See this info in the Japanese Amazon. It seems that the date of shipment of the 17 has been fixed.
RiceHigh's Pentax Blog
• News about Products and Latest Company Direction
• Summaries of Reported Problems and Potential Issues
• Technical Articles on Photographic Gear and Technologies
Wednesday, June 26, 2024
Pentax 17 to be Shipped on July 18 (in Japan at least)
Monday, June 24, 2024
Pentax 17 - An Olympus Pen after 60 Years?
The vertical 135 half frame, the purely-guessed manual zone focusing, manual winding and rewinding, automatic electric-eye metering, a slow fixed wide-angle lens, the very limited speed of shutter.. Now I believe that Pen stands for Pentax in 2024. ;-p And recently, I have been able to find two excellent condition Pens (of different models) each of which only costs me about 1/4th the cost of a brand-new Pentax 17, should I still need to go for the 17? :-D The Oly Pens could select the aperture which is impossible for the Pentax. In the mean time, it's time for me to pick my Canon 17 to shoot again shortly. Thank you, Pentax (Ricoh)! At the end of the day, the Canon 17 is a much more precise rangefinder anyway.
Tuesday, June 18, 2024
Some Pentax 17 Reviews (with Sample Photos)
1. B&H:
2. Kosmo Foto:
https://kosmofoto.com/2024/06/pentax-17-first-impressions/
3. 35mmc:
https://www.35mmc.com/17/06/2024/pentax-17-review/
4. Casual Photophile:
https://casualphotophile.com/2024/06/17/pentax-17-new-film-camera-review/
5. Mobile 01 (in Chinese):
https://www.mobile01.com/topicdetail.php?f=543&t=6975873
6. Cool3c (in Chinese):
https://www.cool3c.com/article/218393My opinions on the camera it's fun and interesting. However, the guessing focusing is just not my cup of tea, especially for a $500 camera. I also have some doubt in the image quality of the 3-element lens.
And, I just wonder why it is stated in the spec that rechargeable CR2 cannot be used, as I have been using a Chinese model in my Fujifilm instant film camera without any problem. The battery life for one single disposable CR2 for only ten rolls of film seems a bit too short.
Lastly, the manual film speed setting would be a good idea as I usually set a lower speed to expose more to make grains less visible, especially for negatives. However, a DX coded system is yet more fool-proof for novices, though.
Read Also:
The Word First / Pentax First: My Obsolete Pentax Collection
Monday, March 04, 2024
Pentax User Survey
Monday, January 29, 2024
SDMs DO Require Preventive Maintenance!
Owing to the prolonged infamous failure of the SDMs in various Pentax AF lens models, I only bought my first SDM lens, the DA*55 F1.4, back to 2015, which is a SDM-only lens in KAF3 mount (on screw-drive). After that, I bought also another SDM only lens the DA17-70 and then later a DA*60-250 F4 hybrid-SDM/screw-driven lens (which supports also in 2022.
Here is my proven experiences with those SDM lenses and my tip to prevent them from malfunction before it would be too late, as follows:
I observe that all those lenses did require regular use of the motors. If they were left un-use for a period of time, the AF motors would first become difficult to move. In that case, first of all they were moving rather slowly and with some clicks of odd sound coming out when moving, rather not smoothly. So, more exercise with the lenses could improve thing. After they had (been) moved smoothly, then it would work flawlessly for a couple of months again. This first happened with my DA*55 of which the first SDM problem appeared after about one year of purchase of the lens. (I bought that lens from the Biccamera in Japan brand new.)
Same thing happened with my DA*60-250 but the symptom exhibited, which was even worse. This lens was bought from the Amazon.jp brand new and was manufactured in 2021 as shown in the document in box, which was supposed to be of the rumoured "newly designed" SDM, but which IMHO has actually been non-existent. Eventually, I needed to bring out my old screw-driven AF Pentax DSLR to turn and smooth out the operation of the SDM, which is rather hilarious indeed. After that, the SDM turnsed flawlessly, i.e. quick and smooth, but only after my prevent maintenance work carried out for about ten minute, and turnings of both the SDM and the screw-drive mechanics were required.
Another observation of mine is that the SDMs would slow down in cold weather when the temperature was cold. Hence, despite the "cold-proof" specification and feature of those AW SDM lenses, those lenses equipped with SDMs are in fact vulnerable to cold weather and to work properly under low temperatures unless they do enough "exercises" from day to day.
So, if you have those evil Pentax SDM lenses, do remember to mark your calendar and carry out periodical PMs before they are to die, which will be too late to save by then. My humble advice and true experience shared.
Tuesday, December 12, 2023
News from Ricoh - K-1 III is Still Under Development and etc.
From a latest post in the Xitek Pentax forum, an interview with the Ricoh senior officials (from the product development and planning divisions) in a recent marketing event in Taipei was cited.
Thursday, June 29, 2023
The Pentax 645 Digital Lineup is Really Done
See the official discontinued lens list here, even the DFA 55/2.8 SDM and DFA 90/2.8 Macro SR lenses are now included:
So, the Pentax 645 digital lineup is really done, as it is shown and can be confirmed, regardless of any official statement made about this fact. :-( And, those 645 gear of Pentax has become collectors' items now, just like the Q gear.
Friday, May 12, 2023
Leak on the "New" FA 50mm F1.4 Lenses
Tuesday, April 18, 2023
Ned Bunnell's Take on the K-3 III Mono
See his latest posted samples at Flickr:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ned_bunnell/sets/72177720307495920/
via his DPR post here.
Whilst the photos are nice, they do lack a bit contrast and sharpness. I would expect (much) better IQ for a dedicated B&W machine, honestly speaking.
Btw, it seems that Ned does not update his blog anymore.
Friday, April 14, 2023
More K-3 III Monochrome Samples at the "Pentax Official" Site
https://pentaxofficial.com/18527/
https://pentaxofficial.com/18482/
https://pentaxofficial.com/18512/
All in Japanese, but the pictures speak for themselves. Various Pentax original lenses were used for the tests.