The Ricoh GR IV Monochrome is $2,199-are you buying?
Best of Pentax Forums Newsletter January 15, 2026
Are you buying the $2,199.95 GR IV Monochrome?
Preorders have just opened for the Ricoh GR IV Monochrome; it’s available from B&H Photo and elsewhere for $2,199.95, with expected delivery in February. The Monochrome is a premium compact derived from the GR IV built around a monochrome sensor designed to deliver the purest black-and-white rendering.
So…are ya buying? Are you itching for a Monochrome machine that fits in a pocket? Do you prefer colour compact cameras? Or do all compact cameras leave you cold? Vote in this week’s poll, and let us know your thoughts in the comments!
Elsewhere in this week’s newsletter, Site Supporter .a.t. reviews the Mamiya Sekor / Yashinon Tomioka Macro 60mm F2.8; Site Supporter marcusBMG shows us How to DIY your own “Manfrotto 359” Long Lens Support; and our host Adam announces the first Paperback edition of the Pentax K-3 III Ultimate Guide!
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:
January 8, 2026 • Pentax Q • 4 replies • 534 views
bluethomas said — So took the pic this morning, went home to find out that Photoshop cs5 nor the adobe app to view in it works all that well. Soooo I downloaded RawTherapee and worked the image. I then converted it to jpeg so it would be easy to post online. ...Read more »
Paperback edition of the Pentax K-3 III Ultimate Guide!
January 12, 2026 • Pentax K-3 III • 2 replies • 283 views
Adam said — In case you missed it, we’ve finally released a printed paperback edition of the Pentax K-3 III Ultimate Guide! If you prefer a real book in hand instead of reading on a screen, this one turned out beautifully, with crisp print quality and higher resolution ...Read more »
How to DIY your own “Manfrotto 359” Long Lens Support
January 13, 2026 • Do-It-Yourself • 2 replies • 79 views
marcusBMG said — How to DIY your own “Manfrotto 359” Long Lens Support The Manfrotto 359 is, it seems, no longer available, and when it was it cost a bit: 70 odd quid (UK), 130 odd $$. Desiring something similar for my SMC 1000mm f8 I decided to make my own. Read more »
Pentaxian User Reviews
Third-Party Pentax Lenses
Mamiya Sekor / Yashinon Tomioka Macro 60mm F2.8
Reviewed by Site Supporter .a.t.
Review Date: January 9, 2026 Recommended | Price: $30.00 | Rating: 6
Pros: manual focus, M42 mount, metal build, native 1:1
Cons: 6 blade iris, focus creep
Sharpness: 9 Aberrations: 8 Bokeh: 6 Handling: 7 Value: 4 Camera Used: Pentax K-5iis, Canon 5D, Sony A7ii
My Yashinon branded lens was my “everyday” close focus / macro for several years. I loved the rendering and sharpness. At first, I was willing to put up with a six-blade iris because I liked the lens so well otherwise. But after extensive use, the hexagonal iris highlights became too irritating for me, and my Yashinon has been relegated. For my taste, a mere six-bladed iris in a preset lens is unacceptable. It should’ve been given ten blades at minimum for rounder out of focus highlights. Even wide open, the iris doesn’t fully retract, and highlights can still show some straight edges.
Also, my lens hasn’t been a good choice for copy work. When pointed straight down, the focus ring will creep - that is, the focus ring rotates on its own. And while the selecting aperture ring is well damped with defined detents, the stop down ring on my copy is undamped and tends to wander.
Re value, my lens was a good buy. But at the typical $200+ ebay asking prices, I don’t consider this lens to be a good choice.
A sample shot to show the hexed highlights:
Pentax Cameras
Pentax PC35AF
Reviewed by New Member Gregor35
Review Date: January 11, 2026Recommended | Price: $18.00 | Rating: 9
Pros: Excellent lens, Easy and fun user experience Cons:
Ergonomics: 10 Build Quality: 6 Autofocus: 9 Features: 9 Value: 9 New or Used: Used
The PC35AF has been one of my favourite cameras to use over the last few years and has joined my Pentax LX as one of two cameras I always have with a roll of film on the go. The standout aspect of this camera is the lens which, having seen a lot of side by side comparisons; is one of the best in any compact film camera. Besides having a fast (for a compact camera) f/2.8 max aperture, I find it sharp and has exceptional colour contrast. I find it an easy camera to use. The autofocus and lightmeter are pretty reliable - I rarely get any shots back where its missed focus. My friend who also uses a PC35AF, did find that she’d sometimes have her finger resting in front of the lightmeter resulting in poorly metered shots but after identifying the issue, she found that mistake easy to avoid.
