Thanks for the insightful commentary. Sounds bleak for the most part. I've been slowly coming to the conclusion that the Pentax ship is sinking and its time to board a new one. Don't know which one however, but it seems that mirrorless is taking over to some degree. I would like to keep my best lenses if they are able to be mounted on whatever new platform I move to without too much hassle, so that remains to be explored. If not, expect a butt load of lenses to be offered to the gang here.
On Fri, May 11, 2018 at 6:18 PM, Bill <anotherdrunken...@gmail.com> wrote: > The local pusher has their trade show running today and tomorrow. > Being what as how there is some Pentax gear I am interested in at the > moment, and having a few spare hours today, I found myself at their shop > this afternoon. > Things I have learned: > > I need to get out more. The last time I was there, they had Pentax > gear on display. That would have been when I bought the K1, two years ago > almost to the day. > Today, nothing on display, and a corner of a shelf with a few boxes on it. > Perhaps half a dozen items, no more than that, most appeared to be old stock > as they were pre Ricoh graphics. > > Sad. > > The Pentax rep that I have cultivated a relationship over the past > couple of decades retired last year, the new rep also looks after a > marketing company called Gentec. > He had no Pentax gear on display at all, but he had at least two > dozen Sigma lenses. He did pull a K70 out of a bag to let me handle, it had > a 55-300 lens mounted to it. He called it a PLM, which must stand for > "Plucky Little Motor". It focused quickly, accurately and silently. > What he didn't have was a K1II. He was able to speak to the product, but not > show it. > > Again, very disappointing. > > He is aware that Pentax needs to get equipment onto dealer shelves > again, but he feels this is not going to be a fast process, at least not in > my neck of the woods. > My pusher can get anything, but come back next week to pick it up > please and thank you. > Things of interest: > I no longer have an "in" with Pentax. The chummy days are over and I > can no longer access new or soon to be released gear as I was able to in the > past. > No, I won't be able to do the direct comparison between the K1 and > K1II unless I buy a new camera. Ricoh doesn't do that for customers, or at > least not for this one. If your name isn't Kerrick James, you are just > another punter with a credit card. > > Sorry. > > We discussed the changes from the K1 to the K1II. For practical > purposes there are three. The signal processor is all about cleaning up high > ISO signals. It should have little to no effect at low ISO, no matter what > DPReview and Forums Neurotica say. > > Handheld pixel shift has been discussed ad nauseam on Forums > Neurotica. What Ricoh is saying is that the photographer needs a pretty > steady hand to make it work properly. The native shake caused by shutter > bounce is enough to make it work. > > The biggie, and what should be of interest is that they have > rewritten the AF algorithm, the result being that autofocus has been sped up > considerably. Gone is the slow down as the lens approaches focus, gone is > the check/double check routine that made the AF the most accurate in the > business at the expense of speed (well, except for the K5 and it's colour > failure assisted focus botch). > > The AF algorithm should put Pentax into the AF speed game, except > for the limited number of focus points. Expect a new camera to address that. > > What I decided from the conversation is that there is no practical > advantage for me regarding the MkII upgrade. I don't shoot at stupid high > ISO very often, and when I do, I am willing to tolerate some noise. People > who shoot in low light a lot (hello Larry) will benefit from the higher ISO > capabilities. I shoot off a tripod most of the time, handheld pixel shift is > of little benefit to me. I have exactly 4 auto focus lenses, one being a > macro, I'm not too concerned about fast AF, but i appreciate accurate AF. > > Which leads me to new AF lenses. The 50/1.4 is delayed until August > at the earliest from the sound of it, and when it finally arrives, will be > priced in the Can$1.5K range. It will be similar in size to the Sigma 50/1.4 > Art lens, and will retail for a couple of hundred dollars more. No surprise > regarding the price, Sigma has an economy of scale going for it as they make > lenses with more than one mount. The rep did indicate that the lens will > very much be worth the wait. > I told him that when I heard of the delay I felt like a five year > old who had been told Christmas had been put on hold for the foreseeable > future. He said he would mention that to the powers that be at the Canadian > office. > > It does appear that Pentax is abandoning the entry level market to a > great extent. At the moment, there are no plans for an entry level camera. > This will, in the rep's POV, keep Pentax off the shelves to a great extent, > as retailers really like to have a cheap and cheerful box to sell to first > time buyers. > Whether this is a good strategy on Ricoh's part or not, I cannot > say. It appears that Ricoh is attempting to position Pentax as a premium > brand, with the cachet value of Unobtanium. At the same time, Ricoh is > serious about keeping the brand afloat, and new releases will continue to > happen, albeit slower than most people who use the brand would prefer. > > That's all. > > bill > > > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > PDML@pdml.net > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and > follow the directions. -- -- Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still. Dorothea Lange -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
