[Poit]

I am holding out for in-camera heater for extreme winter conditions and appropriate 5-pole flash fittings on both bodies and flash and/or built-in flash RF TX support in both bodies and flash. Oh...K-cup support as an add-on for the camera heater feature.



BTW...have they gotten back to you yet?


Steve

Haha...no they haven’t. Well researched.

But maybe they’re working on it. 12 months with no new body is a long time, even for Pentax.

[aoeu]

Oh...K-cup support as an add-on for the camera heater feature

I hope not. With better auto focus I expect a stronger focus motor and a coffee grinder attachment.

[monochrome]

Pentax is really tiny compared to the other brands and Ricoh gives them no capital support. Hoya strippedthe old company assets and left a husk, with no outside cashflow to draw on. Canon is huge by comparison (25x larger) and has a truly massive company behind it. Nikon is smaller than Canon, but still 15 or 20x larger than Pentax and has Mitsubishi. Sony has Sony. Fuji has Instax. Hassy has Chinese capital, as does Leica. Ricoh puts its capital behind Theta, a rapidly growing consumer product. Pentax apparently makes a small profit and apparently is self-financing.

As far as making a stir and letting the momentum slip away, Pentax has been that way for 50 years.

[clackers]

I would like Pentax to be on a (semi) level playing field with others.

Why? Because it will attract more customers. More customers = more revenue. More revenue = more R & D. More R & D = better cameras for us Pentaxians.

Simple

The number of customers across the industry is less, Poit.

It is foolish for any camera company to go into a war where you either spend on new products or discount current ones, which is what you do to take marketshare.

[AggieDad]

Well, I, for one, would like a cupholder or two on my next Pentax. That and - just thinking out loud here - maybe a phone app.

[Poit]

Are you actively needing more features (listed above in the original post) and would you buy a new model this Spring if they were offered? My pockets are pretty shallow too, but when I bought my K-3 four years ago, it met my needs and still does. If a new top-model crop-sensor body with touch screen, joy stick, and auto-intuitive AF were to debut in the new future, this is one customer that would sort of shrug.


Steve

My point is, in part, not about my own desires. It’s about Pentax attracting more customers. And that can only be good for those of us who love the cameras they make. Am I wrong?

The simple truth is that people looking to buy a new camera watch and read reviews. I have not read or watched one review that recommends a Pentax over its competitors.

But, to answer your specific question, if I was still shooting weddings I would gladly snap up a new Pentax with improved AF.

I wonder how many wedding shooters have passed on a K-1 because of AF etc

[jatrax]

I used Pentax for weddings for some time, and it was (on occasion) embarrassing.

Which body? With the k-5 I would have agreed, with the K-3II and K-1 I now have, I do not see the problem. If you are shooting birds or fast sports, OK Pentax has very poor AF.C but general autofocus? I do not understand the complaints. Is this actual real life performance or just complaints from years ago? Because I'm starting to hate culling photos because I rarely have one to toss because of missed focus.

Sure, it’s easy to say “just change brands”, but that’s not viable for someone with shallow pockets.

Actually it is. Sell your Pentax gear and take the cash to ebay and buy used one generation old gear of the brand of your choice.

Sony, Fuji, and Olympus have all greatly improved their AF systems. Why can’t Pentax?

I really am baffled by this. And not just your comment, we see all day, every day people bashing Pentax for poor AF. How good do you want it to be? What am I doing different? Because I have a near 100% keeper rate for autofocus. I don't even try hard. Honestly trying to understand the problem. I assume our shooting styles are different or maybe the subject? Granted I do not shoot at birds or speeding airplanes.

[C_Jones]

I'm very satisfied with the Pentax product lineup and performance. I actually prize and respect it.

[Poit]

OK so talk of cup holders and heaters etc gives me the message loud and clear.

I apologise profusely for suggesting that Pentax could improve.

I shall return to my hole.

---------- Post added 02-20-18 at 03:07 PM ----------

Which body? With the k-5 I would have agreed, with the K-3II and K-1 I now have, I do not see the problem. If you are shooting birds or fast sports, OK Pentax has very poor AF.C but general

I really am baffled by this. And not just your comment, we see all day, every day people bashing Pentax for poor AF. How good do you want it to be? What am I doing different? Because I have a near 100% keeper rate for autofocus. I don't even try hard. Honestly trying to understand the problem. I assume our shooting styles are different or maybe the subject? Granted I do not shoot at birds or speeding airplanes.

It is using a K-3, in a chapel, shooting the bride walking down the aisle. And the shooting the couple leaving. AF-C. 30% keepers at best.

Singma 35mm f1.4

---------- Post added 02-20-18 at 03:09 PM ----------

For landscape the K-3 is a gem. I love it in every respect.

For tricker situations it’s poor

---------- Post added 02-20-18 at 03:14 PM ----------

Actually even in a well lit chapel the AF-C was woeful. I missed a lot of special moments as the bride made her entrance

[clackers]

It is using a K-3, in a chapel, shooting the bride walking down the aisle. And the shooting the couple leaving. AF-C. 30% keepers at best.

If I can shoot runners, cyclists and wildlife, you can shoot a walking couple, Poit!

[Poit]

At iso 800, f2? Maybe I need some improvement in my own skills.

I sorta thought that putting the focus poit in the subject and using the AF button would do the trick...

[clackers]

At iso 800, f2? Maybe I need some improvement in my own skills.

I sorta thought that putting the focus poit in the subject and using the AF button would do the trick...

Practice makes perfect, mate, or something like that.

[jatrax]

I sorta thought that putting the focus poit in the subject and using the AF button would do the trick...

It does. If you don't use AF.C.

In an attempt to keep things clear may I suggest that if you have issues with AF tracking or AF.C that you state it that way? Pentax has relatively poor AF tracking. But the actual autofocus is as good as it gets. All I'm asking here is to differentiate between regular AF and the tracking functions that many (most?) never use. I certainly don't, and I have shot weddings and other events non-professionally. I never used the AF.C function, not needed anyway. What do you expect? to hit the focus button and have the camera just track the bride's eyeball for 20 feet? Maybe other brands do that. Pentax doesn't. And not everyone needs that functionality.

[lesmore49]

As far as Pentax having inferior AF, I dunno. I just continue shooting with one of my four Pentax DSLR's and for the most part seem to capture fast moving subjects like birds in flight, etc., when I'm taking their picture.I find the Pentax AF good for me.

Might be because I don't know any better, as I almost invariably just shoot with Pentax equipment. Maybe ignorance is bliss...or maybe I've always realized nothing in this world is perfect, and throughout life I've tended to just work around things I work with. I generally concentrate on the strengths of mechanical/electronic devices and different people. Seems to work well so far.

[ChristianRock]

Maybe your Sigma lens is part of the issue? Sigma lenses can be problematic in this aspect and it's something that has been reported across camera brands.

I do agree that a top Pentax body at least should have eye/face detection in this day and age in its AF system. Hopefully soon.