[pericombobulation]

I'm a bit late to this thread but I was drawn here after a glorious sunrise this morning with my K-01. It took me a little while to warm up to the quirky K-01, but now I love, LOVE it. I was thinking what would be on my wishlist for the K-01's replacement if there ever is one. For my purposes, I'm not interested in seeing the next mirrorless Pentax camera be smaller... personally, I want bigger! Bigger sensor, and bigger LCD.

If I ran the show I would probably position the K-02 (or whatever) as the ultimate landscape camera. IMO that is the K-01's forte already. We all know it stinks for action shots, but for still lifes, portraits, and especially landscapes I can't think of a better cam to have with me. I shoot mostly landscapes and often I'm not standing comfortably on the side of a road. I'm usually scrambling down some rocky gully or leaning a bit too far over a stream with the tripod legs in the water, or some other precarious situation like that. This is where being able to compose a shot without a viewfinder is very helpful - sometimes I can barely even reach the camera to press the shutter button, much less see through a viewfinder! I think they should run with this and optimize it even more for these purposes, even if that means it becomes even less appropriate for action shots. This would mean the camera would have to get bigger, not smaller. So here is my wishlist:

1) Huge screen. I'm talking 4 inches AT LEAST. This would help so much, particularly when paired with focus peaking. All the other manufacturers are going small, so why not be an innovator and do something different? Appeal to a different crowd - there are those of us who would really appreciate a larger screen. They could basically make the whole back of the camera one large screen by moving the buttons up top, or even to the front.

2) Larger sensor. Even non-pro pikers like me can print huge photos for modest cost these days, and with better printers and paper coming out all the time, sensor resolution really is a limiting factor. If FF poses engineering challenges, then how about something in the middle? Perhaps 1.2 or 1.3 crop factor?

3) Weather sealing!

4) Better AF (although I mostly use manual primes anyway, which is what most K-01 owners seem to do, so it's not really that big a deal for me).

And of course replace the silly on-off switch that always turns itself on, and the rubber accessory door. Turn the next mirrorless into a landscape photographer's dream, even if that means the brick gets bigger. Just my 2 cents.

[jon404]

@pericombobulation -- very good ideas -- definitely a market niche for non--action shooters -- having a 4" or 5" long hi-res LCD would be a real treat. Not rocket science, they have them on smartphones, easy to source. To get it to market fast, why not pick up the 24MP K-3 sensor, move the buttons to the top as you said, and leave the AF as it is for now... it's no problem for landscapes etc. Oh... and make it tetherable for studio folks.

Wish I could parachute you into Ricoh-land to help them develop a K-02 like this!

[6BQ5]

@pericombobulation : what you described would make for a very nice high video camera!

[Steve.Ledger]

One of the biggest disappointments with the K-01 is no HDMI out in record mode.
It's simply the dumbest omission which really seems like a deliberate crippling.
I'll wager it's something that could be enabled in a firmware update.

[PiDicus Rex]

One of the biggest disappointments with the K-01 is no HDMI out in record mode. It's simply the dumbest omission which really seems like a deliberate crippling. I'll wager it's something that could be enabled in a firmware update.

I'm not so sure anymore - when I compare the K-01's playback on a HD LCD, and then swap over to another HD camera, there's a lot of jaggies on the horizontal edges of objects on the K-01's output. Stuff that's not there when you play the video files full screen on the same monitor.
To my way of thinking, the HDMI on the K-01 may be downstream of the LCD screen, not the sensor alone - this would be done so that the overlays can be added - and the HDMI output is line doubled to get the 1080 output.

Don't get me wrong, I 'want' the HDMI output functional, so I can hook up an external ProRes recorder, but I don't think the current output is up to the quality needed.

[Steve.Ledger]

To my way of thinking, the HDMI on the K-01 may be downstream of the LCD screen, not the sensor alone - this would be done so that the overlays can be added - and the HDMI output is line doubled to get the 1080 output.

