Are you watching your porch for a GR IV delivery?
New sensor. New lens. New battery. New built-in storage. Does it all add up to you pre-ordering a new Ricoh GR IV? Will you be slipping the new Ricoh compact camera into a pocket and taking it everywhere this fall? Vote in this week’s poll, and let us know how you do that voodoo you do so well in the comments!
Elsewhere in this week’s newsletter, Pentaxian jcdoss is impressed by the SMC Pentax-A 20mm F2.8; Pentaxian greyscale looks at sunflowers at night; and Site Supporter kwb takes a lazy look at the stars while camping.
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:
The Amazing Monochrome (Sunflowers at Night)
August 24, 2025 • Pentax K-3 III Monochrome • 3 replies • 192 views
greyscale said — As some of you may have seen, I'm now exclusively a sunflower photographer. Anything else that I do is simply how I pass the time until I can photograph sunflowers again. So in the middle of last night, after a short, sharp thunderstorm rolled through, I picked up the K3iii Monochrome and a flashlight and went to see how the garden was doing. Read more »
Lazy astro with K-3III while camping
August 26, 2025 • Pentax K-3 III • 2 replies • 178 views
kwb said — My wife and I went to do-nothing-in-particular kind of camping and the night sky was great, so I had to try some astro shots with a travel tripod and K-3III. Star AF was excellent, it just worked. Interval mode with minimal delay combined with astro tracer type 3 means that the camera takes one test shot to see how the sky moves and then continuously shoots a fixed number of pictures with star tracking. Read more »
Today’s new arrival: Pentax Espio 928 (IQZoom 928)
August 21, 2025 • Film SLRs and Compact Film Cameras • 5 replies • 365 views
mkt3000 said — I've been hunting for the right IQZoom or Espio 928 for a while - good condition at the right price (aka the cheapest working one) - and I finally landed one from a Japanese eBay seller. It was a shockingly good deal compared to what US sellers ask for IQZoom-badged copies. What drew me in was the lens: 28–90mm f/3.5–7.9. Most Espios only go as wide as 35mm, so having a true 28mm in a compact body is exactly what I was after. Read more »
Pentaxian User Reviews
Pentax Lenses
SMC Pentax-A 20mm F2.8
Reviewed by Pentaxian jcdoss
Review Date: August 22, 2025 Recommended | Price: $450.00 | Rating: 9
Pros: Small, light, sharp Cons: A bit plasticky
I have owned this lens now for five years, having purchased it from a former member of this forum in the PF Marketplace. I already had the M20f4, which I love, but I wanted to try this lens because it's a stop faster and the images I saw posted here from this lens were excellent. The photos I've taken with this lens are so far quite excellent as far as I'm concerned. The lens is sharp to the edges at sensible apertures (I don't shoot it wide open unless necessary). CA is minimal, and in fact I can't remember seeing any in my recent images. The lens is wide and can focus fairly close too. I'm usually shooting stopped down, so I can't comment on bokeh. The only negative I can think of is that the lens has an exterior made of plastic, which bothers me until I realize that this older lens has no damage or marks on it whatsoever. I have an online gallery available for your review here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jcdoss/albums/72177720308030350
Third-Party Pentax Lenses
Helios 44-2 58mm F2
Reviewed by New Member VintageLensKid
Review Date: August 21, 2025 Recommended | Price: $20.00 | Rating: 10
Pros: Very easy to adapt M42 screw, Can get for very cheap, Very sharp in the center from F/2 corner to corner from F/8, 8 Blade Aperture Unique Swirly Bokeh, Rigid and durable solid alloy body
Cons: Prone to flaring, although you can correct it in CameraRaw, Focusing Needs Lubricating (i did mine with industrial grease i pulled out of a dumpster lol), most of the copies need cleaning that involves unscrewing the rear lens group.
Sharpness: 9 Aberrations: 8 Bokeh: 10 Handling: 10 Value: 10 Camera Used: Canon 6D + Magic Lantern
I've had the opportunity to test some copies of my favourite lens which is the Helios 44-2. It's actually my favourite and most hated for one reason, it needs constant attention whether that consists of relubing the focus ring, dusting the interal elements, or completely replacing the aperture blades. I've had three copies of 44-2 and I have to say, this version is my favorite, because it's small, sharp, and "swirls" the most. Two of them broke down, one's (Valdai 1971) aperture blades broke (little brass pins broke making some of the leaves stuck). The other was scratched and the front element got chipped hard, have to say it was used a lot (KMZ version from 1968). I've also had a KMZ Helios 44M version, it had slightly more contrasty colors, but was built poorly in my opinion. First of all the focusing ring was very stiff and it was hard to turn it without unscrewing the lens from the M42 adapter. Relubing it involved completely disassembling the lens, risking losing the clicked aperture ring ball (which i did lose), third when i got into relubing, the old grease had spilled into the aperture blades and finally on the element beside the aperture, which completely ruined the lens, disassembling the Helios 44M in order to clean the blades had involved so much force, that i had scratched it all over and managed to break the internal rotating aperture pin OMG! - it was such a pain so i decided to abandon it and threw it away.
I will never buy the 44M version again. Anyways I can very much recommend the Helios 44-2 Valdai if you can find it for less than $20-30 if you're not into tweaking the lens because something like the yashinon ds, ds-m 50mm F/1.7 or even Pentacon Auto 50mm F/1.8 are quite a bit better lenses in almost every technical aspect (tho you may have to do some modding as i did there if you want to adjust the aperture on digital camera) but they lack the swirly bokeh effect. I've recently found out that Porst MC 50mm 1.8 M42 can also deliever the Unique Bokeh effect at a comparable price to Helios 44-2, so maybe it's worth it over the helios? Someday I'll test the lens myself for sure! I hope this review was helpful.
