Are you preordering a GR IV Monochrome?
A Ricoh GR IV with a monochrome sensor is coming in the spring! Are you buying? Are you pre-ordering? No, we don’t know the price yet. Do you care? Are you waiting for details, or have you already decided to buy a Monochrome that fits in your pocket? Vote in this week’s poll, and tell us why you’re going to do that voodoo you do in the comments!
Elsewhere in this week’s newsletter, Site Supporter mroeder75 shows that the SMC Pentax-F 1.7x AF Adapter is for the birds; Site Supporter 87Duckfan is amazed by the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm F4.5-5.6 ED DC AW; and New Member La Bikina captures Arabesque No. 1 with the Voigtlander APO Lanthar SL 90mm F3.5.
If you’ve been forwarded this newsletter, please take a moment to join the more than 1,500 Pentaxians who have subscribed to our free curated compendium of the hundreds of great images and post shared each week in our Pentax community. Please let us know your thoughts here in the comments and on our Pentax Forums, and have a perfect Pentaxian week!
Threads of the Week:
Map Camera (Japan) says GR IV has had a “spectacular debut”
October 14, 2025 • Ricoh GR • 3 replies • 647 views
EssJayEff said — Good news for Ricoh! “Sales Charts Show the Ricoh GR IV Is Picking Up Where the GR III Left Off” Read more »
October 17, 2025 • Pentax SLR Lens Discussion • 6 replies • 975 views
rickthegolfer said — Just wanted to let people know, I developed a Pentax driver for astrophotography using the Ricoh SDK. It works well and can directly change the camera focus (which is part of the Ricoh SDK). As it turns out it is a very good way to wake up SDM lens. Read more »
October 19, 2025 • Pentax Price Watch • 5 replies • 231 views
Adam said — This is interesting. I know this lens has been discontinued for a while, but also has amassed a bit of a following despite the spotty AF. Available new at a decent price! DA 17-70mm F4 10% Off / $26 Below Average: $224 @ Amazon Read more »
Pentaxian User Reviews
Pentax Lenses
SMC Pentax-F 1.7x AF Adapter
Reviewed by Site Supporter mroeder75
Review Date: October 15, 2025 Recommended | Rating: 9
Pros: More clarity than I knew
Cons: I didn’t know how good it was
HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm F4.5-5.6 ED DC AW
Reviewed by Site Supporter 87Duckfan
Review Date: October 16, 2025 Recommended | Price: $1,200.00 | Rating: 10
Pros: Sharpness! Versatility Cons: None so far.
Sharpness: 10 Aberrations: 10 Bokeh: 10 Autofocus: 10 Handling: 10 Value: 10 New or Used: Used Camera Used: K1
I have never taken the time to write a review before, but this lens is amazing! This and the 31mm Ltd. are my favorites now. The sharpness is incredible, focusing is good. I can’t recommend enough! Wish I had purchased it sooner.
Third-Party Pentax Lenses
Voigtlander APO Lanthar SL 90mm F3.5
Reviewed by New Member La Bikina
Review Date: October 17, 2025 Recommended | Price: $360.00 | Rating: 9
Pros: Close up lens with great bokeh Cons: None
Sharpness: 10 Aberrations: 9 Bokeh: 9 Handling: 9 Value: 9 Camera Used: Nikon D5 and Nikon D3
I will add few photo samples with different cameras, Nikon D3 12mpx and Nikon D5 20.8Mpx
Arabesque No. 1 by Guadalupe Cruz, on Flickr: Nikon D5, ƒ/8.0, 86.0 mm, 1/200, 1000 iso. Note: I configured as 86mm, because no 90mm option in the Non-CPU menu.
Comment of the Week:
Pentaxian Dartmoor Dave on Do you choose the phone or the camera? The Best of Pentax Forums October 15 Poll: I’m using the perfect phone/camera combination: I superglued my Nokia 3510 to the back of my Kodak No.2 Autographic. So I can call and text with a phone that only needs charging once a week, and I get 6x9cm negatives from the camera.
