[reh321]

Where did they say the APSC flagship is in the clouds? They have the GR, KP and K-70, you forgot the K70. One third of the lenses being released this year are APSC. They currently have 15 FF lenses and 34 APSC lenses. So They currently have 49 lenses you can use on APSC body versus 15 for FF. They don’t need to develop many APSC lenses, they have a great lineup. They do need more FF lenses though.

It seems you should go back and read the interview and look at Pentax’s current product mix.

{Color added by me} None of the GRRRR, KP, K-70 can be construed as a "flagship". That is the important point. Many Pentax users have become used to having an APS flagship; stocks of K-3ii are running out, and some users are getting nervous - that is why all the questions and disappointment about the interview. Personally, I understand this; I hardly ever use burst, and, when I do I typically use the slower rate, so either the KP's smaller queue or the K-1's slower rate would work for me, but I had never considered a K-7/5/3, and this is a real consideration for those who do currently have one of those cameras.

Because of @Ashahiman's words, I have thought about a 24mb FF camera; putting a 55-300mm DA lens on that kind of camera would give me around 9 usable mb - I could deal with that {in 2003 when I first was thinking digital, I established that 6mb would give me what I had gotten from Kodachrome}, but I'm guessing many users would feel "cheated". If the only way to get fast long bursts would be 24mp FF, several less expensive FF lenses, and a TC, would be essential.

[reh321]

Without being rude, I think a lot of comments here are very naive. Do you really think Ricoh Imaging are going to unveil any of their plans knowing the info is going to be posted on the world wide web, distorted, amplified , plus additional extrapolated predictions and wishful thinking. Nope, the interview is there not to disclose any information to customers but on the other hand it is used by the business executives to collect valuable concerns from customers. Most important is that Ricoh staff have a chance to probe the current concerns of the customers, in structured manner (questions and frustration and aggressiveness having been filtered by Adam/PF staff). Normally, Ricoh executive staff will never disclose their internal plan and especially to an end user (including ambassadors) since the damages can be a lot larger than the small benefit of keep or loosing a few customers not being happy with answers.

As you well know, in the past Ricoh has managed to provide much more edifying comments without giving away any secrets.

[mecrox]

If you want to take your customers with you on a journey, you do first have to provide an alluring picture of the destination and sound enthused enough to persuade them to come with you. Alas this latest meet does sound a bit like a pitch for a tour of some railway sidings. I think the interview team should have gone in heavy with the Cabernet Sauvignon and got the lads in “boss copy” mode and ready for a second bottle. The GRiii is worthwhile news to have. Don’t underestimate it. Other things are easy to guess: 85mm, 70-200mm f4, 11-18mm and a new DSLR of some kind next year. That’s a minimum bar. Chances are in the centenary year there will be a bit more.

[monochrome]

If you want to take your customers with you on a journey, you do first have to provide an alluring picture of the destination and sound enthused enough to persuade them to come with you. Alas this latest meet does sound a bit like a pitch for a tour of some railway sidings. I think the interview team should have gone in heavy with the Cabernet Sauvignon and got the lads in “boss copy” mode and ready for a second bottle. The GRiii is worthwhile news to have. Don’t underestimate it. Other things are easy to guess: 85mm, 70-200mm f4, 11-18mm and a new DSLR of some kind next year. That’s a minimum bar. Chances are in the centenary year there will be a bit more.

I think it likely they want to maximize the surprise value at CP+ (by telling little at Photokina), CP+ being a Japan show and Pentax being Japan-centric. PF is a western Forum, so we have wants that might not align with Pentax’s willingness to reveal their plans. Also I think somewhere (I could be wrong about this) Adam inferred he intentionally held back in the interview recap.

The next Photokina is May 8-11, 2019, then they’re annual instead of bi-ennial. If 2019 is a big Pentax new product year there should be more to see and hold there.

---

Last edited by monochrome; 09-29-2018 at 09:49 AM.

[RonHendriks1966]

The GRiii is worthwhile news to have. Don’t underestimate it. Other things are easy to guess: 85mm, 70-200mm f4, 11-18mm and a new DSLR of some kind next year. That’s a minimum bar.

So that is 3 lenses and a new dslr. The GRiii is coming next year. Probably also a new Theta. So 6 new items in 2019.

That is very optimistic to say at the least.

[reh321]

So that is 3 lenses and a new dslr. The GRiii is coming next year. Probably also a new Theta. So 6 new items in 2019.

That is very optimistic to say at the least.

Not necessarily - they could be working on three or even four bodies in parallel right now ..... releasing nothing right now but planning to make a big 'splash' in the "centennial year".

[mecrox]

So that is 3 lenses and a new dslr. The GRiii is coming next year. Probably also a new Theta. So 6 new items in 2019.

That is very optimistic to say at the least.

Not really. The GRIII and 11-18mm may well be done bar manufacturing. The 70-200mm f4 may easily be a rebadge made on say Tamron or Tokina production lines. Theta is a separate team I presume. That leaves the 85mm and one DSLR. I would say doable if they want. No DSLR next year would really be a downer after a thin two years so a good new camera is pretty well a cert unless they’ve gone mad.

