And 14 months later, I ask again…. (1 Viewer)

S

St. Elmo

Well-known member

• Jun 20, 2014

• #1

And 14 months later, I ask again, "What's new Pentax?"

Perhaps I should ask instead, "Is Pentax still in the sport optics business?"

 

C

ceasar

Well-known member

• Jun 20, 2014

• #2

Eagle optics still lists them and sells them. There aren't too many reviews from sales made this year though. They always had binoculars with narrow FOVs compared to other brands. Their light weight DCF BC 9x32 looks interesting.

http://www.eagleoptics.com/binoculars/pentax/pentax-dcf-bc-9x32-binocular

Some people here have commented on it's resemblance to Frank D.'s now almost legendary Sightron II 8x32 Blue Sky binocular. 932 posts about the Sightron so far!

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=211793&page=38

Camera Land still lists Pentax too.

Bob

PS: Where has Frank D. been recently?

 

Last edited: Jun 20, 2014

P

peatmoss

Well-known member

• Jun 21, 2014

• #3

Here's something new from them. Looks like they've entered the Yosemite-clone sweepstakes.

http://www.us.ricoh-imaging.com/sport-optics/products/PCF_CW_8x30

 

Alexis Powell

Natural history enthusiast

• Jun 22, 2014

• #4

peatmoss said:

Here's something new from them. Looks like they've entered the Yosemite-clone sweepstakes.

http://www.us.ricoh-imaging.com/sport-optics/products/PCF_CW_8x30

Click to expand...

If the IPD range of 60-70mm is accurate, they're no Yosemite substitute.

--AP

 

S

St. Elmo

Well-known member

• Jun 22, 2014

• #5

That's it? After 2,873 years without a new model?… a PCF CW 8x30? Looks to me like they might have a pulse, but don't want to compete anymore.

 

C

ceasar

Well-known member

• Jun 22, 2014

• #6

Some people are satisfied with the ones they have. I have a friend who has owned a Pentax 8x36 Porro Prism for what must be nearly 20 years now and he leads birding tours with it!

Bob

 

P

peatmoss

Well-known member

• Jun 22, 2014

• #7

Alexis Powell said:

If the IPD range of 60-70mm is accurate, they're no Yosemite substitute.

--AP

Click to expand...

Hello Alexis. It's possible that it's a typo. The specs for the field of view don't seem right either. If the actual fov is 7* then then eyepiece ought to be 7* x 8 = 56*, not 52.1*. Or alternately, if the eyepiece is 52.1* then the actual fov ought to be around 52.1*/8 = 6.5*. It's also curious that the company website only lists an 8x30, whereas retailers are beginning to list both an 8x30 and 10x30 versions.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1050135-REG/pentax_65851_binoculars_8x30_pcf_cw.html

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1050136-REG/pentax_65852_binoculars_10x30_pcf_cw.html

 

C

ceasar

Well-known member

• Jun 22, 2014

• #8

Another reason might be because Pentax is now owned by Ricoh and I don't recall Ricoh ever being involved much in the optics business like Pentax was. This appears to be a new venture for Ricoh.

Bob

 

perterra

Well-known member

• Jun 22, 2014

• #9

ceasar said:

Some people are satisfied with the ones they have. I have a friend who has owned a Pentax 8x36 Porro Prism for what must be nearly 20 years now and he leads birding tours with it!

Bob

Click to expand...

Get outta here, doesnt buy a new binocular of the month, I cant believe that. LOL

I think it also says there is more money in cameras than in a saturated binocular market.

 

C

ceasar

Well-known member

• Jun 22, 2014

• #10

perterra said:

Get outta here, doesnt buy a new binocular of the month, I cant believe that. LOL

I think it also says there is more money in cameras than in a saturated binocular market.

Click to expand...

Curious that you say that! The same guy buys up old mechanical Japanese range finder cameras, gets them working again, and sells them back to Japanese Collectors.

Bob

 

perterra

Well-known member

• Jun 22, 2014

• #11

ceasar said:

Curious that you say that! The same guy buys up old mechanical Japanese range finder cameras, gets them working again, and sells them back to Japanese Collectors.

Bob

Click to expand...

I have said it before, just because something new comes along doesnt mean the old one suddenly works any less well than it ever did. If something had a nice view 20 years ago, with a little care it will have a good view today.

 

N

Nessus

Well-known member

• Jun 22, 2014

• #12

I was just in Cameraland and they had them on display but said the hadn't heard a word from Pentax in ages.

I have a pair of brand new Papilo 6.5's in the box, I only checked them once in the store for perfect focus. I should save them for a few years, they might be worth something if no one ever duplicates them.