Monster Adaptor (Pentax K to Sony E) Pre-production Reviews

 1. https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/4ekKr7wJePbjEOcf01lWaA

(in Simplified Chinese, Google English translated page here - but there will be no picture nor video as the Weixin server has disabled hot-linking from other websites)

The video clips for the AF tests with the FA31 are dead links anyway.

2. The below YouTube video tested the Monster Adaptor with the DFA*85/1.4 lens, it seems that the new SDM motor as well as the KAF4 electromagnetic aperture are both well supported by this version of the adaptor:

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bz_5huMytRo)

The AF speed and response of the combo looks good.

SAFOX 13 (in K-3 III)

Credit: Mistral75 @ DPR Forum

Legend:

Grey squares - Selectabe crossed AF points 

Hollow squares - Selectable linear AF points 

Small circles - Non-selectable linear AF points 

Btw, Mistral, where did you get this diagram? :-o It must belong to a product story later!  ;-)

Update (Nov 9): 

Mistral75 advised in his reply (via his latest comment below) that the above SAFOX 13 layout was a sensible guess based on the original official diagram showing cut-outs in the lines (as broken lines) of the finder marks and brackets, which was actually a collaborative work created among three members in the French CDI Forum.

To verify if this could be really true, I have made a new overlay diagram with their assumed SAFOX 13 with an official SAFOX 12 one. Note that with the new magnified APS-C viewfinder of the K-3 III, now the covered AF areas of the K-3 III and the K-1 are more or less the same, except the extreme peripherals:

My own wild guess Pentax has opted to keep the old SAFOX module and add/build new AF points based on the old AF module, since the number of crossed AF points remain unchanged, i.e. at 25 nos. 

In this connection, I don't think the above brand new layout is completely an accurate guess. Instead, a 5x5 crossed AF points surrounded by another 6x6 linear AF points in alternative / interlaced manner would be more sensible. As for the remaining linear 40 points, they can be put/added at the two sides as well as at the top and the bottom, surrounding the central part of the AF point crowd, making up a total of the 101 points, which are all visible and selectable in groups.

Besides, just for the sake of seeing what the SAFOX 12 would look like if it is yet put into the K-3 III, the following overlay diagram is also made:

Ultimate Savior for Pentaxians who Had been Hoping for a True K-mount Mirrorless (with Eye-AF etc.)

 A Chinese adaptor manufacturer has announced (Google translated English here) the world first full function K-mount to Sony E-mount adaptor, which will be made available by the end of this year 2020 (and is earlier than the launch date of the upcoming K-3 III)!

This adaptor will have screw-driving AF motor and aperture motor built-in and will support full auto functions of all K-mount lenses (possibly without any aperture block problem ;-P). The manufacturer states that the adaptor will first support A/F/FA/DA/DFA lenses which are screw-driven for the AF and will support SDM/DC/PLM AF function at a later stage via firmware upgrade.

They also mounted the three FA limited onto a Sony A7 III body via their adoptor, of which the combos look really tempting! :-D

And, their also shown a "video" to show the AF in action with the FA77 Limited, which the AF speed seems reasonably good enough, as long as the animated gif was not accelerated. ;-)

After all, I will almost certainly buy this adaptor (as I bought my A7 III two years ago) and still own more than three dozens of the Pentax or K-mount lenses (and most of them are AF ones). Possibly I shall skip and not buy the K-3 III as I found my KP is actually better for my use and shooting style. :-(

Related:  My Pentax Lenses are Given Completely New Lives!

K-New is Delayed

See what Mr Tanaka said a few hours ago:

https://www.twitter.com/thisistanaka/status/1317335422540763136

Google translation of his post as follows:

"It seems that the next model of PENTAX, for example, will be "a little later" than my expected (expected) release date.

I wanted to get it quickly and try it, but I can't help it. Do you want to be patient and wait? As with other manufacturers, given the circumstances surrounding cameras today, we will have to struggle to make better ones."

Pentax (Ricoh) is really helpless and sad these days.

Too Much Bullshit about the K-New by Ricoh Pentax Recently

The talks by Ricoh Pentax become more and more absurd recently. This time they argue on keeping the old body design without any flipped monitor.

This move again disappointed many Pentaxians. Live viewing and framing will become difficult on quite some occasions. Even worse, it is widely believed that the K-New does not even have any GPS module built in. And, they compared the thickness of the K-New against the K-1, which is utterly nonsense.

A Pentaxian at the Chinese Xitek quickly compared the thickness of the K-new and KP and he proved that the two cameras actually measure similarly, even the KP equips with a flipped monitor.

 

 

So, the fact is simply that Ricoh Pentax has been too lazy and too mean to build a newer and better featured body but opted to modify the old K-3/II's one in a very moderate way. Period.

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Yaotomi Camera Speaks More about the K-New (aka K-3 III Now)

Japanese Yaotomi Camera has just twitted yesterday and disclosed more information of the K-New, now tentatively named as the K-3 III.

And the launch/marketing date will be delayed to the year end, but should be within 2020.

Yaotomi originally also wrote about the expected price tag of the K-3 III but it was deleted shortly after that. Their explanation is that it was their own "guess" only so it was improper to write about it.

Nonetheless, Yaotomi still keeps their guess that the K-3 III is positioned between the D500 and D7500 if Nikon DSLR bodies are compared. Hence, we can expect the price should be somehow in between but closer to that of the D500, as it was normal that the Pentax new bodies were selling at higher prices than the competitors' comparable offers.

Last but not least, Yaotomi also disclosed that another two announcements would be made before and after the K-3 III announcement, for the K-1 II Silver body and also the three silver DFA lenses, respectively, in their original twitter post.

EISA Awards 2020-21 for Photo Gear

EISA has announced their awards this year for photographic equipment:

https://eisa.eu/awards/photography/

Without any surprise, there is no Pentax gear on the list. Just because there was only one new product of Pentax last year. And even worse, without any innovation, what achievement is expected? :-(

Ned Bunnell Demonstrates How Good the Old Pentax Glass Could Be (Re: A* 85 F1.4)

Ned Bunnell, ex-CEO of the Pentax Imaging USA (which was named), published some of his recent pictures taken with his A* 85 F1.4 on a K-1 II,. See this Flickr set of his:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/85492092@N03/sets/72157714981262381

I like both the colour rendition and the micro-contrast of the lens reproduced, which could look better than what is produced by the latest D FA*85 F1.4, from the various samples that I have seen so far. I think Ned is also a good photographer, too, as I could feel the mood of his photos in a good way.

Speaking of Ned, he is actually a nice and good guy. I dropped him a few emails for my suggestions and comments when he was the CEO and I was the (in)famous "Pentax basher" decade ago. Whilst many Pentax fanboys did hate me much and had to beat me to death whenever I spoke, Ned did always respond to my every email in a polite and respectful way. I think it is not easy for him, as the top management of Pentax, to not ignore an "enemy" like me and I believe that he is an humble and open-minded guy after all.

DPR's Sample Gallery of the D FA* 85 Published

https://www.dpreview.com/samples/1659227315/pentax-d-fa-85mm-f1-4-sample-gallery

Resolution wise, undoubtedly it is very good, near wide opened and from corner to corner for the whole image frame. Vignetting is also minimal at wide opened at F1.4.

But, it seems that the lens does lack some micro-contrast. The images in gallery do not look that three dimensional or "airy" after all. The colour rendition is also not that exceptional, IMHO. The old FA* or A* might look better in those two specific image quality aspects. My two cents, though. YMMV.