The Ricoh Pentax Japanese Calendar 2013

It is now available at the official Japanese Pentax Ricoh online shop:-

http://shop.pentax.jp/g/gS0097904/

I've linked the Pentax pictures as follows:-



They are all made with the Q and the K-01, but not anything Pentax else, nevertheless.

Q10 Watch!

Pentax Ricoh is entering the market of watches! Look!



http://www.pentax.jp/japan/news/2012/20121130.html (Japanese)

DC Watch Q10 Quick Samples (Side-by-side Against the Q for Two Sets)

http://dc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/review/longterm/20121130_576137.html
(in Japanese)

The pictures speak for themselves, just read the EXIF to check.

The Mirrorless Party

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LO7rxitFLZg

The K-01 wasn't at the party, but he was passing by the house and "collected" the EOS M. The Pentax Q/Q10 had never appeared, though!

Twelve Years of 135 Full Frame Digital Cameras (Timeline 2012->2000)

Reference Source: Dpreview Digital Camera Timeline and individual camera pages.

Time	Camera	Resolution (in MP)	Sensor Make	Screen Size (in Inch)
Sep-2012	Canon EOS 6D	20.2	Canon	3
Sep-12	Leica M Typ 240	24.0	Cmosis	3
Sep-12	Leica M-E Typ 220	18.0	Truesense	2.5
Sep-12	Nikon D600	24.3	Sony	3.2
Sep-12	Sony RX1 (Fixed Lens)	24.3	Sony	3
Sep-12	Sony A99	24.3	Sony	3
Sep-12	Sony NEX-VG900	24.3	Sony	3
May-12	Leica M-Monochrom	18.0	Truesense	2.5
Mar-12	Canon EOS 5D Mark III *	22.3	Canon	3.2
Feb-12	Nikon D800/E	36.3	Sony	3.2
Jan-12	Nikon D4	16.2	Nikon	3.2
Oct-11	Canon EOS-1D X	18.1	Canon	3.2
Jun-11	Leica M-9P	18.0	Truesense	2.5
Oct-09	Nikon D3S	12.1	Nikon	3
Sep-09	Leica M-9	18.0	Kodak	2.5
Aug-09	Sony A850	24.6	Sony	3
Dec-08	Nikon D3X	24.5	Sony	3
Sep-08	Canon EOS 5D Mark II	21.0	Canon	3
Sep-08	Sony A900	24.6	Sony	3
Jul-08	Nikon D700	12.1	Nikon	3
Aug-07	Nikon D3	12.1	Nikon	3
Aug-07	Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III	21.1	Canon	3
Aug-05	Canon EOS 5D *	12.7	Canon	2.5
Sep-04	Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II	16.6	Canon	2
Mar-04	Kodak DCS Pro SLR/c	13.5	Kodak	1.8
Feb-04	Kodak DCS Pro SLR/n	13.5	Kodak	2
Sep-02	Canon EOS-1Ds	11.0	Canon	2
Sep-02	Kodak DCS Pro 14n	13.7	Kodak	2
Feb-01	Pentax MR-52 (Never Marketed)	6.0	Philips	2
Jul-2000	Contax N Digital	6.0	Philips	2

* My Purchased Models

There are a total of 30 models (29 marketed) and 2012 is really the Year of 135 Full Frame digital cameras in which 11 new models have been rolled out! Btw, let's see if we could at least hear some news of a Pentax FF within 2013! >:-o


Read Also:-

Pentax SLR Cameras 1952-2011

Major Canon Cameras 1930 to 2010

Death of My Second Pentax SLR

(Above: My MZ-30 with my FA 43 Limited)

The week before, when I tried to use my MZ-30 for shooting film, the light meter first went nuts and then the mirror locked up after pressing the shutter and it did never come down again anymore no matter how!

I used nearly new Panasonic CR2 lithium batteries and its expiry date is in 2020, which worked completely flawlessly when they were put into my MZ-S. Really too bad.. :-(

And, my SFX did die twice like that, for exactly with the same symptom and for what happened. What an unfortunate "coincidence"! >_<

Btw, can anyone tell me that what has been going wrong with this "mirror locked up" issue? :-o


Related:-

When the Super Pancake Meets Different Bodies~

Can Pentax DSLRs be Made Thinner?

