[LensBeginner]

The title pretty much sums it up.
Some time ago I needed a camcorder to record some long performances (up to 2hrs continuous & unattended) and would have loved to put my fine K lenses to use.
I looked around and then found that DSLRs & the K-01 were only meant to record up to 15-20' at a time, due to sensor overheating.
I would have bought a Pentax K-mount camcorder, with a 1080p sensor built for video (even without still capabilities) and even basic video functions, only there was no such thing.

Who would be interested if something came out today, and what features would you like it to have?

[spartan]

good lenses for video are not the same as for still. They can be interchanged but serious videographers use cine specific lenses.

[LensBeginner]

good lenses for video are not the same as for still. They can be interchanged but serious videographers use cine specific lenses.

I was looking at the K-01 as an alternative and at that time it was priced, like, 300-350USD.
Could have splurged and spent, say, 3x that amount if the item was a quality tool that I would have used for years to come; instead I bought a cheap plasticky thing (from Canon...).

Any SMC-M wipes the floor with the plastic stuff in consumer-grade digital camcorder.
Besides, things like parfocality are less of an issue when using primes.

There is also a cine lens lineup by Samyang in K-mount.
http://www.samyang-europe.com/new-products/samyang-cine-lenses-with-pentax-k...-available-now

[Imp]

also pentax hasn't been the best for video... I feel that any interchangeable lens camcorder wouldn't get any traction - e.g. the competition being the Cannon C series. They should devote their resources to marketing their dslrs

[Aksel]

...
I would have bought a Pentax K-mount camcorder, with a 1080p sensor built for video (even without still capabilities) and even basic video functions, only there was no such thing.

Who would be interested if something came out today, and what features would you like it to have?

Yes I'm also interested in that. But... there is only one problem. Just one - PENTAX.

Pentax said, that they are not interested in video...

[LensBeginner]

Yes I'm also interested in that. But... there is only one problem. Just one - PENTAX.

Pentax said, that they are not interested in video...

I'm not interested either, for me it was just a tool, unlike photography/"proper" cameras...
Just for the sake of conversation...

[Aksel]

good lenses for video are not the same as for still. They can be interchanged but serious videographers use cine specific lenses.

It depends on what kind of video you are recording in. When the camera and the actors are in constant motion - then yes. Otherwise - not necessarily

[6BQ5]

If you want the best video capability in a still camera then I would look at a used Lumix. Panasonic carved out a good niche for themselves in this area.

[LensBeginner]

If you want the best video capability in a still camera then I would look at a used Lumix. Panasonic carved out a good niche for themselves in this area.

I would have liked a dedicated, K-mount camcorder, not a still camera with video functions.

[6BQ5]

I would have liked a dedicated, K-mount camcorder, not a still camera with video functions.

Ahhh, but a camcorder is a just a low resolution camera that can record a lot of successive frames and encode them into MPEG.

Seriously though, I know what you mean. A K-mount video camera. I still think that something like a modern Lumix can easily satisfy what prosumers want. If you want to use K-mount lenses then you would get an adapter. You would lose AF and automatic aperture control but from what I gather on the internet most cinematographers use manual lenses anyways.

[LensBeginner]

Ahhh, but a camcorder is a just a low resolution camera that can record a lot of successive frames and encode them into MPEG.

Seriously though, I know what you mean. A K-mount video camera. I still think that something like a modern Lumix can easily satisfy what prosumers want. If you want to use K-mount lenses then you would get an adapter. You would lose AF and automatic aperture control but from what I gather on the internet most cinematographers use manual lenses anyways.

Many still cameras have strong limitations as far as the duration of video is concerned.

A video sensor doesn't have to be 16-20MP, and pixels can be huge (you can also use binning/line skipping on a higher-MP sensor).
It would have to be APS-C or FF to work with K-mount lenses (ok, it wouldn't but I don't want to cope with more than 1.5x crop for unattended recording...)

Lumix cameras are 2x crop, have a slew of still features (=higher cost for something I don't need) and still have a limited recording duration in Europe (because of the different taxation - I know, it sucks), so one would have to hack them and risk bricking them.
I considered them, then decided not to buy one.

[DeadJohn]

I looked around and then found that DSLRs & the K-01 were only meant to record up to 15-20' at a time, due to sensor overheating.

There are many theories about the reason for the time limit. You can record a maximum length video and then immediately start another video without damaging the camera, so overheating doesn't sound very plausible. Other possibilities include file size limitations (long videos might need a file larger than allowed by computer operating systems, so you'd be unable to view the video) and import laws (video cameras with unlimited video length are taxed at a higher rate than other cameras).

To answer the original question, I don't think a K-mount camcorder would get enough sales to justify the R&D.

[jrpower10]

Answering your questions, no, I don't think they should be branching out to camcorders and I wouldn't buy it if they did. I'm not interested in video. I do think Pentax will eventually have to up the video game in their dslr's if they want to start significantly increasing market share. Video capability is an attraction to a lot of photographers and while it would be useless to me, it would probably help them in the long run. Diverting resources to video-only, though, would likely be an unnecessary distraction with little hope of paying off.

[6BQ5]

I also read that the time limitation is about copy protection. It was pushed by the tv and movie industry to prevent pirating. Hacks are available for many LUMIX cameras that are time limited in their firmware. Look hard enough and you may find an early model Lumix that isn't time limited.

[eminker]

Pentax reluctance to do video pretty much makes this a non-starter issue .... Also I think a Full Frame Pentax is a priority over anything else now ....
Definitely looking forward for a FF even though medium format would be my dream