[Vantage-Point]

Dear Pentax Ricoh,
Can you make two mirrorless cameras: 1. Pentax K-02 with 16 to 20 megapixel copper wiring back side illuminated APS-C CMOS chip (with very good high ISO abilities) and 3 to 5 axis stabilization. A better grip, a EVF, wi-fi ,and no rubber flaps used to close compartments. Improved auto focus, focus peaking, focus tracking and select point(s) auto focus. 2. A Pentax mirrorless Full Frame between 16 to 22 megapixels copper wiring Backside Illuminated CMOS chip and 5 axis stabilization. More auto focus points than the K-02, wireless flash capabilities, wi-fi, great high ISO abilities, and the other features of the K-02. I would not want you to make a new mount for these cameras but use the k mount. The three biggest problems with the K-01 in my opinion were: It was not properly advertised/promoted. The fact that the K-01 was a mirrorless camera that used DSLR lenses without having to use a adapter was revolutionary. Pentax has a reasonable amount of small lenses that worked well with it from the DA 15 to the DA 18-135 mm lens and small legacy lenses. The camera is a compact size for a camera that has in body stabilization and a APS-C sensor. 2. the K-01 needed a EVF. Most Pentax users are used to using a OVF, so having a camera with no view finder was a deal breaker. 3. The starting price of the K-01 was too much for what the camera offered. The K-01 also needed to have the public events at camera events and camera stores (like you are going with the K-1) so people can hold the camera and get a feel for it. Just my 2 cents.

[shaolen]

Dear Pentax Ricoh,
Can you make two mirrorless cameras: 1. Pentax K-02 with 16 to 20 megapixel copper wiring back side illuminated APS-C CMOS chip (with very good high ISO abilities) and 3 to 5 axis stabilization. A better grip, a EVF, wi-fi ,and no rubber flaps used to close compartments. Improved auto focus, focus peaking, focus tracking and select point(s) auto focus. 2. A Pentax mirrorless Full Frame between 16 to 22 megapixels copper wiring Backside Illuminated CMOS chip and 5 axis stabilization. More auto focus points than the K-02, wireless flash capabilities, wi-fi, great high ISO abilities, and the other features of the K-02. I would not want you to make a new mount for these cameras but use the k mount. The three biggest problems with the K-01 in my opinion were: It was not properly advertised/promoted. The fact that the K-01 was a mirrorless camera that used DSLR lenses without having to use a adapter was revolutionary. Pentax has a reasonable amount of small lenses that worked well with it from the DA 15 to the DA 18-135 mm lens and small legacy lenses. The camera is a compact size for a camera that has in body stabilization and a APS-C sensor. 2. the K-01 needed a EVF. Most Pentax users are used to using a OVF, so having a camera with no view finder was a deal breaker. 3. The starting price of the K-01 was too much for what the camera offered. The K-01 also needed to have the public events at camera events and camera stores (like you are going with the K-1) so people can hold the camera and get a feel for it. Just my 2 cents.

Make viewfinder optional (via hot shoe). I like the K-01 without viewfinder

[kadajawi]

How many still camera with a large sensor do a full sensor read on video? Even the best like GH4 and Sony A7s or A7rII don't really do a full sensor read, they do a full read on a crop...

So A7s/A7rII get more like real APSC sensor for video and GH4 get equivalent of full read on a 1" sensor...

The MF sensor are not designed for video. Reality is the circuitery and processing power to do that would be enormous and affect the still image picture quality. (less part of the sensor surface dedicated for photon gathering, heavy need for cooling down the sensor, more expensive design with lower yield rates). Even the most advanced sensor from A7R-Ii don't do it there too many photosites to do that. So either you are a manufacturer, make a business plan and ask for Sony to make you a low pixel count MF sensor like a 8MP MF one and dedicate it mostly for video and try to sell it as such to videographers... or you ask Sony for a 51, 80 or 100MP MF sensor, and try to sell it as such to photographers.

I know thar you guys video gear heard think that everything should be made first and foremost for video because of course it does cost nothing, because your client ask for it and you'll never buy a camera that doesn't do video better than any dedicated video camera, because you use it all the time and everybody and their mother need 4K (hey why not 8K ?) video on their MF camera with a clean HDMI out for the dedicated recorder plugged to it.