"Film is Dead"! ;-)

The World First / Pentax First: My (Obsolete) Pentax Collection

Extreme Low Temperature Test: Shooting at -30 Deg.C with K-5IIs and DA* Lens

with an industrial grade Apacer SD Card:-



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yX15rE7a7SM
(Official test and promotional video carried out by Apacer.)

Really impressive! Finally, I can see some marketing effort by Pentax Ricoh and their collaboration with others! :-o :-)

Taipei Photo Expo 2012 (A Flickr Set)

(Above: I think this is a Cannon, but not a Pentax!)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/digital_trance/sets/72157631812376442/

The poster took a lot of photos of the showgirls, here are some:-

6th Anniversary of My Blog

One more year has elapsed and today is the 6th anniversary of my Blog!

I have been a Pentax user since 1988 and up till now I have been using the Pentax K-mount system for over twenty-four years (before that I was using a Canon). And the amount of time which I have contributed to the Pentax community via my this Blog is only a quarter of my whole time with Pentax.

During these six years, I have seen the rises and falls of some Pentax blogs, which the owners of the blogs have stopped updated theirs for some reasons, no matter how, but a common reason was that they actually switched. Fortunately, I am still here to "serve" the community. I am glad that Pentax is still alive and yet I am supporting the brand as long as Pentax is at least producing something that I am finding them useful and with some values and meanings to me.

As for the "popularity" and amount of traffic to my Blog, this is what the Statcounter shows, for the Yearly roundup:-

So, 2012 is the year with most visits (for more than one million) since the birth and launch of my Blog. I think the above recorded numbers are accurate as the Google data for Blogger generally tallies with the above, but with even a bit more of the traffic counts. I am not completely sure if it is because of that more people are interested in the Pentax gear or that I have gained more and more readership amongst the Pentax community. But from the referral (links) reports that I have been inspecting, I think the latter should be true.

Anyway, I still hope that Pentax will market a FF K-mount DSLR in the next year, which is what I have been waiting for ten years now, since my first *ist D! There is still hope, right? :-)

Prime M Cameras Have Only Electronic SR for Video Recording

Two weeks ago, Blog reader "daedbird" first reported that the video recording quality of his K-01 was greatly degraded when the SR was turned on against off. When the SR was activated, obvious rolling shutter effect was seen.

Yesterday, another Blog reader "kadajawi" has responded and writes that it is all about the electronic SR that is actually adopted for all those Prime M Pentax cameras for the Movie mode, K-30 and K-01 inclusive. On the other hand, the K-5 cameras which have the Prime II processor use the hardware SR, i.e., sensor movement, to compensate for the hand shake during video recording.

To verify this, I have checked the online user manuals of the K-30, K-01, K-5 and the K-5II/s as well. It is found that the SR for Movie is defaulted to On for the K-30 and K-01 whilst for the K-5 and K-5II, it is default to be Off instead. So, the supposition of "kadajawi" seems to be true for that "coincidence". Nonetheless, no Pentax manual has ever told anything about the actual SR method and the working principle of it, which yet looks like top secret of their cameras but which we users should actually know about.

Yes, the electronic SR is noiseless but it sacrifices video quality. The mechanical SR is noisy but this problem can be overcome by mounting an external microphone with a shock mount. So, all in all, this is not a real problem and better sound reception quality is gained with the use of an external microphone (and with stereo sound recording possibility too). In practice, my own experience that is the body sensor SR is very useful for handheld video recording to stabilise the video and this feature is still useful when monopod is used.

After all, I think Pentax should give all the Prime M users an option, in the firmware and user menu, for the choice of the SR method via electronic (software) mean or yet the conventional mechanical one, then that would be the best.


Related:- 

Definite Guide on External Video Microphone Selection for Supported DSLRs (Brand Regardless)

A Not-so-common K-30/K-5/K-01 Comparison of Mine

K-5IIs Full Samples by (Japanese) CAPA

All photos were taken with the two DA* zoom lenses of 16-50 and 60-250:-

http://capacamera.cocolog-nifty.com/washicamera/2012/11/k-5-iis-e06b.html
(in Japanese)

Via:  http://dslcamera.ptzn.com/2012/21419 (Japanese)

A Japanese Pentax User Site with Much Samples

http://pentax-memo.brassworks.jp/
(in Japanese)

This Pentax user/fan has many of the latest Pentax bodies and more importantly many excellent K-mount lenses including the original Pentax ones and those Carl Zeiss ZK lenses built by Cosina. Have a look on those samples that are grouped by lens or camera model and you will not be disappointed. Full samples are available for some.

