[Mistral75]

Probably, the French importer (and possibly the UK one) is on the verge of loosing the Ricoh Pentax franchise.

There is no such thing as a French (third party) importer. Ricoh Imaging Europe are headquartered in France and the French 'importer' is therefore a fully-owned subsidiary of the Ricoh group.

[6BQ5]

It would really be sad to see the end of the Q line. I think it was a fun and innovative line that was poorly presented to the market. Some of my most memorable personal photographic moments happened with a Q. I think the series is a testament to the core of Pentax - small, powerful, and intuitive. However, I can understand if Ricoh wants to cut the Q to divert it's limited resources to their core market of DSLR and potentially mirrorless K-mount. That trade is worth it to me in the long term. The Q will always be available on the market to those who want it. Look at the K-01. It's still easily available.

If the Q disappears then the u4/3 or 1" sensor market becomes the new "small". Something like native from Sony and Fuji becomes the new "medium". Full frame is now "big". Going beyond that takes you to another realm that is beyond mass market.

[barondla]

Not sure Q is much of a drain on Ricoh's resources, since Pentax doesn't make the Q lenses. Building Q bodies can't be much more of a drain than all the Thetas, GR, or weatherproof cameras. Most Q stuff should be paid for by now.

Q will survive!
Thanks,
barondla

[Pioneer]

A truly amazing system. Able to do everything from macro to extreme telephoto.

Ah well. Its not like Pentax hasn't shot themselves in the foot before. It is almost like they are afraid of their own potential. Witness the LX. They built it, equipped it with everything it needed to be a magnificent success, and then just walked away and let it die.

[morane_j]

Interesting post about the death of the Q system
How Do You Know When Your System is Discontinued? | Sans Mirror | Thom Hogan

[reh321]

Interesting post about the death of the Q system
How Do You Know When Your System is Discontinued? | Sans Mirror | Thom Hogan

One interesting comment here:

Pentax didn’t really pay much attention to what the world actually wanted and produced a miniature DSLR that only produced consumer-camera results

I'm not sure what this means; what are "consumer camera" results? I see nothing to contradict what I've been saying for two years now; the appropriate niche for the "Q" family is the one currently occupied by bridge cameras, most of which have sensors smaller than what current "Q"s have, but Pentax doesn't seem to see that or else they aren't interested in addressing that market.

I would really like a few updates, such as an EVF, but I've made my Q-7 address my needs (*), and as long as it continues to work, I will use it. Since I'm currently 68, that may be enough {but once I'm truly convinced it is gone, I may buy another one to live in the closet just in case this one dies too soon, but that would require finding one at a reasonable price, and right now most are priced $350 or more}

(*) I value mine for two reasons:

(1) it's crop-factor allows it to be the major component in a good, but inexpensive, birding system

(2) it's whisper-quiet leaf shutter makes it very useful at events

[adjutant]

To me, the small 1/1.7" sensor is an asset, not a limitation.

I think of all the things that could be enabled by the relative low cost and crop magnification of this sensor. You could make a tiny, high-end camera where the only difference is that it's using a compact sensor rather than an aps-c or full frame. Why not put in pixel shift? Why not put in hybrid autofocus? In my dreams of an absolute madman I imagine a tiny, fast mirror lens with quick and accurate AF. An EVF could easily be place atop the camera and be no larger than Canon's G5X.

The potential of tiny sensor cameras excites me. It saddens me that the harsh reality is that none of this will be realized for the Q system, and, in fact, will die off.

Am I just thinking crazy?!

[6BQ5]

Your imagination isn't crazy, @adjutant. Panasonic created the camera you describe minus only a few features like pixel shift. It was called the LUMIX GM5. How did that work out for them? I don't think there is a successor planned for the GM5. Was it a failure or did Panasonic experiment with something? I honestly don't know. Now compare it to something like the Sony RX 100 series. That family of cameras is still going strong.

So, nearly everything you desire in a camera body already exists. It just doesn't exist in Ricoh-Pentax-Land.

[adjutant]

Your imagination isn't crazy, @adjutant. Panasonic created the camera you describe minus only a few features like pixel shift. It was called the LUMIX GM5. How did that work out for them? I don't think there is a successor planned for the GM5. Was it a failure or did Panasonic experiment with something? I honestly don't know. Now compare it to something like the Sony RX 100 series. That family of cameras is still going strong.

So, nearly everything you desire in a camera body already exists. It just doesn't exist in Ricoh-Pentax-Land.

Lumix GM5 doesn't have any of the things I mentioned and the sensor is several times larger than 1/1.7 with significantly less crop factor and larger lenses than Q system.

[6BQ5]

Lumix GM5 doesn't have any of the things I mentioned and the sensor is several times larger than 1/1.7 with significantly less crop factor and larger lenses than Q system.

The GM5 is tiny, has fast accurate AF, a smaller sensor, and an EVF. That captures a good part of your list.

Ok, so there's no pixel shift and the sensor is bigger than 1/1.7". I'll agree to that ... but the GM5 is probably the closest thing out there that would succeed the Q series today.

[reh321]

The GM5 is tiny, has fast accurate AF, a smaller sensor, and an EVF. That captures a good part of your list.

Ok, so there's no pixel shift and the sensor is bigger than 1/1.7". I'll agree to that ... but the GM5 is probably the closest thing out there that would succeed the Q series today.

That depends on what you use the "Q" for. GM5 is not ILC, and the built-in lens has very limited zoom. At its price, I'd buy an A6000 long before I bought a GM5, and neither could replace the Q-7 for what I do with it.

[Mistral75]

That depends on what you use the "Q" for. GM5 is not ILC, and the built-in lens has very limited zoom. At its price, I'd buy an A6000 long before I bought a GM5, and neither could replace the Q-7 for what I do with it.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM5 is definitely an ILC.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM5 Review: Digital Photography Review

[reh321]

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM5 is definitely an ILC.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM5 Review: Digital Photography Review

OK, the first source I used was misleading.
Everything else I said comparing to the A6000 is still true, however.
And it could never meet the needs I meet using a Q-7.

[CWRailman]

To me, the small 1/1.7" sensor is an asset, not a limitation.

The potential of tiny sensor cameras excites me.
Am I just thinking crazy?!

If that EXCITES you I hate to see what putting a lawn mower engine in a Ferrari does to your pants.


The Panasonic GM-1 and 5 were not failures. In fact the GM-5 was considered by many as the epitome of the small ILC. The reason the GM-5 has been dropped is that Panasonic is coming out with a similar camera but slightly larger as most consumers are saying that the small size of the GM series was too small for their hands and many of the folks added extra grips etc. and Panasonic is responding to those potential customers The GM-5 with the 12-32mm zoom lens is smaller than the Q7 with either the 02 or 06 lens and not much larger than the Q7 with the 01 lens. The GM-5 has a much better resolving power and better dynamic range but has a bit less depth of field. The sales people at my local camera store admit that the Q series was interesting but that it has been overrun by cell phones which now have similar abilities. They no longer have any of the Q series in stock and will only bring it in as a special order item.

[monochrome]

Q2:
• Larger sensor, new mount;
• M42-style adapter mounts Q lenses;
• Crop mode Q lenses;
• outsource same lens designs to Tokina, scaled up in CAD;
• You have an LCD - Buy an EVF from somebody;
• Cram as many dSLR features in as possible

Do your video here and shake things up!!!