RICOH HOSTS COMPETITION INVITING CITIZENS TO BECOME PHOTOJOURNALISTS USING RICOH THETA 360-DEGREE CAMERAS 360 Free RICOH THETA Cameras Distributed to Encourage Citizens to Report Local News in Innovative Contest

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 Hi Photographer friends,

March 27, 2014

RICOH HOSTS COMPETITION INVITING CITIZENS TO BECOME PHOTOJOURNALISTS USING RICOH THETA 360-DEGREE CAMERAS

360 Free RICOH THETA Cameras Distributed to Encourage Citizens to Report Local News in Innovative Contest

DENVER, CO, March 27, 2014 – Ricoh Company, Ltd. and Ricoh Imaging Company Ltd. are pleased to announce the launch of Spherical Report 360 (SR360), an advertisement feature on the CNN website. SR360 is a fun and interactive contest which equips citizens with a free RICOH THETA spherical camera and presents them with the unique opportunity to become a photojournalist by reporting on local news and events. 

Thanks to its unique design and advanced technology, the RICOH THETA enables users to capture immersive imagery that truly replicates the complete surroundings of an individual. The resulting output presents an incredible imaging experience that expands the possibilities for journalistic photography.

As part of the SR360 contest, 360 RICOH THETA camera units will be distributed free of charge to selected applicants to use as they document local happenings and news stories and submit them to the engaging and interactive website. Interested parties should visithttp://advertisementfeature.cnn.com/sr360 March 27, 2014 through April 10, 2014 to enter to receive a RICOH THETA camera.

Starting May 1st, selected recipients will be encouraged to document the events surrounding them, similar to a photojournalist, and post the images they’ve taken with the RICOH THETA 360-degree camera to the SR360 website.  The photo-submission contest will take place over the course of four months with a Most Valuable Photographer (MVP) being selected each month.  The contest will end on August 31st, 2014 and images shared on the SR360 website will be judged by a panel of distinguished guests.  From the submitted images, one Grand Prize winner and two Gold Prize winners will be selected. In addition, current RICOH THETA owners are also invited to submit images for consideration.

Award winners will be invited to an exciting round-table discussion in September 2014 to discuss their image and inspiration and accept their award.

A full list of terms and conditions can be found at http://advertisementfeature.cnn.com/sr360.  

Contest Outline
Application: The application period for the 360 units of the RICOH THETA (limited to residents of the US) will run from March 27, 2014 to April 10, 2014. The product will be delivered to the selected candidates by the end of April. (Candidates will receive the product without prior announcement.)
*Those who post one image a month during the project period will be able to keep the RICOH THETA camera after the close of the contest.

Posting Content: Images should be posted to the SR360 website during the image posting period which starts May 1, 2014 and ends August 31, 2014. The posting of content is open to the public and is limited only to images shot with the RICOH THETA. Posting from outside the US is also accepted.
During each month of the posting period a Most Valuable Photographer (MVP) will be selected and announced.

Winning: Contest winners will be selected and announced at the close of the posting period.  The top three prize winners will be invited to an award ceremony and round-table discussion which will be held in September 2014, in Los Angeles, CA.
*Please check details on the Spherical Report 360 special site.
- A Grand Prize will be awarded to one winner: Digital single lens reflex camera, the PENTAX K-3 18-135WR kit
- Gold Prize will be awarded to two winners: Compact digital camera, the RICOH GR Limited Edition
- Monthly MVP will be awarded to four winners: Multifunction wristwatch, the RICOH COMMANDER)

Judging: Details of the panel of judges responsible for selecting the winners will be posted on the SR360 website on May 1, 2014. 

Spherical Report 360 special site: http://advertisementfeature.cnn.com/sr360
RICOH THETA official site: http://theta360.com/
SR360 operating office: SR360@SR360.info
For product inquiries, please contact RICOH IMAGING Customer Care at (800) 877-0155, or visit http://ricohwebform.tosystems.com
 


|About Ricoh Imaging Company|

Ricoh Imaging Company is a subsidiary of Ricoh Company, Ltd., a global technology company specializing in office imaging equipment, production print solutions, document management systems and IT services.  Headquartered in Tokyo, Ricoh Group operates in about 200 countries and regions.

The company now known as Ricoh Imaging Company, was originally founded in 1919, under the name Asahi Optical Joint Stock Co. and launched its first SLR camera in the 1950s under the PENTAX name. Today, Ricoh Imaging Company continues to produce the heritage-rich, award-winning line of PENTAX DSLR cameras, lenses and sport optics equipment as well as Ricoh’s offering of stylish and compact digital cameras, known for their wide-ranging, rich set of features.

