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09-28-2016, 08:12 PM   #1
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The quantum state of the Q

It seems that the Pentax Q system is like Schroedinger's cat, simultaneously dead and alive:

"The Q line will continue, and the Q-S1 is still a current model."
Photokina 2016 Pentax Interview - Photokina 2016 | PentaxForums.com

QuoteOriginally posted by Ishpuini Quote
- Q: I asked: is the Q system dead? Answer: Yes (no hesitation).
QuoteOriginally posted by asahi man Quote
Q is still in action
QuoteOriginally posted by reh321 Quote
I kind of doubt Pentax is developing any more Q-mount lenses.
QuoteOriginally posted by ebk Quote
The Q line is still a current line. . . .
we plan to release the roadmapped Q-mount lens in the future.
QuoteOriginally posted by RonHendriks1966 Quote
The Q is not in the orderbook for shops to stock for some time now.


09-28-2016, 08:36 PM   #2
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QuoteOriginally posted by lytrytyr Quote
It seems that the Pentax Q system is like Schroedinger's cat, simultaneously dead and alive:
You probably should have listed the comments in chronological order.
The comments by asahi man were posted just yesterday.
Personally, I am much more optimistic since seeing his words.
09-28-2016, 10:25 PM   #3
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I suspect that Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle is somehow involved.
09-28-2016, 10:42 PM - 1 Like   #4
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QuoteOriginally posted by johnmflores Quote
I suspect that Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle is somehow involved.
Maybe.If the Q line is indeed getting some love next year, then BigMackCam's Clappy-hands Effect is definitely involved

09-28-2016, 11:51 PM   #5
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I feel like Pentax needs to figure out a direction for the Q. Yes, it's small, but it needs something more IMO to continue being marketable.

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09-29-2016, 02:31 AM   #6
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Pentax's problem is that they are small enough that projects like the 645z or the K-1 seems to pull them away from development of cameras like the Q. At the same time, they are at least giving lip service to continuing to support and grow it, which feels hopeful.
09-29-2016, 02:43 AM - 1 Like   #7
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QuoteOriginally posted by Adam Quote
I feel like Pentax needs to figure out a direction for the Q. Yes, it's small, but it needs something more IMO to continue being marketable.
IMO the biggest issue for Q is the size of the lenses. Pentax/Ricoh need to work on minimizing the size of the lenses.

Except for long tele-lenses there are not much difference in size on Q lenses compared with m43/APS-C lenses for mirrorless cameras.
Q desperately need a few pancake zoom lenses, like on most other mirrorless systems. So Q will have a real size advantage of other systems with larger sensors.

Pentax smallest kit zoom for K-mount is more compact than the kit lens for Q.

Kit lenses on m43 vs Q vs Nex.

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09-29-2016, 05:59 AM   #8
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If it wasn't enough, here's the last bit from Asahiman, posted an hour ago:

QuoteQuote:
!!! Attention !!! Q is out of production !!!

!!! Project Q is on ice,maybe over,maybe paused !!!
I asked different persons again,cause of the interview with the informations it is off.
So, the quantum probabilities tell me that it's more in the death state than the live one.
09-29-2016, 06:04 AM   #9
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QuoteOriginally posted by CarlJF Quote
If it wasn't enough, here's the last bit from Asahiman, posted an hour ago:



So, the quantum probabilities tell me that it's more in the death state than the live one.
So the Q is just like Schroedinger's cat?
09-29-2016, 06:32 AM   #10
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QuoteOriginally posted by lytrytyr Quote
It seems that the Pentax Q system is like Schroedinger's cat, simultaneously dead and alive:

"The Q line will continue, and the Q-S1 is still a current model."
Every time Pentax confirm that the Q series is continuing, it takes about two weeks for people to start questioning it again.

I'm sure this cycle will continue until they actually release some new product. Actions speak louder than words.

And what does it mean? If the long-awaited 09 Telephoto Macro lens is the only thing in the works, and that's going to be the end of the system, then does that make the Q system "alive", or would it be more like the walking dead?

Yet, for all we know, they might have that "Super Q" in the lab, under wraps, just waiting for the time to spring it on us.
09-29-2016, 07:15 AM   #11
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QuoteOriginally posted by Adam Quote
I feel like Pentax needs to figure out a direction for the Q.
The problem (of riches) is that there are at least two directions for this versatile system.

On the one hand, the fun direction, which Pentax has certainly recognized in the past.
(Fuji are milking that market now with their Instax.)

But on the other hand, the Q is also a serious photographic tool that does things the other systems can't do:

  • Candid photography (the 21-st century Leica).
  • Compact super-tele with the adapter.
  • Action macro, capitalizing on the great depth of field for situations when you cannot stack.
  • A compact, high-quality real-estate photography package using the 08 zoom.

