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
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