[monochrome]

Not really. The GRIII and 11-18mm may well be done bar manufacturing. The 70-200mm f4 may easily be a rebadge made on say Tamron or Tokina production lines. Theta is a separate team I presume. That leaves the 85mm and one DSLR. I would say doable if they want. No DSLR next year would really be a downer after a thin two years so a good new camera is pretty well a cert unless they’ve gone mad.

Cross posted from article Comments:

The thing is, one hears what one is predisposed to hear.

I’m hard pressed to reconcile the D FA*50/1.4, K-1 ll and D FA*70~200/2.8 with a company nearing abandonment. This is more like the quiet before a Shock and Awe series of releases that stays top-of-page on review blogs for an entire year. 2004-2005 or late 2006-2007-early-2008 come to mind. How many DA lenses were released those stretches - 8 or 9 each? I didn’t browse the bodies database.

[Rush2112]

We may never know who was actually behind that stunt. I did get into trouble for implicitly saying it was a lie, by saying "the GRiii is 'a lame point-and-shoot camera' ". They did get our attention, but all they really succeeded in doing was infuriating some people who would have written off Photokina, but now feel "we've been played".

Stunt you say. You sound upset that I shared what I was told, even though I reiterated many times that I don't know what Ricoh were going to announce, but that it wasn't a lame point and shoot. To me, that would be a WG or Theta, great cameras in their own right but not worthy of me reporting it in advance of PK.

They announced the GR III and future plans for the 100 yr anniversary. They came through on what I eluded too.

Some people will just never be happy, no matter what you say or do. I hope some were appreciative of the fact I shared that news.

-Carl

[reh321]

Stunt you say. You sound upset that I shared what I was told, even though I reiterated many times that I don't know what Ricoh were going to announce, but that it wasn't a lame point and shoot. To me, that would be a WG or Theta, great cameras in their own right but not worthy of me reporting it in advance of PK.

They announced the GR III and future plans for the 100 yr anniversary. They came through on what I eluded too.

Some people will just never be happy, no matter what you say or do. I hope some were appreciative of the fact I shared that news.

I call them as I see them.

Both B&H and Adorama classify the GR family as "point-and-shoot" cameras, along with the WG - I am willing to add the adjective "lame".

To my eyes, this "leak" was a PR stunt to build interest in what the company was doing at Photokina at a time when they aren't willing/able to provide anything for those looking to the company for a K-3 followup ..... I'm sure you could see that in the responses. I might have been satisfied with the Photokina presentation if they would have been willing to provide even a hint of where they are on replacing the K-3, but now we seem to know even less than we thought we knew after CP+.

I am glad that some people were happy. I was not.
I am glad that some people were appreciative.

[Kunzite]

Ricoh calls it a high-end digital compact camera. If you don't see the difference between it and the WG-50, it's not the camera nor Ricoh.

[reh321]

Ricoh calls it a high-end digital compact camera. If you don't see the difference between it and the WG-50, it's not the camera nor Ricoh.

There is variation within classes. There is a big difference between a Canon EOS-R and a Canon M-50, but both fit into the class "MILC". There is a big difference between a Nikon D5600 and a Nikon D850, but both fit into the class "DSLR". Ricoh can call it whatever they want to ..... calling it an "ishcabibble" wouldn't create a special class for itself. It is a camera you basically use as you would use a smart phone - you point it in the general direction of something of interest and press the shutter button .... no one singing its praises has claimed any more for it.

[monochrome]

Didn’t your mother tell you to stay out of the closet before Christmas? Didn’t you get nice, wrapped table favors on Thanksgiving to ‘tide you over’?

I think it is fairly obvious they started late on the APSc flagship and they’re catching up. Maybe they thought the K-1 would be their flagship and KP / K-70 would be the enthusiast cameras - and decided they were wrong. Maybe they suddenly got video religion and they’re ditching Socionext (which required ground-up new coding). Maybe they’ve ditched SAFOX altogether (it goes back to at least MZ-S) and are developing a new AF sensor and complete new AF firmware (that will migrate to the K-1 and 645 platforms). Maybe they’ll surprise everyone and release a mirrorless APSc platform (though I think that’s a reach).

Whatever is going on, 2019 will be a blockbuster year. I want some of those AOC appliqués from the Japan K-1 ll and FA*50. They say something’s cooking.

[Kunzite]

There is no MILC class - that's a type of camera; same for DSLRs. You don't talk about "the diesel/gas car class" then conclude that a Bugatti Chiron is a cheap underpowered car like a Dacia Logan.

---------- Post added 29-09-18 at 09:55 PM ----------

Whatever is going on, 2019 will be a blockbuster year. I want some of those AOC appliqués from the Japan K-1 ll and FA*50. They say something’s cooking.

I've seen Ricoh officials (the top ranked Japanese like Mr Arai and Iwasaki) laughing as they were leaving the Nikon stand. Either they found better paid jobs, or they've seen the Z

[reh321]

There is no MILC class - that's a type of camera; same for DSLRs. You don't talk about "the diesel/gas car class" then conclude that a Bugatti Chiron is a cheap underpowered car like a Dacia Logan.

Tell that to Adorama and B&H.
They classify cameras as "Medium Format", "DSLR", "MILC", and "point-and-shoot"