For further information, please visit:  www.us.ricoh-imaging.com

Check our e-books for Pentax cameras.

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 Hi Photographer friends,


https://www.facebook.com/Pentax

Leaving South Texas Monday morning for Louisiana and Florida. Images produced with the Ricoh GR.

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 Hi Photographer friends,

Tomorrow, (Monday March 23, 2014) we are leaving Texas and heading toward Florida with stops in Louisiana. We will likely take one week for that portion of our trip across the U.S.  The images herein wetre all taken with the Ricoh GR. What a great little camera. It is actually the first compact camera with a APS-C CMOS sensor delivering 16.2MP. That's the same as the Pentax K-5. Imagine that!

Today was preparation day. We are hooked-up and ready to go in the early hours of Monday morning.

Yesterday, we went to Mexico for the last time on this trip. Everybody was there to say goodbye.

Thank you looking,

Yvon Bourque

Check this new interview by Imaging Resource with Ricoh/Pentax.

Email: brqyvn@gmail.com

 Hi Photographer friends,

See the Ricoh/Pentax Facebook page for additional details.

Thanks for stopping by,

Yvon Boueque

Details about the new Pentax Flucard for the K-3. Operate the K-3 from your smart device. Share images through Wi-Fi

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 Hi Photographer friends,

http://www.dpreview.com/articles/8850365696/pentax-o-fc1-flucard-the-wireless-details

The Pentax O-FC1 FluCard, giving it five stars! They offer an in-depth look at the FluCard's remote camera controls by 'putting the camera in the oven' for an interesting perspective.

Click on the image below for more details.

http://www.dpreview.com/articles/8850365696/pentax-o-fc1-flucard-the-wireless-details

Our Pentax K-3 e-book will soon be upgraded to include all information about the Flucard and its functions.

Check this site for upgrades. As usual, the upgrades are free for people that already purchased the K-3 e-book.

http://www.ebooks4cameras.com/

Thanks for visiting,

Yvon Bourque

There are hundreds of way to use and customize your Pentax K-3.

Email: brqyvn@gmail.com

Hi Photographer friends,

There are hundreds of way to use and customize your Pentax K-3.

The K-3 even allows three user settings, that once set, you can return to the same setting by simply rotating the mode dial. A few examples of that would be setting the camera for a studio where the light is constant. In saving the settings in U1 for example and renaming it “Studio”, you can bring the setup instantly when in your studio. Sometimes, you like to shoot in Black & White. Set the camera to B&W and other parameters you want, save it to U2 and rename it “Monochrome”. When you want to shoot Black & White, move the rotary Mode dial to U2.

Now, I am always asked which mode I prefer. It’s really a matter of choice but I do have a preferred mode. It is the (P) mode. The reason I like this mode is that it replicates all other modes in one place.

In (P) mode, turning the rear e-dial changes the aperture. Turning the front e-dial changes the shutter speed. If you set the aperture, the camera adjusts the shutter speed accordingly. If you set the shutter speed, the camera adjusts the aperture accordingly. You can change the ISO at any given time through the ISO button and the rear e-dial. (Note that the ISO has to be reset manually), as the (P) mode only lets you have control of the aperture and shutter speed. It essentially replaces the (Av) and (Sv) modes. Quickly adjust the ISO and it emulates the (TAv) mode.

You can preset some of the attributes such as filters, file type, resolutions, etc, and save that to U1 or U2, or U3. Rename it to something you can remember and understands such as (P mode with presets) or whatever.

When in (P) mode, the green button still works as usual except for the ISO. The ISO is really something that you should set before you take any photographs. Assess the lighting and put the ISO at the lowest setting possible as it will give you the clearest images. If the lighting is bad or you are shooting fast moving objects, set the ISO higher, but not more than you need as the image will become increasingly grainy as the ISO goes up.

It’s digital, so you can take many test shots to find what is the best settings for the scene you are about to photograph.

A useful tool is the [+/-] button. You can use it anytime and change the under or over exposure if your image comes out too dark or too bright.

To make sure that one good image comes out each time I press the shutter release, I always use the Continuous shooting and at around 8 frames per second, you know one will likely be a keeper. That works especially well with portraits and when a fast shutter speed is required such as sport photography. It’s not like film, once you purchase a memory card, the images are free.

Finally, I always post-process my images through Adobe Lightroom so that the final image represents exactly what I had envisioned. Like Ansel Adams said; you don’t take a photograph, you make a photograph.