As for the other controls: I appreciate the manual ISO selection, which I sometimes use for exposure compensation (This is much more flexible than using the +1.5 exposure compensation button). The self timer is handy. I like that the flash is a manual option suggested by lights in the viewfinder rather than the camera choosing when to flash. I like the manual wind. I previously owned a few PC35AF-M which superseded the PC35AF, and their motor wind was ubiquitously prone to going haywire, rendering them unusable.
This camera does have one flaw. I’ve owned a couple of this model and the base plate has a weak spot around the battery compartment door which seems to crack easily if the camera is dropped. There is another thing that annoys me slightly which is a buzzer that beeps at you when it thinks you should turn on the flash. Fortunately it is easy to unscrew the top plate of the camera and remove the buzzer without damaging the rest of the camera (the buzzer looks like a large brass disc and sits beneath the PC35AF logo).
One of the great things about an unassuming looking point and shoot like the PC35AF is its ability to go where your SLR cannot. It slips in a back pocket and doesn’t feel inappropriate at parties or clubs. It doesn’t have the intimidating nature of a big camera which I think can result in much more natural portraits of friends and family.
Unfortunately I’ve seen the price of these skyrocket over the last couple of years. I initially bought a pair of them for £30, but it seems like a good condition one can go for over £100 now. That seems a bit steep to me but if you can find a more reasonable deal then go for it! Overall I find this camera fun and easy to use. The image quality also makes it easy to recommend the PC35AF.
Comment of the Week:
Loyal Site Supporter yucatanPentax on What are your 2026 Photo Resolutions? The Best of Pentax Forums January 8 Poll: I’m not a ‘resolution-ist.’ What can I say?
I’ve never made them, going back to when I heard of people doing them.
I always got hung up on the idea of making promises to yourself, then judging what it means later: Bad because the promises were too easy? Bad because the promises weren’t kept? Too hard? Bad because other people had better ideas for themselves? An annual personal assessment just wasn’t the sort of thing that worked for me.
Even my bosses had to adapt to my revulsion at “write out your accomplishments for the past year for your appraisal.” Eventually, I had to do it, but they were very different than anyone else’s. I could fix problems or craft solutions all day long and explain complex technical matters in easy-to-grasp terms (required for talking with executives), but talking about myself just seemed weird. (oops, am I doing that now? whuuut??)
Some take the path less traveled.
Is that weird?
But, in the spirit of things, more and better photos for everyone.
Happy viewing, or printing, or enjoying, whatever your desires may be.
Are you buying the $2,199.95 GR IV Monochrome?
The Best of Pentax Forums January 14 Poll
Preorders have just opened for the Ricoh GR IV Monochrome; it’s available from B&H Photo and elsewhere for $2,199.95, with expected delivery in February. The Monochrome is a premium compact camera derived from the new GR IV built around a dedicated monochrome sensor and designed to deliver the purest possible black-and-white rendering.
So…are ya buying? Are you itching for a Monochrome machine that fits in a pocket? Do you prefer colour compact cameras? Or do all compact cameras leave you cold? Vote in this week’s poll, and let us know your thoughts in the comments!
This poll closes January 21
And here are the results of last week’s poll:
Weekly Photo Challenges
Project 52-14-2: Letters, until 1-18 (Sunday)
LETTERS (A-Z)
Showcase letters in a picture.
Whether a large billboard, a small signet ring, or a macro of a book ....., this week it's all about letters and they're everywhere around us.
The interpretation of the theme is entirely up to you.
Post your best shot, but most of all, have fun!
I'm looking forward to seeing many old and new participants in Project 52.
Here’s Loyal Site Supporter BertieK’s entry: Candy-K-3iii Mono Zeiss Distagon T* 35/2
A Walk Down Memory Lane
Pentax eBooks Now Available on Pentax Forums
Immediate download access via the forum
By PF Staff in Site News on Jun 21, 2016
Yvon Bourque has been writing Pentax eBooks since the days of the K10D nearly a decade ago. Today, we’re happy to announce that his latest eBooks are available for purchase and immediate download via the forum, along with a discount for our users!
Whether you’re a beginner or an advanced photographer, Yvon’s eBooks can help you fully master your camera. They are an excellent supplement to resources such as the forum, reviews, and official manuals.
PentaxForum Front Page stories January 8-14:
Pentax K-3 Mark III: Ultimate Guide Paperback Edition
Our acclaimed eBook is now available as a premium printed book
By PF Staff in Site News on Jan 8, 2026
We are happy to announce that our acclaimed book Pentax K-3 Mark III: The Ultimate Guide is now available as a printed paperback with premium print quality and built-in QR codes for key online resources. As always, the book will also continue to be available as as a self-printable PDF eBook exclusively on PentaxForums.com, and as a digital-only Kindle edition. For existing eBook owners, we have also released version 1.14 as a free update, which includes several formatting improvements and error corrections.