one of the very first manufacturers to move away from traditional dials on SLRs with the rather awful pushbutton shutter speed controls, so I don't think there was ever any logic for them to do what Fuji did. Nor for that matter, the money to do it. Ah, the ME and ME Super. I have an ME - a very nice little camera. To get the shutter speed I want, I select the appropriate diaphragm setting. The Super will work the same way. Well yes, but if you're choosing to set that particular shutter speed and you want to override the exposure, that's not the total answer. I've got a Super A which also has the push buttons. It's a nice little camera, but the push buttons are not a good solution IMHO. |
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Post by nimbus on Apr 16, 2023 7:55:31 GMT
Ah, the ME and ME Super. I have an ME - a very nice little camera. To get the shutter speed I want, I select the appropriate diaphragm setting. The Super will work the same way. Well yes, but if you're choosing to set that particular shutter speed and you want to override the exposure, that's not the total answer. I've got a Super A which also has the push buttons. It's a nice little camera, but the push buttons are not a good solution IMHO. I have the original 645 which uses the same system, in that case it lacks the problem suffered by newer versions on which the plastic shutter speed dial is prone to breakage. Do I prefer dials? Yes, I have Fujifilm CSCs which use them, although I normally use aperture priority on these I like the aperture ring on the lenses, although I can cope with using one of the body dials to change that setting when using Nikon lenses via a Fringer adapter. |
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Post by nickr on Apr 16, 2023 9:40:46 GMT
Well yes, but if you're choosing to set that particular shutter speed and you want to override the exposure, that's not the total answer. I've got a Super A which also has the push buttons. It's a nice little camera, but the push buttons are not a good solution IMHO. I have the original 645 which uses the same system, in that case it lacks the problem suffered by newer versions on which the plastic shutter speed dial is prone to breakage. Do I prefer dials? Yes, I have Fujifilm CSCs which use them, although I normally use aperture priority on these I like the aperture ring on the lenses, although I can cope with using one of the body dials to change that setting when using Nikon lenses via a Fringer adapter. I'm certainly not opposed to alternative control methods, just I think they should be at least as good as the norm. There were plenty of attempts in the 70s and early 80s to differentiate products - Olympus and Mamiya with rings around the lens throat, Canon with sliding switches on the T70, and wheels on the A-1, for instance - of these, the sliding switches was a failure in the same way as push buttons - they didn't make shutter speed selection any faster. In the end, in my view, the fastest and best way yet devised to adjust the main controls is actually the one introduced on my first AF camera, the EOS 100 - too input wheels and a mode dial. This way, you can adjust shutter speed and aperture simultaneously one handed. Dials and aperture rings aren't as good in that respect, and personally, I've no need for my revenue-earning cameras to cater for nostalgia over usability - after all, I've literally hundreds of other cameras that tick the nostalgia box far better anyway. Bit I AM grateful to Fuji for offering such a well-designed system for those who have differing wants and needs. And I think I'm also grateful to Pentax for attempting to deliver functionality over fashion. |
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Post by nimbus on Apr 16, 2023 12:59:45 GMT
I have the original 645 which uses the same system, in that case it lacks the problem suffered by newer versions on which the plastic shutter speed dial is prone to breakage. Do I prefer dials? Yes, I have Fujifilm CSCs which use them, although I normally use aperture priority on these I like the aperture ring on the lenses, although I can cope with using one of the body dials to change that setting when using Nikon lenses via a Fringer adapter. I'm certainly not opposed to alternative control methods, just I think they should be at least as good as the norm. There were plenty of attempts in the 70s and early 80s to differentiate products - Olympus and Mamiya with rings around the lens throat, Canon with sliding switches on the T70, and wheels on the A-1, for instance - of these, the sliding switches was a failure in the same way as push buttons - they didn't make shutter speed selection any faster. In the end, in my view, the fastest and best way yet devised to adjust the main controls is actually the one introduced on my first AF camera, the EOS 100 - too input wheels and a mode dial. This way, you can adjust shutter speed and aperture simultaneously one handed. Dials and aperture rings aren't as good in that respect, and personally, I've no need for my revenue-earning cameras to cater for nostalgia over usability - after all, I've literally hundreds of other cameras that tick the nostalgia box far better anyway. Bit I AM grateful to Fuji for offering such a well-designed system for those who have differing wants and needs. And I think I'm also grateful to Pentax for attempting to deliver functionality over fashion. Fuji have managed to make models that cater nicely for many needs with much the same sensors and electronics, rangefinder with optical vf, (X-Pro) compact with vf (X-E), SLR design light and compact (X-T?0), SLR Design but faster and heavier but more robust/larger (X-T?), finally the X-H with controls more like other makers allowing fastest operation. They've left FF to the others and produced a fairly niche MF product without excessive weight or bulk. I rather like my Fujifilm cameras, when I am walking about they have been my go-to since I bought into the system. |
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Post by zou on Apr 19, 2023 18:41:58 GMT
Read today the first batch is sold out and they temporarily suspended orders as they can't keep up with demand. Which is great, but maybe the first batch was like 5,000 total.  |
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Post by aitch on Apr 26, 2023 8:57:16 GMT
Should anyone be interested, Ned Bunnell, former President of Pentax USA has had a play with one and created a Flickr page of his results. Heard about it here. |
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Post by zx9 on Apr 26, 2023 9:28:52 GMT
Should anyone be interested, Ned Bunnell, former President of Pentax USA has had a play with one and created a Flickr page of his results. Heard about it here. Some of the shots look to have a good highlight / shadow range (truck and girl in hammock) and the bloke walking next to the groin sign, but not in the Leica Q2 mono WOW way. Does not help that in comments he basically fluffs a lot of the replies with um yer might have done answers. Probably more a reflection of former Pentax US president's abilities, much as I hate brand ambassadors I think you need to see pictures by a photographer not a business man.
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Post by nimbus on Apr 26, 2023 14:48:06 GMT
Should anyone be interested, Ned Bunnell, former President of Pentax USA has had a play with one and created a Flickr page of his results. Heard about it here. That certainly isn't making me think I must have one. |
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neilt3
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Post by neilt3 on Apr 26, 2023 15:39:00 GMT
Should anyone be interested, Ned Bunnell, former President of Pentax USA has had a play with one and created a Flickr page of his results. Heard about it here. That certainly isn't making me think I must have one. Not seeing anything my current gear can't produce . Just a bunch of not very demanding snap shots . |
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