@ Tony Belding
K, Q and 645 mounts are all quite different, no confusion, very different systems. I think a variation of an existing mount is workable.
I'd suggest what this could use is a short register K mount, I'll call it "Ks." It can be exactly the same size and detail as normal K mount. Use legacy K lenses with a simple extension tube containing electrical contacts. Aperture-lever requirements could be managed manually, possibly automatically if they care to continue this method of aperture control but I'd say this would be a good opportunity to abandon the aperture lever and go all electronic like in the Q and newer K lenses.
You could also adapt 645 lenses to this Ks mount, even with tilt-shift ability!
You can even get some tilt-shift ability with legacy FF K (or other format) glass on this new Ks mount.
Oh, and every other 35mm format lens mount around would also work, at least in manual mode, with an adapter. People using EOS M, Fuji X, Sony E and MFT mounts are enjoying this ability already. It would be a disadvantage to restrict a new Pentax Mirrorless to K-mount only when other brands offer such flexibility.
Native Ks mount lenses could be very small pancake types, even screw-drive AF still possible for legacy support.
The (diffraction limited) Q, for all its abilities, is still not comparable to a larger APS-C sensor camera for per-pixel sharpness and low-light ability. Q7's only a bit better.
@lister6520
yes, that's one good way to do it. use something like a dovetail mount, slides in from the left side (or bottom) with a lockdown screw to prevent any tilt misalignment.
This would be a more complex and costly ecosystem to support, but could be very versatile and even allow FULL lens functionality for any current mount. Licensing issues?..
I think a bayonet system is cheaper to implement and won't have shades of the Ricoh GXR system.
@ monochrome
The reason would be increasing market and mind share, something they haven't been able to do very effectively despite having some of the best DSLR products and innovative compacts available.
This would not hurt Pentax lens sales compared to a huge number of people who currently ignore the system completely because they're not sure what benefits it has over the alternatives. It miay actually open up a bit more of a lens market for those wanting to stay with OEM lenses.
Plainly, there's lots of room for market share to improve. I see an extremely capable mirrorless body as a gateway to not only enhanced creative options with Pentax lenses, but as an ambassador of sorts, allowing people to use it with a variety of lenses for a variety of purposes. If it can do very good video, and I mean it needs to
excel at this as well as stills, then it'll gain some extra traction with the low budget video production crowd are now happily buying Canon, Nikon and Sony products.
Full WiFi ability, NFC, maybe touch-screen interface, and some other tricks would also enhance the product's market appeal to younger users.
Ricoh Pentax has the ability to produce such a product. I don't think it would cost much more R&D than some other mirrorless or SLR product, and the payback could really launch them to better market share.
The original K-01 is an excellent camera handicapped by no EVF, jelly video, and the longest register distance around, making it unappealing to nigh impossible to use lenses other than K mount.
They could get it right next time or lose this burgeoning segment to the competition who are already on track with viable products tho each has their own handicap.
A Ks-02 could scoop all the capabilities and be highly competitive.
I hope to have a chat with my local rep sometime in April. He's very good at not telling me anything.
But a twinkle in the eye can belie the silence if the correct questions are asked. From a previous encounter, discussing the merits of short-register mirrorless like Fuji's X-mount, I got a sense this is a direction Ricoh Pentax might also be considering.