[Duplo]

Actually, it's the other way round.
Most of the FF thread started off by people claiming that FF is the future and Pentax would be doomed without FF.

that quote was about the IQ gained at a sensor optimum, not price or pentax future.
But true some people will say that, but reading the rest of my post I hope you will find me as being different from whomever would say so.
Would I personally like to see a pentax equivalent of the D3, well yes and I would buy it too, but that is an entirely different subject, the last part of my post I think pointed that out quite clearly.

There is no doubt that IQ is improved by moving to a larger sensor. There is also no doubt that FF camera would cost much more. The main point which ignites most flames is whether Pentax need FF to survive or has FF in its future.

I think you are quite right on all 3 observations.
Though I do recall to have seen quite hard discussion on whether the IQ is equal.

[Lowell Goudge]

Hi Lowell,

I like your logical way of reasoning, really!

I must point to the weak point in your chain of arguments, though. Manufacturers decided to mount 24mm sensors into 35mm bodies. This never happened with film. Would they have released 24mm digital bodies, with 24mm mounts and 24mm lenses (which would then be possibly better because of shorter mount-sensor distance), I would just buy your argument. Except for 4/3 however, they didn't and 4/3 isn't the format we discuss, it is APS-C.

The majority of engineers who build the first DSLRs after Olympus must have decided that cropped sensors are an intermediate step only not justifying to introduce a new mount.

BTW, Olympus introduced the 4/3 size along the lines of your argument. They ruled the early DSLR market. Since Canon and Nikon later introduced the APS-C size in 35 mm bodies, Olympus has lost this position.

I do not argue for or against FF here. I just wanted to illustrate that you chain of arguments was broken.

Is it "broken" not by pentax. They looked into full frame in 2001, but that fell through. In the end, the *istD was released, not as a FF body with an ASP-C sensor, but a ground up ASP-C development.

The others have followed since.

The difference lies with the desire to make use of as much as possible without re-tooling. That led to keeping the sensor plane to lens mount because of old lens disgns. Look again at pentax, you can use any lens they ever made. Lenses have not changed overnight. When the Leica came out, no one had lenses either designed or owned. hence Leica had much more freedom to change.

[Duplo]

Is it "broken" not by pentax. They looked into full frame in 2001, but that fell through. In the end, the *istD was released, not as a FF body with an ASP-C sensor, but a ground up ASP-C development.

The others have followed since.

The difference lies with the desire to make use of as much as possible without re-tooling. That led to keeping the sensor plane to lens mount because of old lens disgns. Look again at pentax, you can use any lens they ever made. Lenses have not changed overnight. When the Leica came out, no one had lenses either designed or owned. hence Leica had much more freedom to change.

When you say Leica, then I am not sure I can follow you, I thought the M8 was backwards compatible with the old leica M lenses and that leica went through great length with the sensor design and software to make it work with the short registration distance.

But You are perhaps talking the SLR style leica(panasonic) thing?

[Lowell Goudge]

When you say Leica, then I am not sure I can follow you, I thought the M8 was backwards compatible with the old leica M lenses and that leica went through great length with the sensor design and software to make it work with the short registration distance.

But You are perhaps talking the SLR style leica(panasonic) thing?

I mean the origonal leica back at the end of WW1. they had no lenses to use so they could come up with thier own.

[Duplo]

I mean the origonal leica back at the end of WW1. they had no lenses to use so they could come up with thier own.

OK WW1... that is a good while back...