Edit: Well I put the “I’m joking” emoji on there, but now I’m starting to think it’s actually not a bad idea. A smartphone plus film camera might actually work. They’d probably have to resurrect the APS film format, but it really is something that’s technically feasible
Are you buying a GR IV Monochrome?
The Best of Pentax Forums October 21 Poll
A Ricoh GR IV with a monochrome sensor is coming in the spring! Are you buying? Are you pre-ordering? No, we don’t know the price yet. Do you care? Are you waiting for details, or have you already decided to buy a Monochrome that fits in your pocket? Vote in this week’s poll, and tell us why you’re going to do that voodoo you do in the comments!
This poll closes October 28
And here are the results of last week’s poll:
Weekly Photo Challenges
Weekly Challenge #717- Mirror Mirror
Posted By: noelcmn: For the next challenge, we are looking for images that employ a mirror in one form or another. A lot of potential for creativity, and certainly not confined to selfies, though those are quite acceptable. Abstracts would be great , and so too landscapes. Let’s see what you can come up with. The Challenge will run until midnight next Sunday, October 26th 2025, whichever time zone you are in. And hopefuly judging will take place the next morning.
And here’s Loyal Site Supporter Kerrowdown’s entry: “The Time Tunnel” Selfie-For those of us old enough to remember this TV show... the multiple “reflection within a reflection” reminded me of “The Time Tunnel.”
A Walk Down Memory Lane
Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome Review
Introduction
The Pentax K-3 III, released in 2021, was the first significant upgrade to the K-3 line in several years, the K-3 II being an iterative upgrade removing the flash and including a built-in GPS. The K-3 III sparked a lot of interest, both among Pentax fans and outside the usual userbase since Pentax is now the sole camera manufacturer offering new DSLR models.
With the release of the K-3 III, Pentax also launched a few initiatives to connect more directly with its customer base. Surveys to explore what users would be most interested in revealed that a large number of users were interested in a “Jet Black” version of the K-3 III, where all markings and labels are engraved and painted black. Pentax did release a limited edition Jet Black K-3 III in 2022. Second on the list of desired variants was a monochrome version of the K-3 III, and in Spring 2023 Pentax released just that.
As its name suggests, the K-3 III Monochrome can only capture grayscale (”black-and-white”) photos, and it is optimized for this purpose. More on that later.
Regular Pentax K-3 III and K-3 III Monochrome side-by-side
The K-3 III Monochrome took the photography world by storm. Until then, the only purely monochrome camera on the market was the Leica M10 (and its Leica M11 successor). The Leica costs close to $10,000 (not counting the hefty lens prices) and is a rangefinder, something not everyone desires. As such, the K-3 III Monochrome positions itself uniquely in the current camera market.
PentaxForum Front page stories Oct. 15-21:
September “Flowers” Contest Finalists Announced
Vote for the overall winner!
By PF Staff in Photo Contests on Oct 15, 2025
After the end of the nomination phase of last month’s official Flowers photo contest, we’re now ready to announce our top 15 finalists! Click on the link below to view the photos in full size and cast your vote in the poll: Vote for your favorite photo in the poll
Ricoh GR IV Monochrome and HDF in Development
Two new models expected by Spring 2026
By PF Staff in Pentax Announcements on Oct 21, 2025
Ricoh Imaging has announced the development of two compelling variants of the recently launched RICOH GR IV: the GR IV Monochrome and the GR IV HDF, marking significant expansions to the acclaimed compact camera series that continues to capture the hearts of photographers worldwide.
The RICOH GR IV Monochrome promises to build on the success of the Pentax K-3 III Monochrome through a first for the GR the series: a camera designed exclusively for black and white photography. Nearly 30 years since the film-based GR1 launched in 1996, and exactly 20 years since the digital GR DIGITAL arrived in 2005, Ricoh is venturing into dedicated monochrome territory with a camera that promises to deliver the expressiveness and depth unique to monochrome images.