Originally posted by superdave What about the promise of Ricoh to release the successor of K-3II? In the first place people were waiting for the K-3III. A $2000 is definitely not the successor of the K-3II (release for $1100) as well as a $3500 is not the successor of K-1II. K-3II users are already not interested by KP as it was lower end as their K-3II. I am ok if Ricoh release new higher end models, but priority is K-3II successor targeting people that purchase in the K-7,K-5,K-3 price range and it's not $2000. Most pentaxian ready to buy for more than $1300-1400 already purchased K-1. For me $1500 IS the absolute maximum and it will require more than a joystick and a bigger OVF. I remember the enormous gap between k5 and K3 and the price was similar...
Well I don't know the price of the camera. It might be $2,000 or as low as $1,500. But I think you are taking the idea of a successor too literally.
- Did Ricoh ever use the term K-3 II successor? I don't remember that. I remember being told in the CP+ 2019 presentation that it keeps the concept of the K-7/K-5/K-5 lineage, but at the same time hearing that it is planned to be the class-leading APS-C camera on the market. They also said they have never seriously tried to make a truly class-leading APS-C camera until now. Separately, I heard that it was misleading to think of it as a "K-3 III". The fact that all they have disclosed is the body design and the OVF specs does not mean they are the only improvements - most of it is still a secret.
- Was the K-3 II successful enough to warrant a direct successor? As far as I can see, the K-3 II was historical low-point for the series. I know it's still a very good camera, but I don't think it was well received. Did Ricoh look at sales figures and say "Yes we want more of that!"? Certainly over here the KP seems to have sold a lot better, so they probably feel validated in launching that model.
- I sympathise with anyone who finds they can't afford what they want. I'll need to wait for it to come down in price too. However, you have to accept that top-class APS-C cameras are expensive these days. Almost all brands have a crop camera that costs 1,500 or more in their line-up (Canon 7D II, Nikon D500, Fujifilm X-pro 3, X-T4, Olympus EM-1 Mark III, EM1X, Panasonic GH5, G9). Why should Ricoh not address this market?
Having said all that, I do trust Ricoh to offer value for money, whatever price point they target. I think it will be better than anything else you can get for the money.