I don't think that's really true of modern photographers. People just using their phones, influencers, yes, but not photographers. Look at the film resurgence (despite the cost) for evidence that not everyone demands instant results. Look at the huge number of primes available today for evidence that people don't mind changing lenses. Look at the size of modern FF cameras and lenses for evidence that gear doesn't have to fit in a pocket. Look at some of the rubbish produced by some people with big, expensive cameras for evidence that not everyone with a big, expensive camera is out for quality.

There are still plenty of people who take quality photography seriously but they're not all old and these days they're not all using SLR.

Actually Ricoh do not say this at any point. Production of current DSLRs has ended and we don't know if the same is true of lenses, but in the last few months a number of lenses have been confirmed as discontinued, most recently the 24-70/2.8, and I wouldn't be surprised if they end all K-mount lens production (if they haven't already). They state they will "leverage the K-mount legacy" but do not state that the K-mount will continue, which suggests an alternative mount using the knowledge gained from their work with the K-mount system. It may be compatible in some way with the K-mount, we will have to wait and see.

Reading this statement I think we need to pay attention to what it doesn't say as much as what it does.

I would have liked to see Pentax join the L-mount alliance and producing lenses and eventually cameras for it, but the statement that their future will be SLRs rules that out. Being SLRs also severely limits what this "new concept" will be as it's hard to imagine anything radically different while still being an SLR.

Maybe a fully electronic mount with ALL lenses being fully electronically controlled like EF, later F and all mirrorless mounts? But that would only update them to the point Canon were at in the mid-eighties so it would hardly be a new concept.

While I have believed for some time that this is the best route for Ricoh to take, there's nothing to suggest it will be the case. Their announcement states that they will continue with DSLRs, so that rules out the L-mount as the venture they mention.

Wow.

I've been reading the writing on the wall for the last few years but even I'm taken aback to finally read in black and white the end of the K-mount.

It's a sad day indeed.

I wait to see what this "entirely new concept" from Ricoh will be and, whatever it is, I wonder if it will be compatible with K-mount glass and if it will carry the Pentax name (I suspect not).

Very nice, epsecially #3.

The last one looks like it might be tilted a little clockwise.

Welcome to the forum. There are a lot of knowledgeable people here who I'm sure will be very happy to help with any questions.

Many thanks. I've just seen that DPR featured one of my photos in an article on readers' eclipse photos. Mine is the fifth one down and I see that a little further down a Pentaxian with a K3 III was featured too.

https://www.dpreview.com/photography/these-photographers-understood-the-assignme...

Yes, only a proper eclipse filter will do or those IR & UV wavelingths will fry your gear even if the visible wavelengths don't. I almost had a panic attack about ten days ago when I was unsure if the ND 100,000 that I got for the eclipse would be suitable or not. It is, but that didn't stop me from hanging a basball cap over the lens hood when I wasn't shooting. I got the filter months ago for €31 and when I looked last week it had gone up to €50.

My friends and family around Edinburgh saw basically nothing due to heavy clouds.

We went to a village called Consuegra De Murera in central Spain where there were a few hundred people watching the eclipse from a country road between fields of sunflowers. In the village there was a small bar with a couple of (extremely good) local small-batch beers on tap and caterers had been hired to make burgers after the event, which weren't half bad either. The atmosphere was fantastic - everyone in great spirits enjoying themselves and having a great time. The people of rural Spain are unsurpassed in their friendliness which really makes an event like this that much more special.

While the others in my group were having a drink in the village I went on ahead to grab a good spot and get set up. I thought that ten minutes would be enough but due to the complexity of what I hoped to use it took around twenty. I had no problem getting a good space with no-one in front of me that might have gotten in the way.

I saw just two other people with "proper" cameras and telephoto lenses and neither looked like their setups were as long as I had with mine, of course that doesn't mean they go worse shots and they may well have gotten better results if they were executed well.

