She Comes in Colors Everywhere

Check out the Pentax K-x color simulator at the Japanese website (it can be slow to load but responds reasonably quickly once you're up and running). If you're going to offer colors, might as well go all the way....

Mike
(Thanks to Oren)

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ADDENDUM: Dirk at Japan Exposures confirms that he can arrange purchase of Japan-only colors for those in other parts of the world as part of the Japan Exposures Equipment Sourcing service. Not that it won't cost you....  —Mike

Featured Comment by Stan B.: "Vomit inducing."

Featured Comment by Marlon: "I absolutely love this idea. Lemon Lime flavor."

Featured Comment by Chris: "'She Comes In Colors Everywhere'...except here! I have an 11-year-old who wants a purple one and I would certainly orderly a fun-colored one for myself. Pentax lost two sales, as this option isn't offered to the U.S. (I would have placed an order yes!)"

Featured Comment by Miserere: "When I first heard about the colour plan I thought 'hmmmm...,' but given that it's seriously spec'd for an entry-level, $650-launch-price camera, I think the colours are a fantastic add-on (icing on the cake, as someone already put it). The Navy colour turns out to be slightly metallic (or reflective) in real life and I'm finding it very attractive. Furthermore, it's available for preorder in the US right now and can be bought at B&H."

Featured Comment by Ed Buziak: "I think Pentax are serious about this color program, and for good reason. I read the following on the OK1000 Pentax Blog whose owner (Michael) attended the Pentax Special Launch in New York on the 16th. He wrote '...Pentax received strong demographic numbers that showed that women bought more colored cameras than they would have bought black models. The numbers jumped from a skew of 20% female and 80% male buyers to 50%–50%. Something worth doing on a larger scale.'"

Featured Comment by [another] mike: "Yuck."

Comments

[Ed Buziak]

Martin Parr could be the first in line to buy one... very kitsch!

[Spyro]

I think I know this camera's target group:
http://b5.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/01227/50/89/1227249805_l.jpg

[hugh crawford]

What no clear?
Usually Pentax minimizes chromatic aberrations.
And why can't we get lenses in colors?

[David]

My wife is now saying we should take a mini-honeymoon to Japan so she can get a custom Pentax in purple =P. Even if photographers won't admit it, I think there's a huge untapped market for low-range colorful/fashion-forward DSLRs in the US.

That being said - anybody know a way to get a custom K-x in purple in the states so I don't have to buy 2 tickets to japan? ;-)

[Mike Johnston]

David,
Try Japan Exposures. Dirk specializes in making Japanese home market products available in the West.

Mike

[Brian R]

That's actually pretty slick! I didn't like their "out of the box" colors much, but the forest-green/brown scheme is actually pretty sharp. I think that big green box in the lower right is a "Buy This" button, though I don't read Japanese so I'm not sure. So maybe you can order your custom scheme?

Makes me wish they had this for the K7...

[Ken Tanaka]

What? No osterich? Pffft. No match for Leica's "a la carte" service.

[Cyril]

"And why can't we get lenses in colors?"

The blue/white/red models available outside Japan seem to come with coloured lenses (the K-m already had a white and olive green limited versions with matching kit lens colours).

Now if you are asking about a collection of coloured Pentax "Limited" primes, yes, why can't we have that?

[R. Chomko]

Pentax is pioneering a new aesthetic in photographer fashions here. What do you suppose the chances are that we will see these in North America?

[robert e]

Still no zebra stripes? Sigh.

[Damon Schreiber]

Yellow body with black grip - called it.

[pxpaulx]

Except I am guessing that $649 wouldn't cover the leather wrap on one of those leicas!

For all of the ground-breaking features of the K-7, I didn't really feel any compulsion to upgrade over the K20d (strange, as a hands on with the K20 gave me an immediate urge against my k10 - there were some underlying issues with my k10 that never sat quite right, tilted viewfinder, the bf/ff issue).

I was hoping for an entry level offering with some sort of video to ditch our P&S and compliment my k20 (occasion video is fun, and I can't wait to give the fisheye a go!). The few negatives aside (if you're in here reading comments, you probably know them already) I think this could be a real sleeper hit.