And many other uses that the creative Q photographers come up with.
09-29-2016, 07:21 AM   #12
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QuoteOriginally posted by Professor Batty Quote
The Olympus lens isn't as wide, doesn't have a leaf shutter and is nearly a full stop slower and the lenses are about double the price of the Q. There is no built-in flash and no in-body stabilization. The NEX lenses are about triple the price of the Q's, no leaf shutter and the body does not have image stabilization. Neither camera has the multiplier effect from using a small sensor. The Q offers much more user customization and control.
I doubt a leaf shutter have a considerable impact on the size of the lens. Not sure if the leaf shutter in Q lenses doubles as aperture, but that could probably be done to avoid two similar mechanisms. (like they did on auto 110)
Even though the Pentax lens is faster, the max aperture size is smaller and use smaller lens elements as it is designed for a smaller sensor. So it should be possible to make a smaller package than other manufacturers can.

Where I live the Pentax 02 zoom cost the same as Olympus 14-42 PZ, and the Sony 16-50 PZ is 30% cheaper than the other two.

QuoteQuote:
The marketing of the Q has always been problem, but even if Pentax had aggressively promoted it, it was always going to be a niche camera. M4/3 systems have not exactly set the world on fire, and the NEX bodies, while small, don't make up for the vast difference in size, weight (and price!) of most of their lenses.

Fogel70, Have you ever used a Q?
Yes I have tested Q and it's a nice camera, but my point was about size of the lenses.
09-29-2016, 08:34 AM   #13
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QuoteOriginally posted by Fogel70 Quote
Where I live the Pentax 02 zoom cost the same as Olympus 14-42 PZ, and the Sony 16-50 PZ is 30% cheaper than the other two.

Yes I have tested Q and it's a nice camera, but my point was about size of the lenses.
Yeah, the 02 is somewhat big for what it is. But the other lenses are fine. Users have asked for years an updated standard lens, smaller or with at least a constant aperture, but obviously this will never happens.

The 01, 03, 06 and 08 are all small and lightweight. The 06 is particurlay interesting: small size, good reach, and 2.8 constant aperture... To have the same reach and luminosity in 4/3, you need the 1300$ Pana 35-100 2.8, which is a significantly larger and weightier lens and cost more than Q system with all available lenses... And I'm not even looking at the Sony system...

For the 08, you have to look at the 700$ Olympus 9-18 (or one of the 4-14), which are all more sigificantly bulkier and heavier than the 08 (75g for an UWA is hard to beat!). For Sony, you will have to look at the 10-18, which is large and heavy in comparison.

And although the 03 isn't the greatest lens around, at 25g, about the size of a Coke bottle screw cap, and less than 100$, it just is too small and cheap not to carry around. There's nothing in 43, and even less in APS-C, that's even near that small size and weight for a fisheye lens. And all will cost you much more than 100$.

Once you start the carry a few lenses, the difference in size of the Q system become really obvious. And it's certainly not a costly system relative to a m43 or APS-C mirrorless once you go out of the kit lens. To give you an idea, in a bag design to hold a m43 body an a lens, I carry my Q and 4 lenses with an additional battery pack and a polarizer filter... To have the same capabalities with a m43 or a Sony APS-C, I would have had to carry a bag almost as big as the one I use for my DSLR...
09-29-2016, 09:15 AM   #14
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QuoteOriginally posted by Professor Batty Quote
The leaf shutter makes a huge difference (1/2000 vs. 1/160 sync speed) between the systems. The Q lenses have an independent iris (and a ND filter) and are not "zoom-by-wire."

The other Pentax lenses are much smaller and cheaper, The M. Zuiko 40-150mm f2.8 (about $1000) weighs 760g and is about 6 times the size of the Pentax 15-45 f2.8 that weighs 91 grams and costs about $125!

Apples and Oranges.
Yeah talk about apples vs oranges, as sensor size differs so much the f/2.8 vs f/2.8 argument is not really relevant.
If f/2.8 gives you what you need on Q, a f/5.6 or slower lens would give you the same advantages on the other systems with much larger sensors.

My smartphone has a f/2.4 lens, do you think that give any advantage over a f/2.8 lens on my DSLR? (except that it's always in my pocket)

Last edited by Fogel70; 09-29-2016 at 09:21 AM.
09-29-2016, 09:51 AM   #15
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QuoteOriginally posted by Adam Quote
I feel like Pentax needs to figure out a direction for the Q.
A very small sensor ILC system has always sounded like a contradiction in terms.
Carrying around a dinky small sensor camera with body and lens caps to mess with, no viewfinder and a bag of optics makes no sense to me. Small, for most folks, also means fast, responsive and conveniently and quickly available - none of which the Q is. If I want that I have Canon S95 or my Panasonic ZS50.

If it isn't self contained it's neither small nor convenient for all practical purposes.

Last edited by wildman; 09-29-2016 at 10:28 AM.
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