My setup:

Camera 1: Canon 70D with battery grip, Tamron 100-400mm and ND 100,000 solar filter on a Slik tripod. Both camera and lens were bought (used) this year specifically for the eclipse, as was the eclipse filter, which together were my biggest outlay for the project. I focused on the sun before starting and then turned AF off and used masking tape to prevent any focus movement. I used a wired remote trigger to reduce shake, which was a problem because taking shots every five minutes the sun had moved and I had to re-frame by adjusting the tripod. I put a baseball cap over the front of the lens hood when not shooting to prevent any damage to the gear, just in case.

Camera 2: Panasonic Lumix S5 with Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 DG DN. This is my main camera normally but wasn't used for the telephoto shots because (1) I didn't want to risk damage to it in case of a slip on my part leaving the solar filter off at the wrong moment or someone knocking the tripod (2) it's full-frame so I'd have gotten just a 400mm focal length instead of the 640mm effective focal length with the 70D and (3) I wanted it for wider landscape shots during the eclipse itself.

Camera 3: Yashica Mat 124G 6x6 medium format TLR loaded with Fujifilm Pro 400H. This camera was on a second tripod next to the main one and left prepared for a totality landscape shot. Pre-set everything with a best guess as I'd have no time to meter or adjust. Lens cap on with masking tape to secure it until a couple of minutes before totality. Used a standard threaded trigger remote to fire a single shot during totality but I think I messed up and the shot will be massively under-exposed.

Camera 4: Canon EOS 30 film SLR loaded with Portra 160. A couple of times during partiality I removed the 70D and stuck the EOS 30 on the back of the lens to take a few shots, because I wanted to have something on film.

Camera 5: Canon 6D as backup for the 70D in case of mishap or failure. Not used.

Unfortunately not a single piece of Pentax equipment involved. I had the K 50/1.2 and S-M-C Tak 85/1.8 with me in case I had time to take some shots around the village but they didn't get any use - too many other things to juggle.

Every five minutes during partiality I framed and fired a seven-shot bracketed burst straight at the sun. I have no intention of putting together one of these combined shots to show the progress of the eclipse over time but I did want some telephoto shots to show partiality.

As totality arrived I removed the solar filter, carefully blocking the light with my body until totality was fully there. I adjusted the settings and fired off bracketed bursts every few seconds to try to get different exposures of the different artifacts. This was the most critical part and was partly successful but I didn't really get Baily's beads and some of the shots were blurred because I must have knocked the camera or the tripod.

I also took a few shots with the S5 to show the landscape with the eclipse and this was my biggest mistake - I should have had the S5 on a tripod to allow slower shutter speeds. Since it was hand-held, even though the camera has IBIS I was limited and these shots were taken at ISO 4000+. Still, getting the solar filter back on, or at least blocking the light after totality until the filter can go back on, is critical to not destroying the gear and managing that for two cameras (three if you could the Yashica) is riskier than doing it for fewer.

I did also manage a bit of time to bask in the eclipse and enjoy the light and atmosphere, after all most of what I needed to do with the 70D was just pressing and holding a button on the remote trigger. It was incredible and I see why they say that even a 99% eclipse is not 99% of the experience of a total eclipse.

So that's it done for better or worse. By far the most planning and investment in a single photography project that I have ever done, especially the research into how to execute eclipse photography and into potential cameras and lenses to use for the telephoto part. Overall a grand experience of eight months of preparation for a 90 second climax. I'm happy about how some parts of it turned out while others I think I could have done better. I've gained a lot of experience and knowledge that I hope to be able to use in the future - a chunk of the lower half of Spain will experience an anular eclipse in January 2028 so I hope to be able to see that. The gear that I bought specifically will stay until at least then, though I might look into the possibility of upgrading the 70D to something newer in the meantime, but it's not a priority and I might be better keeping the camera that I now have experience of using for this purpose.

As I say, nothing Pentax was used so I probably shouldn't post any of the results directly, but below is my Flickr album for it. Just one photo in there as I type but I will of course add more.

Yes, I have an image in mind of the other people (and especially my two daughters) with their eclipse glasses on, possibly with jaws dropped as they see the spectacle unfold.