But this is not how things work for the moment.

The Samsung NX1 does a full sensor read on video. IIRC some newer Sonys too?

I don't think the MF camera should do video at all. The feature seems developed for live view, which could actually be useful in studio (where these cameras will get good use). Pentax just thought, the sensor delivers video, sort of, and the processor can process video, because it's the same as what we use in our APS-C cameras, so why not enable it? (I like the attitude, and wish they'd do the same for video SR...). But useful it is not.

Arri has a large sensor video camera, but IIRC that's made by sticking 3 APS-C sensors together.

4K in general isn't that important yet anyway. 1080p is fine.

[Nicolas06]

The Samsung NX1 does a full sensor read on video. IIRC some newer Sonys too?

I don't think the MF camera should do video at all. The feature seems developed for live view, which could actually be useful in studio (where these cameras will get good use). Pentax just thought, the sensor delivers video, sort of, and the processor can process video, because it's the same as what we use in our APS-C cameras, so why not enable it? (I like the attitude, and wish they'd do the same for video SR...). But useful it is not.

Arri has a large sensor video camera, but IIRC that's made by sticking 3 APS-C sensors together.

4K in general isn't that important yet anyway. 1080p is fine.

Yeah apparently the NX1 does it, but what Sony with a large sensor do you speak of? A7s, A7R-II look like they do a crop... Even the new A6300 can't do a full read at 30fps... You have to reduce the framerate for that.

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Last edited by Nicolas06; 04-03-2016 at 04:59 AM.

[PiDicus Rex]

So A7s/A7rII get more like real APSC sensor for video and GH4 get equivalent of full read on a 1" sensor...

Err,. no.
And especially NO! with the A7s.
It uses the WHOLE sensor for video, if you want to crop to APS-c, there's an option to do that in the menus, either On, Off, Or Auto, the latter where the camera switches to APS-c crop when it detects vignetting.

The paragraph that followed, you know you just described what Sony did to make the A7s from the A7? The 's' is only 12Mp.

---------- Post added 04-04-16 at 07:07 PM ----------

Dear Pentax Ricoh, Can you make two mirrorless cameras: (etcetc)

That first list,... is pretty much a K-01 with the firmware issues corrected.

---------- Post added 04-04-16 at 07:10 PM ----------

Make viewfinder optional (via hot shoe). I like the K-01 without viewfinder

Mount on the hotshoe, with a feed from the HDMI port, then they could sell the same unit to huge audience, K-01 owners, Q owners, or anybody with a camera with a HDMI output.
It'd just need to be priced decently, unlike the bespoke viewfinders from companies like Zacuto.

---------- Post added 04-04-16 at 07:14 PM ----------

I don't think the MF camera should do video at all...........4K in general isn't that important yet anyway. 1080p is fine.

MF as a 4K would be like shooting 70mm film, and that would make it VERY popular.
I actually know several guys with MF film camera who would love to be able to shoot 1080 or 4K, just to separate their works 'look' from the crowd on Reds and the like.

4K is gathering speed, 6K is available from Kinefinity and Red, and 8K from Red and Sony, but the prices are heart attack inducing.
Long term, I think 4K will be a productions standard, and 6/8K will be cameras from rental houses for Cinema production.

[kerttamm]

Dear Pentax Ricoh,
Can you make two mirrorless cameras: 1. Pentax K-02 with 16 to 20 megapixel copper wiring back side illuminated APS-C CMOS chip (with very good high ISO abilities) and 3 to 5 axis stabilization. A better grip, a EVF, wi-fi ,and no rubber flaps used to close compartments. Improved auto focus, focus peaking, focus tracking and select point(s) auto focus. 2. A Pentax mirrorless Full Frame between 16 to 22 megapixels copper wiring Backside Illuminated CMOS chip and 5 axis stabilization. More auto focus points than the K-02, wireless flash capabilities, wi-fi, great high ISO abilities, and the other features of the K-02. I would not want you to make a new mount for these cameras but use the k mount. The three biggest problems with the K-01 in my opinion were: It was not properly advertised/promoted. The fact that the K-01 was a mirrorless camera that used DSLR lenses without having to use a adapter was revolutionary. Pentax has a reasonable amount of small lenses that worked well with it from the DA 15 to the DA 18-135 mm lens and small legacy lenses. The camera is a compact size for a camera that has in body stabilization and a APS-C sensor. 2. the K-01 needed a EVF. Most Pentax users are used to using a OVF, so having a camera with no view finder was a deal breaker. 3. The starting price of the K-01 was too much for what the camera offered. The K-01 also needed to have the public events at camera events and camera stores (like you are going with the K-1) so people can hold the camera and get a feel for it. Just my 2 cents.