Cameras
Ricoh XR-M / XR-X
Reviewed by Pentaxian HoundFrog
Review Date: August 15, 2025 Recommended | Price: $80.00 | Rating: 9
Pros: Handy, solid, good viewfinder, AA cells, long eye relief so you can wear glasses. Cons: Viewfinder illumination only works well in bright daylight. Special programs require Ricoh P lenses. Some buttons may be not very snappy due to age. No built-in diopter correction.
For a long time I wanted something with automatics, but without AF, and I am very happy. It perfectly fits in my hand, it has a great VF with a very long relief -- I can perfectly use my glasses when shooting. At first I was disappointed to find no diopter correction, but this camera does not need it. The correction lenses are available thought. The viewfinder seems to have some artificial illumination but it is very dim, at least in my sample. I don't know if it always was that way or is it because of age, but night shooting will require some assistance. But it is not how I am going to use the camera. The neck strap encourages you to use vertical orientation, and I find this interesting. Viewfinder itself is very bright and clear, using my Limiteds even with the polarizer attached with no issues.
The camera has some advances program modes but they are available only when Ricoh "P" lenses or compatible are attached. Their lens automation was different form Pentax's so with most of my lenses Av is the best I can have. Which is more than enough, frankly, even M mode is so easy to use you don't really need Av.
I did not do a scienific test but the two rolls I shot with it relying on the camera's automatics produced a very good results. Exponometer, shutter -- all good.
It's a nice addition to my K-mount fleet, among *ist, K-m, K20D and K-1. And it feels very solid and robust. This is my rifle, this is my gun.
On the photos the camera is shown with the Sigma lens that supports Ricoh program modes, and O-ME53 eyecup magnifier which I attached mostly because I could.
Comment of the Week:
Site Supporter ChrisPlatt on Are you hunting the shock of the new? The Best of Pentax Forums August 20 Poll: When I was a young man every photo was a learning experience, no matter how badly I messed up.
Today I get kick myself for not getting it right despite years of experience.
I am old now and have the knowledge gained in the experience of years.
But I'd give anything to see the world with "fresh eyes" as when I first started in photography.
Have you preordered a Ricoh GR IV?
The Best of Pentax Forums August 27 Poll
Preorders are now available for the new Ricoh GR IV, which has a new sensor, a new lens, a new battery, new built-in storage and more. Does all that add up to you pre-ordering a new Ricoh GR IV? Will you be slipping the new Ricoh compact camera into a pocket and taking it everywhere this fall? Vote in this week’s poll, and let us know how you do that voodoo you do so well in the comments!
This poll closes September 2.
And here are the results of last week’s poll:
Weekly Photo Challenges
Posted By: ramseybuckeye: I've decided to make a rather broad category for this weeks challenge. Outdoor Action, What is it, well it has to be outdoors, and has to be something in action. It could be a car. train, athlete, bird flying, anything noticeably moving. That leaves it very open to many different types of "action.” This Challenge will end at Midnight on Sunday the 30th August 2025, in whatever international time zone you inhabit. Judging will happen the next day.
And here’s Site Supporter gump’s entry: Morning outbound
A Walk Down Memory Lane
Ricoh GR III Camera Review
Introduction
The Ricoh GR line of cameras has a history dating from the film era, with several models released over the years. In the age of digital sensors, the GR line is synonym with compact, elegant bodies featuring advanced controls and, most importantly, an APS-C sensor.
With cell phone cameras improving each year, the market for compact cameras has shrunk considerably, and most successful models have something to differentiate them. For some, it’s the ability to operate underwater. For others, it’s an extreme zoom range. For the GR cameras, it’s the combination of a high-quality fixed lens and the largest sensor available on a pocketable camera.
PentaxForum Front page stories August 20-26:
Ricoh Launches the GR IV
New lens, sensor, and imaging engine, plus a Ricoh GF-2 external flash
By cjfeola in Pentax Announcements on Aug 20, 2025
The RICOH GR IV, sporting a newly developed ~26 megapixel APS-C-size image sensor and a newly designed lens to improve image quality while reducing overall body depth, plus a new, high-capacity rechargeable lithium-ion battery that provides improved battery life has been launched, Ricoh Imaging Americas Corporation announced this evening.
July 2025 "Mills or Factories" Photo Contest Winners
Announcing the winners of our monthly contest
By PF Staff in Photo Contests on Aug 23, 2025
It is our pleasure to announce the winners of our July, 2025 "Mills or Factories" photo contest! In first place was forum member gump from USA who captured "Mill" (pictured above). This photo was shot with a Pentax KP and an Sigma 17-50mm F2.8 EX DC HSM lens.
Our runners-up were forum member grizzly from Hungary in second place with "Dark Side of the Force" and RaiTon from Germany in third place with "Schwalheimer Rad".
The Making of "Mill"
How the winning photo of the "Mills or Factories" contest was made
By gump in Photo Contests on Aug 24, 2025
My photography is personal enjoyment will a layer of seriousness. Most my collection are from extended trips. These were often, when we had an RV, a month or more in one location, the Western US or the coast in the Southeast. Now a few days to a week within a one-day drive of home, Canton, Ohio. The Mill is a 2024 image from a few days in New River gorge area of West Virginia.
Still pretty happy with the III, plus no $$$ in my pocket, so no.