I’m sure we all have our favorite settings, but now you know mine.

Thanks for reading,

Yvon Bourque

P.S. We carry e-books for all Pentax DSLRs. Our e-books are chuck full of information, images, how to, tips, details about each specific Pentax DSLR, all written is a not-so-technical way. Email us and we will send you a sample of the e-book for your Pentax DLR. brqyvn@gmail.com

Press here to go to our e-book pages.

Foggy weekend in Padre Island, Texas. I still got some good images using the Ricoh GR and the Pentax K-3.

Email: brqyvn@gmail.com

Hi Photographer friends,

The winter has been unusually cold here, like the rest of the Country. We spent part of a weekend in Padre Island,Texas. It was foggy most of our stay, but I still got some images with the Ricoh GR and the Pentax K-3.

We are currently travelling across the U.S. and stopped in southern Texas for the winter. It's usually warm but this year has been terrible.

Can't win them all!

Thanks for visiting,

Yvon Bourque

Ricoh / Pentax Lenses

Email: brqyvn@gmail.com

Hi Photographer friends,

I found this on another blog but can't remember where. I thought it was interesting. I'm not sure if it is an official Ricoh / Pentax image. I would love to have them all.

The Pentax K-3 e-book is available. It contains more than 310 pages chuck full of information

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 Hi Photographer friends,

The Pentax K-3 e-book is available. It contains more than 310 pages chuck full of information about how to use this great DSLR.

Here is the table of contents, in JPG images so that it can be posted here.

Click on the image below to purchase the K-3 e-book, or to visit our E-Store for e-books about all other Pentax DSLRs  We are the only and biggest Pentax e-books seller.

Thank you for reading,

Yvon Bourque

ebooks4cameras.com

Pentax 645D - Behind The Scenes: Spring/Summer 2014 Campaign

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Developing a Unique Style with the Pentax 645D Medium Format: Ricoh / Pentax Exhibit at WPPI 2014

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 Hi Photographer friends,

Ricoh Imaging is exhibiting,  (booth 631) at The Wedding Portrait Photographers International (WPPI) Expo  which opens today in Vegas.

Visit Ricoh Imaging in Booth #631 for a Hands-On Shooting Demonstration with the PENTAX 645D Medium Format Camera

Las Vegas, NV, March 3, 2014 –   In the highly-competitive field of professional photography, defining a unique style and offering customers a differentiated look and feel is the key to growing a successful business. Join Ricoh Imaging Americas Corporation(Ricoh Imaging) at the 2014 Wedding Portrait Photographers International (WPPI) Expo to experience the amazing benefits of medium format while creating beautifully distinct images that stand out from the crowd.

Working with the PENTAX 645D medium format cameras, attendees are invited to interact with Ricoh Imaging’s professional photographers and models to acquire photographic and studio lighting techniques while producing high-quality images. Visitors to the Ricoh Imaging booth will receive an SD card to record their images which can be included in personal portfolios.  

“Using professional equipment like the PENTAX 645D is an outstanding way for photographers to enhance and differentiate what they can offer the consumer,” said Jim Malcolm, Executive Vice President, Ricoh Imaging Americas Corporation. “The added dimension, wider dynamic range and shallow depth of field produced by the 645D create a distinguished look that potential customers will admire and competitors will covet.”

Winner of the TIPA award for Best Professional DSLR, the PENTAX 645D utilizes a 40 megapixel CCD image sensor to produce ultra-high-resolution images exceptional for large printing applications. Supported by an 11-point SAFOX IX+ autofocus systems featuring 11 sensor points (with nine cross-type sensors positioned in the middle) and state-of-the-art 77-segment metering system, photographers are assured beautifully exposed images featuring sharp, vivid detail and a wide-dynamic range which captures small details that accurately replicate the mood and allure of the setting.

In conjunction with the Wedding and Portrait Photographers International Expo, Ricoh Imaging is offering a $500 instant rebate on the purchase of a PENTAX 645D during the month of March 2014 reducing the price to $6,495.95.

Ricoh Imaging will also be displaying its complete lineup of PENTAX K-mount DSLRs at WPPI including the award-winning PENTAX K-3, versatile PENTAX K-5IIs, mid-level PENTAX K-50 and entry-level PENTAX K-500.

For more information on the PENTAX 645D medium format system or any of Ricoh Imaging’s lineup of PENTAX DSLRs and compact cameras, please visit www.us.ricoh-imaging.com.