For marketing entry level, I think that many forum posters and enthusiasts far under-estimate the eye-candy appeal that will sell these units alone. The colors are just icing on a pretty tasty cake. White, butter cream frosting, icing.

[Peter Mellis]

I'm holding out for the Hello Kitty version, which I believe will come with the matching backpack.

[John Krill]

I've always wanted a camera body that wasn't black. We all thought it was way cool when the black bodies came out in the 60's but not now. I live in southern California and it's hot here. Black bodies just suck in the heat.

Well the Pentax K-x with it's rainbow of color choices is great. I think it silver (I think it's silver.) for me.

What a great idea. But I really want a Pentax K7

[Andy Marfia]

I think the red version is one of the most hideous cameras I've ever seen, but I'm less hateful of some of these other color combinations. Pentax would be wise to bring this full palette to the states. I think there's a lot of casual photographers who would buy one of these.

[Robin P]

Pleased to know someone else has lyrics from Their Satanic Majesties Request rattling round in their head...

[David Brookes]

Great idea for street photographers - make your new DSLR look like something you got in the bottom of a cornflakes packet, and no-one will take any notice of you (apart maybe from the men in white coats...).

[hugh crawford]

I guess it would go with my keith haring K1000...

[hugh crawford]

And maybe Hamad Bin Hamdan Al Nahyan will just buy the entire production run

http://roland-abu-dhabi.blogspot.com/2007/12/mercedes.html
I always liked his Mercedes 500 SEL's

[Al Patterson]

I usually buy my cameras in black, to match my shoes. Maybe I should get a nice cordavan
K-x to match my interview wing tips...

[Jim in Denver]

Huh... Um... well... perhaps...

No.

[David]

Yum

[wtlloyd]

Ha! Immediately on sight of the title, I started whistling that old Love classic!

For those how may have missed that one, and the incomparable Arthur Lee, I give you Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_%28band%29

[B Grace]

No self-respecting high end camera gear manufacturer like Hasselblad would ever offer their camera bodies in bold colors such as red, yellow and green...

[Marty McAuliff]

That yellow/blue grip is sick...I could rock one.
...how long before Hot Topic carries these?

[charlie]

Funny how these colored cameras look okay in a color I find attractive.

The Panasonic G cameras do nothing for me, but I kinda like this and the white Oly Ep-1

I had a Bridgestone bike this color.

[P. Lo]

Colors other than black: wonder what Henry Ford would have said.

[Max]

I'm incredibly excited by this. Specifically the red one.

I am hopelessly attracted to red things i'll admit, it's a huge weakness.

I shoot high end nikon, but who cares. I am going completely crazy over this camera. If i had the money i'd buy one in a heartbeat and i'm sure that i'd use it until it fell apart.

At the end of the day it doesn't matter what market segment your camera is advertised to, it's all about finding a piece of equipment that you're happy to use. The red camera looks like it would be a joy to use.

Not to mention the specs are great.

Polar opposites. A week ago i was dreaming about the Leica S. Move over. THIS camera is made for me.

I'm in love
-Max

[Mike Johnston]

wtlloyd,
You'll have to forgive me for forgetting Arthur Lee and Love. I was actually quoting the line from the Stones' "She's a Rainbow."

But it was interesting to read about Love anyway, so thanks.

Mike

[Max]

http://www.pdngearguide.com/gearguide/content_display/news/e3i0d52172227325f2838abf75dfaea4790

looks like the 645d might be back on (again agin) maybe.

[Ed Buziak]

Was B.Grace being tongue-in-cheek when he wrote, "No self-respecting high end camera gear manufacturer like Hasselblad would ever offer their camera bodies in bold colors such as red, yellow and green..."

The Hasseblad 503 CW was available from 2001 to 2005 with different colored leather panels in black, yellow, red, green and blue. I also seem to remember (from either hazy or drooling memory) that there were also special yellow versions of the ELM and an SWC modified for electric-wind in the "To Order" part of the system catalogue.

[Oronet Commander]

looks like the 645d might be back on (again agin) maybe.

Yeah, bro! In what colors will it come?

