Originally posted by PentHassyKon This probably would not be of use with the K-01 but I was always thinking that prior to release of the K-01 that the Pentax mirrorless "System" would comprise of such an adapter or adapters to allow usage of the legacy Pentax lenses on the Pentax mirrorless.
The system would comprise of the body with 2 adapters
- Adapter 1 would maintain the normal 35mm SLR flange distance, hence it would be mainly a spacer between the body and the legacy lens
- Adapter 2 would be this "speedbooster" adapter as detailed in the white paper, hence the 50mm K/M/A/DA lens would become a 35mm on this APS-C mirrorless thereby becoming a "52mm-E" again due to the 1.5x crop of the APS-C (50*0.7*1.5)
In answer to your original query... yes, I think this would be a good idea, and one that Pentax is quite able to accomplish, but it is highly unlikely for basic business reasons: it would mean creating those two adapters to go on
yet another lensmount type with the reduced flange distance
and all the adaptable lens mechanics (K, Q, and then a new mirrorless APS-C called, maybe, P for Prince?); either that, or make something similar to a K-01 (mirrorless K-mount) that has the focal-reducer built in... but that could only use FA or earlier 135 lenses, which won't help modern lens sales at all (making the marketing very difficult). Perhaps some way to "insert" an optical adapter in front of the APS-C sensor, but inside the lensmount?
Having end-users stuff items inside the (mirrorless) mirrorbox is a risky proposition for a mass-market consumer good.
That EF-NEX focal reducer is the product of an optical company and the Conurus adapter company, and marketed by Metabones. In other words, for something like this to come out for Pentax, we'd need to gather optical engineers, someone who has decoded the electronics of modern Pentax lensmounts (like Conurus did with the EF mount when they started converting Contax G-lenses to EF), and folks who are knowledgeable about the production of this kind of complex device. More likely that an NEX, the new adapter, and some EF-mount lenses would be cheaper and more immediate for most folks...