In addition, he also writes a review for each of his gear for its pros and cons and an overall mark of his is given. Go find out yourself for which lens received a full mark of 120 according to his marking system.


Related:- 

A Japanese Pentax Gear Photo Page

Zeiss Stopped Production of (Z)K-mount Lenses

All Voigtlander K-A Mount Lenses are Discontinued

DxOMark for K-5II is Out

http://www.dxomark.com/index.php/Publications/DxOMark-Reviews/Pentax-K5-II-Showing-the-competition-how-it-s-done/Comparisons

Same overall score as the K-5, but with slightly better sub-scores. All in all, no big differences.

Still, I am quite sceptical to those DxOMark results. As it is stated, the K-5 and K-5II is one mark ahead of the Canon 5D MkIII, which I also have. I have been using both cameras extensively for months already up till now. In practice, I yet found the 5D3 is better in IQ than the K-5 in almost every aspect, except the DR, which the DxOMark test result for this should be true. Btw, here are two old head-to-head tests of mine between the two cameras. Go figure out yourself!

1. My 5D3 Vs K-5 Realworld Shootout

2. 5D3 Vs K-5 ISO Shootout (100 to 25600)

In particular, the red colour smear of the K-5 images is so obvious and its sensor and image engine combo is just unable to handle these situations well, whilst the 5D3 performs far better in similar cases. The 5D3 also wins in more detailed and accurate colour rendition and in resolution, too, of course.

New K-5II Review at ePhotozine

http://www.ephotozine.com/article/pentax-k-5-ii-dslr-review-20717

New K-5II Review at PB

http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/pentax_k5_ii_review/

I blog, you decide.


Last Related:- 

First Q10 Full Review, and its Image Quality

Real-world K-5IIs Samples from End-users

http://pentax.photoble.net/?page=1&camera=PENTAX+K-5+II+s

They are full-sized and were taken in real-world by the end-users, with most of the essential shooting information posted. Go pixel-peep yourself if you like for what I've blogged! ;-)

The Three Original FA Limited Lenses (First Batches)

Credit: http://forum.xitek.com/thread-1030323-1-1-1.html (in Simplified Chinese)

These are all the original first batches of the Japanese made FA Limited lenses, note the different coloured genuine leather pouches and a different lens cap printing of the Pentax logo for the 43 Limited.

Btw, that Pentax guy has quite some exotic Pentax film glass, like FA*300/2.8 and FA*400/5.6 as well as the rare FA*200/4. But those were the days when Pentax still made and marketed those higher grade glass with better specifications.


Related:-

Some "Lost Stories" About the Three FA Limited Lenses

Super Pentax Lens Arsenal w/ Sample Photos (Nice~)

FA Limiteds: Made in Japan Vs Assembled in Vietnam (Continued)

FA 31 Limited: Assembled in Vietnam Vs Made in Japan - Case Studies

Dirty Pentax Lens Factory, Dirty Glass! :-(

Expensive Lenses, Poor Quality Control

First Q10 Full Review, and its Image Quality

Read here, for the most interesting part of it:-

http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/pentax_q10_review/image_quality/

I think it would have been great if they compared the IQ against the Q side-by-side, but they didn't, nonetheless.

Pentax Q Won the Japanese BCN Sales Chart Last Week!

http://bcnranking.jp/category/subcategory_0008.html
(For the Interchangeable Lens Cameras, in Japanese)

Yes, it has got the Number One! Wow, what an achievement of Pentax ever! I am now considering to get one myself, also for the Q prime kit of the white body! :-) Well, for that price, I've almost forgot about the super small sensor size of the Q, and that "non-sense"! ;-D Lol..

DC Watch K-5IIs First Samples (Checked Against K-5II Also)

http://dc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/review/newproduct/20121113_572503.html
(in Japanese)

There are some quick full samples which were generated directly out of the camera available.

The K-5II is also compared for some samples. It appears that the K-5IIs is obviously sharper this time.

Besides, the occurrence of false colours and moire patterns with high spatial frequency texture is also checked and demonstrated:-

http://dc.watch.impress.co.jp/img/dcw/docs/572/503/html/107.jpg.html

K-5IIs Sharpness Vs Fine Sharpness Vs Extra Sharpness

See the comparison below, from -4 to +4, for the Sharpness, Fine Sharpness and Extra Sharpness, total 27 different settings:-

http://www.neocamera.com/camera/pentax/k5iis/samples/sharpness



Of course, if you're interested, you can read also the rest of the review and inspect the posted ISO shootout crops series against K-5 as well as those real-world samples.

