Algernon,

Using your argument about having no need for 400mm because the 300 + 1.4TC can cover begs the question why any one would manufacture a 300 f4 when they could just sell a 200 f2.8 + 1.4 T/C.
Anyway...the big names in the industry beg to differ and they have more paying customers than Pentax.

I'll pass on the toilet rolls if you don't mind i don't know where they've been

Constructive criticism...not moaning for no good reason...you should give it a try.

It's a great lens...no doubt about it but is too expensive for amateur/enthusiast use.

Also I think it's better suited to wildlife than aviation which would comprise my main subject matter. The 'wide' end at 150mm is too long...ideally should be 80-100 at this end.

A quality 70-300 f4 with T/C would be a nice alternative as I rarely shoot aircraft at anything wider than
f5.6.

Huge market for these lenses as virtually everybody but Pentax has realised and Tamron and Sigma have demonstrated that they don't have to be uber expensive.

Until very recently the lens was being sold by main dealers for £2799...it was at this price for quite a few months and even dipped occasionally to £2699 on the Pentax 'Blink and you've Missed it' Specials.

It has always been a bit of an oddball this lens...commercially I can't for the life of me think what their marketing department were doing. A 400mm f5.6 prime would have been a much more desirable lens for most people, even better a 100-400mm.

Ricoh are in major financial difficulty, apparently early August when the Q1 results are out is going to be absolutely crucial for the future direction of the company. In the UK they've made lots of copier engineers redundant...my uncle has taken one on at his copier business. Their profit margins are extremely thin so I can understand the need for generating some extra margin but expecting the camera business which is a very small part of the overall company to 'ride to the rescue' is being overly optimistic.

If Ricoh had Nikon's global market share in photo gear it would be a big risk putting up prices so much...Nikon were the first of the big names to do this about 2 years ago and seem to have had some success in dragging overall industry prices on a gradual upward trend but in the case of Ricoh I feel they are trying to ratchet up the trend another notch...their market share is too small and it will probably cost them Pentax. Autumn trade shows will take on extra significance this year for the company.

Whether Ricoh themselves survive will probably take another 18-24 months to ascertain.

Price at Main Dealers up from £2999 to £4799 !

Nothing to do with currency fluctuations, that order of magnitude.

Good luck with that Ricoh.

Great theme you've stumbled onto Derek...I really like them...fancy trying it myself. I actually rate No.4...like the long receding line of pawns starting from an OOF foreground into "Infinity and Beyond..."

Regards

Karlo

Of course if the Pound stays weak then our exporters should be booming creating genuine wealth for the country and lots more jobs.

[quote:3496ace15f="JAK"]That would be the bargain of the year!

Yeah...only realised the typo after returning from my evening meal...after I got the call to say "tea's ready!" had to rush the comment and post in a hurry.

I accept that currency rates are not favourable for UK importers at the moment, however I think this is being used as an excuse to profiteer at UK consumers' expense...similar to what happened to the consumers in every country that converted to the Euro a few years back.

I've just looked at the exchange rates for the £ against Euro, Dollar, Yen and Yuan/Renimbi for the past 12 months and then for a date about a week and a half before the Euro referendum vote last year. The £ had been on the up for a while...historically very high values before dropping just before the referendum and then subsequently dropping afterwards. Over the past 12 months against those four mentioned currencies £'s drop has been generally within 12-15% range as Peter mentioned above.

We HAD price rises of typically 10-15% on most imported consumer items though earlier this year...so strictly speaking these further rises shouldn't be necessary or if so shouldn't be any more than 2-3% just to tidy up.

With particular reference to Ricoh they are not helping their cause by adding these increases to their already idiotic 'yo yo' pricing policy where prices change within a typical month by 20-25% up and down .

Used MF PK fit lenses from the 1970s - 1990's have never looked such good value compared to newer offerings from Ricoh.

Unbelievable increases at SRS as per title...

150-450...£1949
70-2000...£2029
60-250...£1319
100 macro...£529
50-135...£1049
16-50...£969
DA 200...£879
DA 300...£1149

Gobsmacked.

I don't have a K-1 but don't feel that Ricoh is doing enough bringing out new lenses across the whole range
of FF/APS-C.

If I could zero in on a specific focal range, I would say they desperately need to offer an affordable prime 400mm and also a 100-400 f5.6 or possibly even 80-400. Also a 'quality' 70-300 that would work well with their 1.4 convertor would be nice. By 'affordable' i'm thinking in terms of less than £1k max...ideally £700-£800.

With good quality, reasonably priced long telephoto zooms available by both Sigma and Tamron, new entrants to the DSLR market would be better off going with Canikon for sports, wildlife, aviation. Ricoh can't surely afford to alienate this large number of people and stay in the camera business in my view.