[James McDermott]

Apparently, according to Josh Root (Photonet's K-X preview), anyone who doesn't like cameras in anything but black or chrome is a 'snob'. So I'm a snob, then. But when colour's the biggest talking point re: a new camera, one has to wonder how much of an upgrade it represents over the K-M. Had Pentax taken the latter and merely added live-view with an articulated screen, that would, in my opinion, have been a bigger deal than ultra-violet/infra-red body options.

[B.J.Scharp]

I was thinking of the Stones too. As featured in the original Imac ad.

Too bad the red grip is more like pink, otherwise a white body with a red grip would be nice (I'd call it `the Canon L Pentax')...

[Peter Hovmand]

Well, they seem to have forgotten the basic rules:
A camera must be Japanese AND black ...

[Yuanchung Lee]

I am highly skeptical of the idea of selling the DSLR as a fashion accessory. The standard-form DSLR (such as the new K-x) is just an ugly piece of industrial design. Dressing it up with pretty colors is, well, like putting lipstick on a pig (or a bulldog ... or was it a hockey mom?).

I keep hearing comparisons with Apple's products -- but Apple is not just about colors, it's about the overall design, especially the form (with a heightened attention to all aspects of the object, including tiny, barely perceptible details) & feel. Like them or not, Apple didn't just take a Dell computer and paint it white (or pink or whatever). They rethought the whole thing.

And fashion changes every season (to quote the immortal Ms. Klum: "One day you're in, the next day you're out."). A yellow-orange-green K-x (or whatever) may be "cool" for a few months, but what happens when purple-beige-polkadot becomes the flavor of the season? Black, on the other hand, is always "in" (or, at least, not "out"). Plus, black has the virtue of de-emphasizing the not-so-pleasant overall form (it's slimming!).

But it's a wonderful world, and we all (obviously) have different tastes.

My 2 cents.

[Dave Karp]

Who says a camera has to be black? If Pentax can handle the complications caused by the extra inventory, more power to them. Their new cameras and effective marketing (of which product design is a part) just may help this company flourish. I think we need Pentax and Olympus. At their best, they keep the other guys honest by offering "different" products that satisfy photographers in ways that Nikon and Canon seem incapable of doing.

[Darren M]

Can't believe I am saying this, but I actually like a number of the colours shown and to be honest, I think that within a year, all companies will offer a number of colours on their entry and mid level models.

[Nigel]

The brown body looks as though it might have been carved from a block of milk chocolate.

Tasty.

[Nigel]

I predict a revival in demand for the silver limited lenses to go with these.

[Jim D]

Can I get one in camo?

[michael walker]

a green pentax with a yellow pancake doing streetphotography, call it art ;)

[Bob]

Does this pathetic consumer tackiness really have to infect TOP? Theres enough of this tawdry rubbish around out there, this site is about photography not conumer trivia.

[mihai]

I think Pentax got a good marketing tool. First you see one weird combo and say 'vomit inducing' (Stan B) but start to combine and combine until you like it. You learn to love it or at least you spent 15 min to check 100 combinations. Now, you are aware of this camera and brand. The specs (very good indeed) are coming in second.

PS: there are traditionalists that will use only black cameras. Pentax says 'checked'. For the rest who would like to have some fun K-x is an appealing offer.

[Chris Crawford]

How is this any different than people who order wacky colored leathers from cameraleather.com for their cameras? If people want colorful cameras, what's it hurt? I say its good, if it sells more cameras it helps the manufacturers of the tools we need stay profitable and keeps costs down.

[Bryce Lee]

How about clear, ie no colour?

Mind it would be easier in digital than with film.

Then again...
Why not?

[B Grace]

Ed Buziak, I was indeed thinking of the Hasselblads being offered in colors a few years ago. I wonder to this day if anyone purchased and used them. I also still wonder if anyone mixed and matched them with, for example, a red back on a blue body.

Now, if they offered a camera in Apollo Moon Dust Gray I might be tempted.

[Ron Peters]

So, what does the color of the camera have to do with the quality of the image? You can't see the color of the camera in the image. Maybe the color of the camera has to do with the mood or mindset of the photographer. Do we need different colored cameras for different moods? The problem, of course, is what is your mood when you purchase the camera. And, does this choice forever set your mood for future photograhs?

