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Last year, there were rumours that Pentax was working on a new 50-135mm f/2.8 lens. Now it looks like that rumour might finally be coming true. There’s been no more info about a new lens, but the existing one looks like it’s on the way out.
Japanese retailer Camera Sakuraya is listing the smc PENTAX-DA★ 50-135mm f/2.8 ED [IF] SDM lens as discontinued. Well, technically it translates to “Production completed”, but same thing. Popular US-based retailer B&H also lists it as “No Longer Available”.
It’s no secret that Pentax is working on a film camera. They’ve actually made quite a big deal of it, with the launch of a video series documenting some of its development. At least, the parts of its development they’re currently prepared to post publicly. The first announcement that Pentax is pursuing film again came in December 2022. In May of this year, we saw an update that suggested the first film camera would be some form of compact.
Now, although there’s no new video yet, Pentax is showing off a prototype of the new camera at an exhibition in Japan. The PENTAX Film Project Exhibition, which runs til the end of July, is being run by Ricoh themselves. As with the videos, though, they’re not showing off all the details just yet. It’s encased in an acrylic display stand, with the winding lever and part of the grip being the only visible parts.
It seems that Ricoh Japan has discontinued production of the HD PENTAX-DA 21mm F3.2AL Limited silver lens (buy here). The wide-angle HD PENTAX-DA 21mm F3.2AL Limited was released in 2013, as the replacement for 2006’s smc PENTAX-DA 21mm F3.2AL Limited. It was released as a compact wide prime for walkabout shooting with a small, lightweight APS-C camera setup.
At the moment, it seems that only the silver version of the lens has been discontinued. The Ricoh Japan online store lists it as “Completion of production” with limited (“only a few”) stock still available. Outside of Japan, stocks are still available at some online retailers.
In December, Pentax announced they were developing a new film camera. At the time, there was no real information on exactly what type of film camera it would be. In fact, it wasn’t even revealed whether it would use 35mm film or medium format. And while many hoped for a modern-day update to the Pentax 67 or a fully mechanical 35mm SLR, it seems that the first new Pentax film camera will be a compact camera.
The information comes in the second video update for the Pentax “Film Project”, where they expressed gratitude for the overwhelming feedback they’ve received. Given that feedback, it seems that Pentax may be planning to do a range of cameras in the future and that this isn’t just a one-off.
Well, this is a bit of an odd announcement. Although, perhaps Pentax sees themselves as being to DSLRs what Leica is to rangefinders… and then it makes total sense. Either way, Pentax has announced a new monochrome version of the Pentax K-3 Mark III DSLR. It appears to be like the standard Pentax K-3 Mark III in almost every way, except that there’s no Bayer filter array over the sensor.
Despite lacking a colour filter, it uses a same resolution 25.7-megapixel BSI CMOS sensor. It does see the ISO increased a stop, though, as there’s no light lost in the absence of the colour filter. Removing the filter also means there’s no chroma noise. There are also none of the camera’s usual colour modes. Instead, it offers processing modes, allowing for options such as high or low-contrast photography.
Pentax is an odd duck, for sure. They’ve held onto DSLRs with a death grip against the onslaught of DSLRs, which could potentially become their undoing in a few years. Now, though, it seems that instead of taking a step towards the future, they’re taking one into the past. But it’s not a backwards step! Film’s resurgence over the last decade or so is no secret. New film brands seem to be popping up regularly and even Kodak is struggling to keep up with demand.
It’s a trend that has not gone unnoticed by Pentax, who have always been a more familiar brand amongst film shooters than digital. So now, they’ve launched a new Film Camera Project. In a press release, the company said the project entails research and developing new Pentax brand “film camera products”, bringing together both veteran and younger engineers to take advantage of both old and new tech.
It’s December again, which means lots of us are sitting there wondering what to buy for ourselves or the photographer in our lives this holiday season. We’ve been saving up all year to get that something special, but we don’t want to deal with in-store queues – or maybe we’ve just slacked on our Christmas shopping this year. We want to stay at home where it’s nice and warm and see what we can find online that gets delivered straight to our door!
So, this means it’s time for the 2022 DIYP Holiday Gift Guides, and we’re kicking things off with cameras. These are some of our favourite cameras that have been released over the last year. Keep visiting back this week as we release our other guides, including lenses, lighting, tripods, sliders & gimbals, and accessories and gadgets.
Pentax has updated its K mount lens roadmap as of November 2022. This sounds like it should be a good thing, although it’s really not. No new lenses have been added to the roadmap, not even mysterious ones with vague titles that don’t actually give anything away. Sure, there are a couple of those on there, but they were already on there in the last roadmap update.
Given recent reports of Ricoh dumping less profitable sections of its business, this does not bode well for the future of Pentax. If their own engineers don’t have anything new to report, then it could be because they’ve been told not to work on anything new. There are two updated roadmaps, with one showing every Pentax lens and one showing only full-frame lenses.
In a recent article on Japanese outlet Newswitch, Ricoh CFO Shun Kawaguchi says that the company is looking to essentially dump some of its business in order to be able to focus its time and money on more lucrative areas of the company. There was no explicit mention of Pentax, Ricoh’s own branded cameras or the Theta series of 360° cameras, although logically, they might be some of the first up for the chopping block – and probably in that order.
Pentax’s defiance of market trends and its steadfast refusal to enter the mirrorless market could be its downfall. Who could’ve seen that one coming, huh? Pentax proclaimed in 2019 that users would start switching from mirrorless back to DSLRs within 1-2 years. Well, it’s 2022, and that hasn’t happened. In 2020, they reaffirmed their commitment to DSLRs. And just last month, they released the entirely underwhelming Pentax KF – which is basically just a K-70 with a flippy-out LCD.
Pentax has now officially announced the new Pentax KF APS-C DSLR. I say “new”, but it’s not really that much different to the K-70. It’s had a few minor tweaks, but one major update is that it now has a proper flippy out LCD with a slightly higher resolution than its predecessor. It has some new custom image modes and features the special edition Kyushu and Katen Custom Image modes (with supported lenses).
Other than that, though, not much has really changed. It’s almost identical to the K-70 in its exterior other than the LCD, assuming you don’t go for one of the fancy limited edition Crystal Blue or White colour options, and you’d be hard-pushed to tell the difference between them if not for the fact it has “KF” written on it. It’s more of an incremental replacement rather than an upgrade.
Udi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.
Alex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe
Dave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.
John Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.
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