New Ricoh Flagship P&S, or Yet Another GXR Module?

 

From: http://egami.blog.so-net.ne.jp/2012-11-02 (Japanese)

The new patent is a 24-100mm 135 equivalent zoom lens on a 1/1.7" sensor.

DPR Studio Shot Comparison for K-5II and IIs is Out

Click here for the DPR comparison tool page.



Just feel free to drag on the crop selection window and measurbate endlessly by yourself, for different parts of the sample pictures of different cameras which you want to compare with.

Obviously, false colours and moires are major issues of the IIs' sample. Btw, the per pixel sharpness of the IIs is better than the II but it doesn't hold true for the per pixel smoothness, at the same time. So, everything is just a compromise afterall, between the II and IIs, with and without an AA filter.

As for other cameras which are having 50% more pixel counts, e.g., the 5D3 and D600 Full Frame bodies, of course we can get the best of both worlds, i.e., higher resolution without any false colours and moires!

K-5II Vs K-5IIs Official Side-by-Side Comparison

http://www.pentax.jp/japan/products/k-5-2/ex/#anc_ex03
(in Japanese.)



(Above: Left K-5II, Right K-5IIs - Click to Download the Original Image.)

Method to Force DFS Off for Pentax DSLRs

A working method with full instructions can be found here:-

http://pentaxda.deviantart.com/journal/Turning-DFS-Off-224124268

For the files that are mentioned and needed, they can be downloaded here directly, if you just don't know how to compile them yourself:-

http://darky.is-a-geek.net/debug_mode/disable_dfs.zip

This may be useful for those who need to do astro-photography in a continuous way without any interruption for longer time exposure per shot.

As for the latest Pentax DSLR models after K-r (i.e., K-r, K-5, K-30, K-5II and IIs) that cannot open the Debug mode by the above method, you can try to use the PK Tether software and then load the SYSPARAM.TXT file at the SD Card Root to see if it works or not! And please let us know about your result if you really try!

Btw, today, I've just come across these photos taken by a Japanese with his EOS 60D and 10-17mm wide angle lens combo. They are quite nice, look:-

http://www.geocities.jp/tpkkagato/
(in Japanese)

N.B. Pentax DSLRs using the Samsung sensors (i.e., K20D and K-7) do not have any option to turn off the DFS (Dark Frame Subtraction) whereas other Pentax DSLRs using the Sony sensors can have the option to turn off DFS for exposure that is not longer than 30 seconds, otherwise DFS is forced to be turned on again.


Related:- 

K-5 and K-r Debug Mode Unleashed, Finally!

Successfully Open the Debug Mode of My K-r! :-)

Incredible Macro Shots with Pentax K200D and K-x!

Look at these pictures:-

http://www.thomasshahan.com/photos/

And a YouTube video to explain the setup, procedures and techniques to take these wonderful shots:-


URL: www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqRn3at0H60

The lens was reversed with adaptor and with extension tube plus flash.

Via DPR Forum Post Here.

Yet Another K-5IIs Vs K-5 Image Comparisons

A Pentaxian at Taiwan received his new K-5IIs and has unboxed it and done some quick side-by-side image comparisons against his old K-5:-

http://forum.pentaxfans.net/thread-131884-1-1.html
(Traditional Chinese)

Well, whilst the K-5IIs images are sharper, they are cooler in tone, which was the thing I found last time. Also, a "sharper" image doesn't necessary mean that it is smoother and looks natural, just go find out yourself! :-)

K-5 Vs K-5IIs Image Measurbation and Low Light AF Shootouts

http://www.pentaxist.ru/2012/10/pentax-k-5iis-fa77-RAW.html
(in Russian, Google English Translation Here.)

http://www.pentaxist.ru/2012/10/pentaxk-5iis-af-test.html
(in Russian, Google English Translation Here.) 

I think both tests are well carried out. As for the test results, it is shown that the K-5IIs does work better, for both the details contained in the images and the low light AF performance.

Bits and Pieces Today (11-6)

1. Supports Only Original Pentax Lenses!

I always suggest Pentax users buy only original Pentax lenses. It is because if you want to use Sigma or Tamron or even Tokina, there is no reason to stay with Pentax, as those 3rd party lenses are rather limited in K-mount in both models and availability. So, why to do so, to get the worst of both worlds?!