[Oren Grad]

I wonder to this day if anyone purchased and used them.

B Grace, B&H has a used Hasselblad 501CM kit in "Forest Green" in stock right now.

[MichaelS]

OMG! Did the Japanese buy up what's left of Chrysler?

That's has to be the best Hemi Orange that I've seen in a long time.

What's it got under the hood?

MS

[Player]

The genius of Pentax is realizing that there is indeed a market consisting of three-year-old photographers. This group of prepubescent snappers have finally been acknowledged, and it's about time. Kudos to Pentax!

[B.J.Scharp]

I think this might actually go some way towards solving the whole `getting bothered by cops while photographing' thing.

Mike once suggested a smiley-sticker on your camera to take the edge off. This just continues along those lines...

I don't think a photographer with a pink-green camera will often be considered a threat or a terrorist...

[Iñaki]

I actually think that, regardless of the "´s so cutez" factor, there is something that everybody is missing.

This camera can be so over the top, that it is the ultimate uncospicuous camera. Nobody will pay attention to or take seriuosly some bloke or chap trying to snap with a pinky camera with yellow lenses.

This is the ultimate street camera.

And by the way, if we do like our cars in colours, why not our cameras?

In 20 years those will be collectible items. The average dSLR won´t.

[Bruce Appelbaum]

Perhaps if they offered the option to change the surface texture of the grip, they could call the model the "K-Y"?

[Spiny Norman]

Love it.

Some here remind me of the "technical" scuba divers outfitted head-to-toe in black gear because they want to look all Navy Seal -- despite the fact that their diving is exclusively recreational. You know the ones. They want to sneak up on that shipwreck before it darts out of view... same guys also need a black D700 to take a pic of their kids' soccer game.

[Spiny Norman]

"I am highly skeptical of the idea of selling the DSLR as a fashion accessory."

That has got to be the funniest thing I have ever read at TOP.

[hugh crawford]

MichaelS
"That's has to be the best Hemi Orange that I've seen in a long time."

I was thinking that the orange and black does look a lot like my car.
http://bit.ly/10KT38
http://bit.ly/A1IYN

Get one of those silver Pentax FA 31mm f/1.8 limited lenses and it would really look like it

[bobdales]

The ultimate stealth machine: the Teutonic Green would blend in perfectly with your lederhosen.
bd

[Richars]

Motorcycles, leather jackets and cameras should all be black.

[frank]

this is a stellar little camera and women will flock to these little cameras. They are small, built for women's hands, they are cute, they are pretty in all those colors. Women love this stuff. I know women who buy Hello kitty stuff just because of the cuteness of it and they are in their 30's.

I love the colors, yellow would be awesme at the beach. I shoot fashion so either the green and blue would rock for me.

Besides the color they camera kicks butt. 5 frames per second, hd video, and again 5 frames persecond. Love it. My DS only does 2.5 Frames. Plus a grea 12 mp sensor, i think this looks like a cool camera if I had the dough I'd get this over the k7.

[Mike Johnston]

Frank,
I'm guessing you should change "women" to "some women" in most instances in your comment, but okay.

Mike

[Mark Roberts]

So Pentax introduces a 12-Megapixel DSLR with in-camera Shake Reduction and hi-def video capability for just $650 including lens... and even on T.O.P. all the comments are about the colors in which the camera is going to be made? This in itself is a rebuke to all the color scheme nay-sayers!

[Hank]

Hmmm...

I was sort of hoping that there would be an army green, olive drab, or some such in the color lineup. One of those with black or brown handle trim might be attractive to those [guys] looking for a military or camouflage sort of look.

Those colors are definitely targeted at the fairer sex, I think.

[Ludovic]

Black-only is for these people, and those too.

[Mike Johnston]

I don't know, Ludovic--I remember a time (it might still be this way, but I wouldn't know) when black was almost like a uniform in New York City. Virtually everyone wore black or mostly black almost all the time.

Mike

[Libby]

I'm holding out for the next generation Scratch & Sniff aromatic bodies. The Red should smell like Cherry, the Purple should smell like Grape, the Orange, well, you know....