Originally posted by Samsungian OK, Steve reluctantly, with a tear in his eye, got him a Nikon D700
Hows that?
A person who continually questioned peoples' desires for Pentax full frame just cashed out of Pentax' best gear:
K-7 & K20D & Limiteds to add Nikon D700 full frame
Pentax doesn't care if they loose people like Steve.
Pentax has a whole new group of customers thesedays (sic) that are happy to buy spray painted color cameras & plastic mount lenses.
Hi Samsungian,
How's that? -- It's pretty typical of you -- an infantile attempt to misrepresent a situation to degrade Pentax in a Pentax forum for whatever bizarre satisfaction it seems to afford you. . . but at least you spelled everything right this time -- except for the word you made up. . .
Pentax is unable to support traveling independent pros, except perhaps on a one-on-one basis if one has the standing to establish a rapport with the company, and even then it might not be exactly local and timely. They don't have the infrastructure, and don't have enough market share in enough regions to make it worthwhile for them to establish one. Their niche in DSLRs has always been advanced amateurs, and there's not much they can do to change that without spending a whole lot of money on a timely worldwide professional repair/loaner/rental support system that would give them little or no return in the short term. Establishing and staffing even one center per continent would probably not be close to cost effective, and this would still leave them far behind the big 2 in their ability to support a pro's needs in a timely manner. They also can't entice third party mfgs to support their system since they haven't been able to secure a sufficient market share to warrant this. This isn't because they're bad, it's because they're just comparatively small. Bigger may have its advantages, but isn't necessarily better. Think Lehman Brothers, Countryside, GM, Toyota, and BP -- or ask any Apple user or Subaru driver.
I don't know if a "FF" Pentax body would have made the difference, especially the entry level (for the format) body that most here seem to be concentrating on promoting/predicting, but I won't pretend to speak for Steve. . . nor anyone else for that matter.
I likely wouldn't buy one, except perhaps as a low light specialty body
if the sensor/processor is exceptionally good with low light AF performance to match the sensor's potential, the sensor-based SR works as well as it does on the smaller format, the body is at most K10/20 sized, and (as in anything) there would be a price ceiling . Any one of these could be a potential deal-breaker for me. If/when this camera appears, I'd make a final decision whether or not it might worth it for me, but I'd not give up my APS-C bodies. I'd love the ability to shoot ISO 6400 and beyond with little regard for noise.
I'm sure that many purists look down on Pentax for the multi-colored K-x marketing scheme, but purists don't make up the bulk of the market as it is developing now. I would think that Pentax USA has decided to expand the range of colors that are available in the US because there has been success with them in the Asian market. I seem to remember lot more Pentaxians scoffing at the "Storm Trooper" K2000 than the muticolored Kx. . . maybe this is a sign that times are changing -- as they inevitably do. I'm sure that these same shooters also look down on having Alex Agassi and Ashton Kutcher as the faces most associated with their respective brands to the general public, but Canon and Nikon bean counters don't seem to mind. . .what works -- works.
As far as the plastic lens mounts for kit lenses, I believe that both Canon and Nikon have offered kit/low-end lenses with plastic mounts to shave the price for the entry level buyers whose primary concern is price, but I'm sure you already knew this as a knowledgeable camera guy. . . This is neither new nor something to crow over.
I'm answering your snarky post to address the misinformation that your post contains or implies. I'll look for a real response in a few years to give you some time to grow up. . .
Scott