Now, more and more compatibility issues have been reported with the latest Pentax bodies and/or firmware with those 3rd party lenses, here is a latest user report about (in Traditional Chinese) that the K-01 V1.01 firmware doesn't work well with his Sigma (17-50/2.8 OS HSM).

2. Reliability of the DA Limited Lenses

It is reported by a DA 40 Limited user that (in Simplified Chinese) the aperture blade of his new lens that has only been used for two months have had its whole mechanism self-disintegrated without any good reason one-day suddenly!



3. The Relation of Rolling Shutter and SR for Video Recording with the K-01

See what this Pentax user reports at the DPR. If it is really true, it is possibly that the processing power of the Prime M processor is insufficient to do both things well at the same time!

4. I am a Pentaxian!



Via DC Home Pentax Forum (in Traditional Chinese)

Wow! I have nothing more to say!! :-o

K-01 is German Design Gold Awarded

http://www.pentax.jp/japan/news/2012/20121105.html
(in Japanese)

Japanese Mirrorless Market Share 2012 (Up to October, BCN Data)

http://bcnranking.jp/news/1210/121029_24049.html
(in Japanese)

The cyan blue coloured line is for the share of the Pentax mirrorless cameras, which is a steady of above 5% throughout the year with the best results in October. However, with the introduction of the EOS-M, Pentax is yet once again the player who comes last as the EOS-M sales has quickly surpassed all the Pentax mirrorless sales as a whole!

As for the market leader in September and October, Olympus is still the winner and then followed by Sony and then Panasonic as the 1st and 2nd runner-ups. It can be seen from the Chart that Pana's place was taken over by Sony back to August, before that Pana is the 1st runner-up holder in the Japanese mirrorless market.

So, you may be curious for what contributes to the slight rise of market share of those Pentax mirrorlesses, nevertheless? I think it is solely because of the recent cut-throat strategy of Pentax Ricoh, see the latest Japanese prices of those Pentaxes and you will realise why!

http://kakaku.com/camera/digital-slr-camera/ma_251/
(in Japanese, all price displayed are in Japanese Yens, model names are shown in table.)

But I just wonder, how long Pentax Ricoh can sustain with such ridiculously low throat-cutting prices of their products? :-o

A K-30 Died Within Seconds Upon a Small Water Splash! :-o

See this post and story: http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/thread/3292877

I really feel for that K-30 user, how reliable his WR camera is! :-o

Btw, it seems that the sealing of the rear LCD is weak and the QC of that part is not really that good, see the previous similar problem reports below:-

Dust Accumulates Inside the LCD of K-5 Silver

K10D Dust Proof?

Well, I now know why Pentax has created the new  "air-gapless" design of the LCD, as it seems that they get rid of the outer window of it so that no more water and dust are trapped inside so as to avoid the problem! ;->

A PF Comparison Quick Review: 650D/T4i Vs D5100 Vs K-30

I don't think this review is detailed enough, nor it it is professionally compiled with a higher standard that most readers nowadays would expect.There is yet no sample picture of any for any of these cameras under review. So, it is not much better than a casual textural review on those public review online sites after all. But as there are not much Pentax reviews out these days, I think I would still report and point to it:-

http://www.pentaxforums.com/reviews/pentax-k-30-vs-canon-t4i-vs-nikon-d5100/introduction.html

In particular, there are a few comparison crops in the IQ section of the review, just have a look on these by clicking the larger images if you still want to.

Also, I think now the PF just wants to include referral product links of the other brands like C and N to their sponsors (e.g., B&H) in their website as far as possible since it seems that they could not earn enough money just solely rely on those Pentax gear these days. Well, it is obvious that what they have been doing, for quite some time now.

In fact, more than two years ago, an online marketing rep of B&H contacted me before for suggesting "co-operation" between they and I, i.e., to include product links of theirs in return of something for me. I declined their suggestion and offer as I believe that my website should be purely non-commercial, no matter how.

Besides, at the first glance of the above modelling photo of the PF, it looks quite familiar somehow. Oh, that's actually my usual style of shooting those different camera bodies side by side at my Blog, e.g.:-



Via: Finally, I am Done! :-D

Well, I guess Adam and his guys must also often visit my Blog so that I have brain-washed them somehow!~ Nope? ;-D


Read Also:-

Latest Family Photo of My Pentax Gear! ;-D