Originally posted by pghwarrior23 I feel like I don't see any good rumors on here anymore of upcoming gear from Pentax. So in light of the big announcements coming out of Canon today...I thought I'd throw out some predictions and questions to the group....
Predictions (ie my wish list)
FF Stripped down K-1 - $1100 - Remove the flippy screen, remove wifi, remove 4k video, and give me a less expensive FF camera. Kind of the Nikon D810 vs D610 roadmap. Making this mirrorless would leap frog them past Fuji too!
Super APS-C camera - $1,800 - now that Pentax is gaining the attention of serious professionals again (are they?), maybe a competitive sports camera that is smaller, lighter, cheaper and better weather sealed than other options on the market but with a huge buffer and frame rate would be interesting.
Mirrorless APS-C camera - $1,100 - Something along the lines of the Sony A6000 with better lenses and a viewfinder. Slap the bodycap 40mm XS on it and you have a Ricoh GR with flexibility and a viewfinder.
FF Lenses - I suspect Pentax will be releasing a slew of new FF lenses in the next year. Tons of primes especially. Maybe dusting off some legendary old glass with new nanocoatings and better, quieter AF motors. Some new lenses that are not as expensive as the FF options with revised SDM for APS-C would be nice too (ie a replacement for the awesome DA* 50-135 especially since you can't get the Sigma 50-150 anymore).
Questions:
Will Sigma ever return to making K mount lenses again?
Is the Pentax Q series dead? Upgrades coming? Something new in this lineup?
Will Pentax ever embrace the vintage history of the K1000 and retro styling that has made Fuji and Olympus popular?
What could Ricoh do to create a wow factor in the market to end run Canikon? I think the Theta is one example of finding these niches and capitalizing on future trends.
What do you want to see from Ricoh in the next year or two?
The starting posts is asking for three new cameras and several lenses.
A new high-end APS-C to kill K1
A mirrorless camera just to have one
A cheap K1 so he can afford one
... at current Pentax speed iw ould give it 10 years ...
Pentax needs to foucs on systems and not expand in all directions.