[crewl1]

I've worked for a lot of companies on the sales side and see the battles between engineering, product management, marketing, sales, accounting, legal.

This is my impression of what has occurred, and why I would be hesitant to buy a K-5II or K-5IIs .
------------------

Accounting 3 months ago - "Sales - what the heck? You guys just had a new product announced, and yet sales are dismal, we need to make some money! Screw this, we are raising lens prices again, we need to milk the user base."

Sales 3 months ago - "Looking forward to getting that brand new K-Spiffy out, we are going to kill the competition, eh Product Management? The K-5 is getting old, and the K-30 just started shipping."

Product Management 3 months ago - "The engineers have poured their heart and soul into the K-Spiffy. You thought the K-30 was great and well received, wait till you see the what they have done now, these guys are freaking magicians. They've incorporated everything they know about cameras into this unit. Do not disclose this to anyone, sales - this is confidential."

Marketing 3 months ago (3MA) - " Hey product management, how is the K-Spiffy coming along? We have all our materials ready and we are going to promote the heck out of this thing! We are still on track for Photokina?"

Product Management (3MA) - Let us check with engineering on their progress. What say you, wonderkids?

Engineering (3MA) - Ahh this is our grandest achievement to date! We are developing the perfect DSLR that everyone will want. The K-Spiffy will be ready for announcement in September - but we'll need a few months still to work out the kinks , so a ship date for Christmas will be doable. YOu can start taking photos of the final shell in a month. These units are still prototypes.

**********Time passes, K- 30 makes an impact, lens prices go up then down, rumours fly***********

Legal 1 Month ago (1MA) - "Hey everyone, gather round. We have bad news. We weren't able to get permission to use the FlubbySensor until 6 months after Scomey releases their camera, and they have delays so - we can't announce the K-Spiffy for Photokina. Deal with it."

Accounting (1MA) - "Screw this, we are raising lens prices again, we need to milk the user base."

Sales (1MA) - "KIll me now - I am going to jump off the roof! Product Management you have to give us something to announce for Photokina!"

Product Management (1MA) - " Hey we have the lenses for the D and Q and the Tammy lipstick job. And the Q in colors, and the K adapter - see, you have something."

Sales (1MA) - "No that isn't enough! We need a new camera! Why, oh why didn't we hold out the K-30 until Photokina?! (slams head on wall repeatedly)

Product Management (1MA) - "Settle down - let us talk to Engineering and see what they say - maybe we can replace the FlubbySensor in the K-Spiffy with the one in the K-30 and release it that way."

Engineering (1MA) - "Are you kidding? No way, the K-Spiffy has been architected entirely around the FlubbySensor, there is no way we can replace anything.
Hey Bob, what if we give them that prototype where you were testing out the K-30 AF in the K-5?
Oh look, I have my screwdriver handy, lets see what happens if we pull off the AA filter.
There, Product Management, we can get you two new models by Photokina. Happy?"

Product Management 3 weeks ago (3WA) - Hey Marketing, so we need to hide all that stuff you created for the K-Spiffy till later, can you use some of your old stuff from the K-5 release and photoshop in some new names - call it K-5II - that worked for Canon. And the other one call it K-5IIs for 'sans' filter.

Marketing (3WA) - Ok sure no prob, we'll go dig out our old shots, I'm sure they are on a backup drive somewhere or we can just download them from the Web. We'll even use the social media campaign to leak out some of the photoshopped images anonymously and get the buzz going. We got your back.

Now -September 10 2012 Pentax announces official product updates!

[Kunzite]

Interesting, but completely wrong. Just my opinion... probably.

[crewl1]

Yeah I should stick to my day job.

[Raffwal]

I have no idea how accurate that could be, but it was an interesting and funny reading!

[Kunzite]

Sorry, but there are some issues with your story:
- the K-5 II doesn't have the K-30's SAFOX IX+, but the newly developed SAFOX X.
- price fluctuations are only on the US market, I don't think they're discussed in such meeting, in Japan.
- Pentax would know if/when they can use a sensor when they're developing a camera around it

My educated guess: limited resources. They couldn't develop the K-30, then an entirely new K-5 level camera while not postponing their future plans. Besides, why would they change the sensor?
But it's not as imaginative as yours

[crewl1]

Yeah I probably should have put this one in the jokes section. Mods feel free to move.

But it's not as imaginative as yours

but it was an interesting and funny reading!

These are the only parts of the comments I can see - Thanks

This is probably why I end up watching crappy movies too.

[Kunzite]

Yeah I probably should have put this one in the jokes section. Mods feel free to move.

Quickly, before it becomes a rumour!
Too late, by now probably Photorumors and a dozen other sites already re-published several times it and now it's a "reliable rumour confirmed by several sources"

[Tom S.]

Yeah I should stick to my day job.

Just so long as your day job isn't at Pentax.

[blackcloudbrew]

Hey, the OP titled this as 'a work of fiction.'

[crewl1]

Just so long as your day job isn't at Pentax.

[Kunzite]

Fiction becomes legend. Legend becomes history. Or so they say

[Na Horuk]

You shouldn't have posted that - now some blog will copy it, and before you know it websites will start reporting it as a factual transcript

Edit: Also, K-Spiffy sounds great!

[Ubuntu_user]

Love it! You might not be too far out...

[kent]

[nanok]

who CARES if it's right or wrong. this is by far the most reasonable and useful thread in the whole rumors forum in the past month (or is it decade?). well done.

ps: i'm ready to pre-order any camera from pentax called k-spiffy, just for the hell of it. i require the psiffy to be embossed also on the bottom plate, though (just to atest the authenticity). :P