DC Watch's Hands-on of the K-3 III

https://dc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/1296875.html (Google English translation here)

https://dc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/1297078.html (Pentax' brand statement with the K-3 III, Google English translation here)

And, the below video recorded the shutter sound and demonstrates the burst modes of the K-3 III:

 

(https://youtu.be/Pmfrk038Go4)

Confirmed SAFOX 13 Layout (in K-3 III)

13 x 9 AF point matrix with 16 points omitted near centre, 41 selectable points

Source: Chinese Pentax Quick News

(with also some dissection photos of the new body in article)

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.

Notice: Copy and Paste of Text and and Saving of Pictures within Blog are Disabled

In order to avoid possible copyrights infringement, which I could see from my Blog log from time to time, the copy and paste of text and saving of pictures and images within my Blog are disabled, with immediate effect.

Thank you for your continuous support and happy reading and viewing! :-D

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.

One More Practical Test of the D FA*85, with Full Samples

http://pentaxfans.net/thread-164498-1-1.html

(in Traditional Chinese, Google translated English page here)

Indeed, this set of photos taken just by an ordinary Pentax user does look better than the set created by the Pentax official Japanese professional photographer IMHO. Despite that some pictures taken at high ISO still look soft when viewed at pixel level, which is just the primitive problem of the K-1II and is actually unavoidable.

Note that original full sized samples are available for viewing and download via the user's Flickr album here.

DC Watch Reviewed the D FA* 85 F1.4, with Bundle of Full Samples

https://dc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/review/newproduct/1270372.html

(in Japanese, Google translated English page here)

Enjoy! But it looks to me that the photos are a bit odd in tone. And, it seems that they are not as airy, transparent and bright as those images produced by its predecessors A* and FA* 85 ishes. But afterall, I blog, you decide, as usual. :-D

The Quickly De-coloured 100th Anniversary Hotshoe Cover

A Xitek Pentax user complains about his brand new O-HC171, which was purchased from official Ricoh channel, has turned its colour from silver to black just within two days after he removed the protective film of it:

https://forum.xitek.com/thread-1896215-1-1-1.html
(in Simplified Chinese, Google translation to English here)

And, another Pentaxian in the above forum thread reported that his O-HC171 had also turned dark.

Seems like oxidation took place. What a Quality of Ricoh! :-o

When the X-T4 and GFX 100 Produced Images Look the Same

Via FStoppers

I am afraid that same case applies for the Pentax K-New Vs the 645Z, which they have exactly the same APS-C and 44x33mm sensors respectively and that the final conclusion drawn would possibly be the same. :-P

Dimensions and Wireless+Power Info of the K-New

https://twitter.com/nokishita_c/status/1289117575759032320

(in Japanese)

Wi-Fi(11b/g/n) with Bluetooth; Dimensions: 134.5mm W x 103.5mm H x 73.5mm D without protruding parts (138.5mm W x 103.6mm H x 80.4mm D maximum), i.e., a little bit larger than the K-3/II but with less depth; Power: D-LI90 with optional vertical grip D-BG8.

Btw, the previous secret unmarked button is just the lock button. :-(

What is the LCD Screen Size of the K-New?

Since Pentax (Ricoh) has yet not told us more specs of the K-new, in order to estimate the rear LCD screen size of the K-new, which they told us that it was "huge", I took a much similarly angled picture of my KP and then measured the dimensions of the same different parts.

In particular, I measured the dimensions of the rear wheel/dial openings, and then the diagonal lengths of the screens, calculated and got the ratio for each camera and then calculated again the ratio between the two ratios. :-)

It is found that the K-new's screen is about 1.13X diagonally larger than that of the KP. Hence, since the KP's screen is in 3 inches, it is estimated that the K-new's rear LCD screen should be in about 3.4", case closed.


Read Also:  100% Bingo! I Derived Exactly Correctly for the 645D Actual Sensor Size!

Fstoppers Talk about Pentax's Chaotic DSLR Strategy

https://fstoppers.com/originals/pentaxs-chaotic-dslr-strategy-501074

PetaPixel Supports the DSLR Niche Strategy of Pentax/Ricoh

https://petapixel.com/2020/07/18/why-pentax-is-making-the-right-call-in-sticking-with-dslrs/

The author may have a point. But the market trend is towards interchangeable lens Mirrorless, especially Full Frame ones. Who will jump boat to the Pentax brand because of Reflex? Is it just the wishful thinking of Pentax/Ricoh themselves? :-o After all, the reverse may be true.

