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Ricoh may be considering killing off the Pentax brand

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UPDATE: Ricoh are denying the report. For the full update see the end of the post

Just when Pentax seemed like it might be starting to pick up, Nikkei Asian Review are reporting that Ricoh may be dropping the brand. There’s no doubt that smartphones are continuing to eat into camera sales, and Pentax has become a “money-losing” business.

Nikkei say that Ricoh plan to “radically review” a production and manufacturing strategy targeting the Pentax and GR brands. One of the options includes withdrawing from the segment completely.

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Why your camera brand doesn’t matter

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A few weeks before Christmas my best friend’s husband rang me:

Daniela, I want to buy M a camera. What should I get her?

I asked the standard questions: how much does he have to spend and what sort of photography does he think she’ll be doing. He tells me there’s £500 in the kitty and she’s been making murmurs about taking more landscapes and getting better photos of the dog. I suggest that maybe he wants to look at an Olympus PEN. They fall well within his price bracket; they’ve a good frames-per-second rate and lots of AF points for capturing their off-his-rocker dog; and they’re pretty light. Given that my best friend lives close to the Alps and walks a lot, this is a bonus.

However, I add my usual disclaimer. ‘For that money, no one is going to sell you a bad camera. It’s more important to find the one that best suits your specific needs.’

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8 camera manufacturers compete in this Great JPEG Shootout

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Knowing how well our camera produces jpg files might not be a high priority for a lot of photographers. If you’re only shooting raw, then what does it matter, right? Well, there are still a lot out there shooting jpg, and even pros may switch over to jpg for less important tasks. So, The Camera Store have challenged 8 popular cameras from leading manufacturers to the Great JPEG Shootout!

It’s an interesting comparison. Cameras from Nikon, Canon, Sony, Fuji, Pentax, Olympus and Panasonic are put head to head with an iPhone 7 Plus to see which produces the best looking images straight out of the camera. Perhaps not surprisingly, the iPhone didn’t do very well.

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Pentax and Phase One both launch firmware updates to offer electronic shutter during live view

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When live view first appeared in DSLRs, it was seen as a bit of a useless gimmick. No doubt, in those early cameras, it wasn’t always that useful. It was ok if you just wanted to line up a shot that was difficult to see through the viewfinder. Laying low to the ground, for example. But beyond that, it wasn’t very practical. Now that video has come more to the forefront of camera technology, people are finding live view more and more essential.

One feature missing from some cameras, though, is the ability to quickly grab shots while liveview is active. Thankfully, electronic shutters during live view mode are starting to become more common. It’s still lacking in a few bodies, though. Now, both Pentax and Phase One have added an electronic live view shutter to their K1 and XF IQ3 cameras, respectively with a new firmware update.

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Pentax K-5 IIs gets covered with pink fire retardant, hosed off, and carries on shooting

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I always find it interesting to read about the things cameras survive that the manufacturers could never have foreseen. X. Fire and ice, car crashes, months under the ocean, rocket engines, and even babies.

Photographer Brian Maneely recently discovered just how tough and sealed his Pentax K-5 IIs was. While photographing a wildfire, it was doused with pink fire retardant and then hosed off with water.

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Pentax’s new film duplicator lets you digitise film from 35mm to 5×4 with your DSLR

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The resurgence in film’s popularity in the last few years has been a wonderful thing.  Large format photography is only just starting to see the the kind of reawakening that 35mm experienced, but it is definitely making a comeback.

For those that are already shooting 4×5, your life might be about to get a little easier (although it may not once you realise the cost).  The newly announced Pentax Film Duplicator 4×5 lets you digitise your film from 35mm up to 4×5 negatives using a simple DSLR.

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‘The Great 24-70mm f/2.8 Shootout’ pits nearly identical Canon, Nikkor, Pentax and Sony against each other

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No matter what brand of camera you prefer, there’s a good chance a 24–70mm f/2.8 lens is available for the mount. It’s one of the most versatile pieces of glass out there and almost every company manufacturers some variation of it.

To put four of these variations to the test, Camera Store TV created a video review showing and explaining how the 24–70mm lenses from Canon, Nikon, Sony and Pentax stack up to one another.[Read More…]

French photographer tests the Pentax K1’s weather sealing by rubbing it in mud and giving it a bath

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Ricoh’s Pentax K1 camera has proven to be a respectable full-frame camera that puts the Pentax name back on the map. One of its main features is its magnesium alloy body, which Ricoh claims is thoroughly weather-sealed.

To test just how weather-sealed it truly is, YouTuber Studient Richard decided to do the unthinkable; rub mud all over the camera and give it a solid bath within a sink.[Read More…]

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