Huh??
What are you on about Mr Rex? 'HDMI out' is playback mode only which means it's playing the recorded data off the SD card - nothing is live from the sensor OR the LCD with HDMI.

Have a missed a major firmware update ?

[PiDicus Rex]

Ahh, perhaps that sentence could have used an edit - I did not mean to imply HDMI out occurs during record ( But I wish it did!! )

What I'm saying, is that the image on the external screen that is connected to the camera via a HDMI cable, appears to be of a Standard Definition quality, routed downstream of the cameras LCD screen, with the internal overlays ( in playback mode )
It appears as if it is 576p line doubled to be 1080p

If so, it will never be a good enough quality to record.

Recordable quality would require the footage ( either playing from SD Card or from the sensor ) to be sent to the HDMI port before the downscaling for the internal LCD is applied.

[Steve.Ledger]

You're still confusing me

If so, it will never be a good enough quality to record.

Record where and why? It's already recorded ONTO THE SD CARD

Recordable quality would require the footage ( either playing from SD Card or from the sensor ) to be sent to the HDMI port before the downscaling for the internal LCD is applied.

But IT IS playing from the SD card, where else would the playback footage be coming from????

[PiDicus Rex]

<sighs,...>

You're still confusing me

It's a skill,...

Iff the HDMI output was enabled in Record mode, the quality of the current output, would not be of a recordable quality, as it appears to be downstream of the down-converted and overlay enabled feed to the LCD screen.

What I want, is for the Sensors output in record mode to go straight to the HDMI,.... And I'll keep wanting it, because 13 stops of Pentax dynamic range recorded to an Atomos Ninja in ProResHD, would be freaking Awesome!
Ditto goes for wanting a K3 to have a clean feed from it's HDMI, because K3, Atomos, classic lenses, would have a unique 'look', and not a 5D look.
Make for a rather nice, and waaaaay more reliable, B-roll camera then the BMD Pocket is being.

[Steve.Ledger]

Iff the HDMI output was enabled in Record mode

Ah, now we're on the same page, you used the 'if' word

[jon404]

@PiDius Rex -- sounds like you might want one of those Red 4K video cameras, rather than a still camera that takes good video but doesn't have the features you need ... WELCOME TO RED DIGITAL CINEMA manufacturer of 4K, 5K and 6K Digital Cinema Cameras, RED ONE, EPIC, EPIC DRAGON and SCARLET ... their home page says 'Streaming, uncompressed video up to 4K and 60 fps.'

[PiDicus Rex]

Jon: I've worked with Red gear, I don't really like its 'look', much more prefer the images from an Alexa.
For an upcoming project I think we're seriously going to have to look at the KineMax too.
For most of my stuff though, the K-01 and a batch of classic lenses gives me a unique look that differentiates my work from everyone else locally.

Steve: No, I used the " Iff " word, somewhat different.

[jon404]

PiDicus Rex -- might be naive of me, or showing my age (70) ... but I believe the best way to differentiate commercial work is via a good tight script, excellent lighting, and professional sound quality. Most important -- to me -- is that script... tell the story, catch the viewer up in the plot, even if its a 30-second spot for a local pizza restaurant. I think a compelling story will overcome a multitude of production sins that the viewer actually may never notice.

Now, the K-01, at least the ones that were sold here in southern California, came with an invisible dose of enhanced creativity, that was activated in the owner's cerebral cortex at first glimpse of that Marc Newsom signature. Why, since I bought my K-01, a whole new world has opened up! Put a Hoodman loupe on the back, and was actually asked what kind of pro video camera I had, and where was the movie shoot! Replied that I was just taking some establishing shots for a Paramount hi-budget thriller, how robbers take the Del Mar Racetrack for millions and then escape by hijacking the Amtrak passenger train going to LA. Life is so much fun since retirement, thanks to my K-01...

[Steve.Ledger]

@Jon404
And don't forget the PNC Pistol grip to complete the picture

[jon404]

Does that grip help for your videos, compared to just holding the camera? Looks like it might...