New Video about the New APS-C Flagship, on July 22

Again at 1900 hours Japanese time. Congrats to Pentax/Ricoh for becoming a YouTuber or a KOL online!

Shootout of D FA* 85 Vs FA* 85 Vs A* 85 on K-1 II

http://pentaxfans.net/thread-164447-1-1.html

(in Traditional Chinese)

The posted test pictures with simple captions are self-explanatory. For the comments made by the tester, the Google-translated English page could be viewed. After all, I do agree with him for most of his comments and observations.

Direct Comparison of D FA*85/1.4 against Zeiss Otus 85/1.4 (Tested in the Field)

A Pentax user at the Chinese Xitek Pentax forum shares his friend's sample photos for a direct side-by-side comparison made between the Pentax D FA* lens (put on a K-1 body) and the Zeiss Otus 85/1.4 lens (put on a Panasonic S1R). Here we go:

(Left: Pana+Zeiss, Right: Pentax; Click to Enlarge in around 2000 to 3000 pixels in width)












EXIF data are partially preserved in the original samples in the original post. Despite that the Pentax pics tend to be darker (and the tester also made some exposure adjustment by himself for some pics) and that the Pana pics tend to be over-exposed a bit, the resolution of the Pentax lens seems to be better when the lenses are wide-opened but yet the Pentax Star lens does exhibit some obvious purple fringing at large apertures, however.

Btw, I prefer the colour rendition of the Pentax gear over the Zeiss on Pana combo. :-)

For other standalone samples of the D FA* lens (with key EXIF), they can be found in this post in the same forum thread. I just downloaded them all and have re-uploaded them here for fast and easy viewing:

(Click to Enlarge to around 2000 to 3000 pixels for the longer side, without EXIF)

What is the Value of Pentax Cameras in Future?

Ricoh Imaging Japan writes at Twitter that they will put online a video on 16 July (at 1900 hrs Japanese time, or 1000 hrs UTC) for briefing us about the future of Pentax cameras and their value. So, stay tuned.

p.s. They haven't published the URL of their upcoming video, though. Please look at their above twitter page or official Japanese website by then.

CIPA Reveals that Total Shipments of DCs and ILCs are Only 27.4% of Those in 2019

CIPA has published figures about the digital camera shipments, which are both only 27.4% of the quantities in 2019, as in May 2020, for both Interchangeable Lens Cameras (ILCs) and Digital Still Cameras (DSCs).

After all, in view of the rather poor sales of cameras in this year, would it be really wise (or unwise) for Pentax (Ricoh) to launch their new flagship in September as rumoured? :-(

Pentax Aperture Block Problem Class Action Lawsuit

https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/consumer-products/electronics/pentax-camera-class-action-alleges-aperture-defect/

"A camera owner has filed a class action lawsuit against Ricoh USA Inc. over claims that the company’s line of Pentax camera products are defective in a way that causes them to produce useless, almost completely dark photographs."

Olympus is Running Out of Camera Business

https://www.theverge.com/2020/6/24/21301460/olympus-selling-camera-division-jip-vaio

Unofficial: French D FA* 85/1.4 Special Gallery

https://pentaxklub.com/galerie-en-special-d-fa-%E2%98%85-85-f-1-4/
(in French)

With both scenery and portrait samples. Unofficial.

Official: D FA* 85mm F1.4 Special Gallery

http://www.ricoh-imaging.co.jp/japan/products/star_lens/special/sp_dfa85-14/specialgallery/

(in Japanese)

No full or larger size of the photos are available nor those small-sized samples can be downloaded. For that small size of the samples, the image quality of the lens cannot be judged, sad. :-(

A D FA 70-210 F4 Practical Test

http://pentaxfans.net/thread-164343-1-1.html

Article/Post in Traditional Chinese, but the captions in test photos and crops are self-explanatory.

Mapcamera Tested the D FA* 85 F1.4 (with Medium Sized Samples)

https://news.mapcamera.com/KASYAPA/588%e3%80%8ehd-d-fa%e2%98%85-85mm-f1-4-ed-sdm-aw%e3%80%8f/

(in Japanese, Google translated English page here)

Test camera body used was an upgraded K-1 to Mk II. Medium-sized samples in 11MP are available.