I personally would prefer if they would make it a new lens mount with sufficiently smaller flange distance to allow adaption of majority of legacy glass. That said - I would hope they would take a page out of third party lens accessory makers book and make an official Pentax focal reducer (full frame down to APS-C size) sold with that new body as a kit that allows one to use K-mount lens with full functionality. Alternatively they could market also the (cheaper) kit without that focal reducer and with just one single new kit lens for this new mount (say, 16 - 50mm seems to be popular).

It would be still cheaper than FF camera but would allow one to use legacy glass on the mirror-less body and get reasonably close to FF FOV. The added advantage is also approx 1 stop of extra light if focusing the FF image circle down to APS-C size.

The base body should be reasonably small - not as small as micro 4/3 bodies but it would be good if there would be an option for attaching some extra grip (say, with extra battery in it, for example) for better handling when small size is not prerequisite.

Ofc it would be nice to have also FF Pentax mirrorless and in the case of FF the K-mount would sort of make sense (or it could just use the new mount as well and a just a mechanical adapter for getting the correct flange distance for more options.

Electronic viewfinder accessory would be required as well ofc.

[Nicolas06]

Err,. no.
And especially NO! with the A7s.
It uses the WHOLE sensor for video, if you want to crop to APS-c, there's an option to do that in the menus, either On, Off, Or Auto, the latter where the camera switches to APS-c crop when it detects vignetting.

The paragraph that followed, you know you just described what Sony did to make the A7s from the A7? The 's' is only 12Mp.

So I checked again...

A7sII (not first version) does full sensor read out for 30,25,24p as per Sony website. This is not said for A7s.

Looking at imaging resources there still not an 1.5 crop factor (sorry) but 1.1 crop factor applied for A7s, first version. No full sensor read.

Full-frame Sony A7S bucks trend with fewer, larger pixels for great low-light shooting, native 4K video. So basically you WA 24mm lens become almost a 27mm... That's to remember.

And remember this is for dedicated camera with poor still sharpness to compensate.

No less important is the fact that the chip can output extremely high-quality, 16:9-aspect, 4K video without line-skipping, pixel binning or downsampling. It's not quite a native sensor readout, as there's still an approximate 1.1x focal length crop, but it's the closest to full-sensor width video we've yet seen from a full-frame imager. (By contrast, Canon's EOS-1D C has a 1.3x focal length crop for 4K video, using only an APS-H sized area of the sensor.) The A7S' near-full width 4K mode means you maintain most of the wide-angle capability of your lenses, have more of the shallower depth of field of full-frame area, and still avoid the sort of artifacts caused by the line-skipping approach used in all other DSLRs for their Full HD output.

[PiDicus Rex]

I've not seen any difference in frame width or any sign of cropping when switching between Movie Mode and Manual Stills Mode on the A7s I've been using.
If it's cropped, it's always cropped.
But as the original A7s has no IBIS at all, there would be no need to crop the sensor anyway.

I'd hardly call the A7s sharpness 'poor'. But you do have to compare it to other 4K cinema cameras - the FS-5, Kinefinity, GH-4, Cion, BMD4K, Ursa4K, Red's,... and not against high megapixel cameras like the A7r or 5D3.

Against it's 4K competitors, it holds up pretty good indeed, only loosing out in the colourspace due to the 8-bit output of the HDMI.

[rlg118]

It would be really handy if I could use the Q7's Quick Dial to store camera settings and shooting modes (like U1 and U2 on the K50) instead of picture settings.