p.5 #1 · Official: Pentax 645Z Medium Format priced at $8,499
kosmoskatten wrote:
It would seem very awkward to release a new digital medium format body and not bring out any new lenses. I am sure they have some sort of plan for it, just hope they are more open in their road map announcements and not tight lipped as Ricoh usually are about new products.
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Given that Pentax, as an independent firm, doesn't exists anymore and it's Ricoh who's piloting the ship, I won't be surprised if that tight lipped & unfathomable policy will be applied as well to their Pentax branded line of products.
p.5 #2 · Official: Pentax 645Z Medium Format priced at $8,499
artur5 wrote:
Given that Pentax, as an independent firm, doesn't exists anymore and it's Ricoh who's piloting the ship, I won't be surprised if that tight lipped & unfathomable policy will be applied as well to their Pentax branded line of products.
It already has been. It's certainly not like with Sony who basically seem to leak everything purposely. Ricoh seems more like Apple in their secrecy. There were not many details with either the K3 or 645 II (2014) prior to announcement, certainly not weeks or months in advance.
I agree competition is usually good for us, but private equity firms are more concerned with growth and bottom line. When I took my training on Capture One the instructor mentioned that Phase One has a lot of patents and at one time Microsoft was looking at buying some but the deal fell through. If the instructor was correct on the patents then one wonders if the equity company plans on selling off a bunch. On their site they had this statement.
In the end it's good to see Pentax coming out with a new model.
The investment by Silverfleet will enable the business to grow through continued innovation and new product launches, additional marketing and the potential acquisition of complementary businesses or technology.
Henrik Håkonsson, who is currently the majority shareholder, will continue as CEO of the business after the transaction. He commented: “We are delighted to work with Silverfleet going forward. Their international outlook, financial capability and track record of growing companies, make them an ideal partner for us as we accelerate the growth of our business".
p.5 #4 · Official: Pentax 645Z Medium Format priced at $8,499
kosmoskatten wrote:
It would seem very awkward to release a new digital medium format body and not bring out any new lenses. I am sure they have some sort of plan for it, just hope they are more open in their road map announcements and not tight lipped as Ricoh usually are about new products.
I think the new camera looks great and I am quite sure it will make for a very good system if they don't drop the ball. In that price range you don't want customers to feel hesitant to invest and insecure about system future.
Maybe this is a silly question, but my impression was that the most recent P645 lenses are excellent on the 645D. Are they that hard to come by used? I believe there are some on the B&S board now.
p.5 #5 · Official: Pentax 645Z Medium Format priced at $8,499
Ricoh states 645 FA lenses are currently in production:
"DE: No, there's three current lenses that you're manufacturing, right? For the 645? Are there more lenses for the 645D?
Ricoh: We do have more than three lenses.
DE: Oh, there are? That's interesting - when I looked at the Imaging site, I thought I only saw three listed.
Ricoh: The lenses for the 645 - the lens available after the 645D was announced, yes, there are three since then. But we do have a long history of 645 analog cameras. Those lenses also are attachable.
DE: Are you still manufacturing those lenses?
Ricoh: Yes, we are. Of course, when we launched the 645D, we did a precise test to determine if those analog lenses could be used also for the digital, and according to our tests, it should be no problem.
DE: I'll have to check again, but I think I went to the Ricoh Imaging site, and they had a list of all the lenses, but I only saw three 645s at the very bottom, but maybe - could be that they're not imported to the U.S. maybe? I can ask the U.S. people about that.
Ricoh: (chuckles) We'll have them upload all the lenses. Thank you."
p.5 #6 · Official: Pentax 645Z Medium Format priced at $8,499
Yeah, I saw that interview. Seems like a HUGE oversight that the lenses are not listed on the U.S. site BUT, since these other lenses are not even offered for actual sale anywhere in the U.S., seems like there is more to it than Ricoh/ Pentax simply forgetting to list the lenses on their site.
If they are actually in production that's great news. Now Ricoh needs to actually distribute them in the U.S.!
p.5 #8 · Official: Pentax 645Z Medium Format priced at $8,499
Why? The Ricoh site in Japan has loads over lenses listed for the 645, so clearly they still market them, at the very least. There is no particular reason why that particular guy should know what Pentax America is doing, is there?
p.5 #9 · Official: Pentax 645Z Medium Format priced at $8,499
Tariq Gibran wrote:
.......... seems like there is more to it than Ricoh/ Pentax simply forgetting to list the lenses on their site.
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Tariq, I wouldn't take that statement too literally. My impression is that Ricoh is going to "persuade" Pentax USA to start making all the 645 lenses available in the US. Pentax USA didn't even want to offer the 645D, let alone the lenses
Hoya didn't care about the camera business, Ricoh apparently does.
Nice! With this availability AND the relatively reasonable lens prices (for MF) coupled with the $8500 price of the new 645Z, I think Ricoh/ Pentax may have a decent opportunity at chiseling out a nice niche for themselves.
p.5 #19 · Official: Pentax 645Z Medium Format priced at $8,499
I mean they have a few newer lenses.. All the old 645 lenses work on the camera as well. So it's not like they are limited... People may be limited if they refuse to use the old glass. I thought I read that the old MF and some of the AF were fairly decent on the film cameras. I considered buying the film 645 but accidentally won a mamiya rb instead
p.5 #20 · Official: Pentax 645Z Medium Format priced at $8,499
Dpedraza wrote:
I mean they have a few newer lenses.. All the old 645 lenses work on the camera as well. So it's not like they are limited... People may be limited if they refuse to use the old glass. I thought I read that the old MF and some of the AF were fairly decent on the film cameras. I considered buying the film 645 but accidentally won a mamiya rb instead
Many of the older lenses are very good. My question was more about what Pentax might do if the system starts really selling (and depletes all the old lens stock). Will they re-start production of the same lenses in Vietnam (where the current lenses are made), a very expensive undertaking I would think. Maybe they will just slowly introduce updated models (more likely).
