Originally posted by mecrox
Hmm, I wonder if the K3 is going to turn out to be mythical. DSLR sales are down, so folks are saying, and Nikon and perhaps others are quite likely to have excess inventory which they could try to sell out at a discount in the fall. Not really a great time to be launching a fully specced 100-gun man-o'-war at a full price then.
Ricoh goal: make money
Pentax enthusiast goal: amazing new camera gear that shames the competition at 2/3 the cost
Those two may not be mutually compatible. I'm guessing Ricoh will go with the 'make money' thing. And while many on this forum are eager for a new flagship, with emphasis on the 'new', either FF or APS-C the reality might be that the numbers just don't work. So yeah, maybe we do get a k-5III with 16mp sensor and minor improvements.
If the numbers quoted for slowing sales are correct then it is a cost/benefit calculation. Release an improved model of a totally safe design with sunk costs already expensed and a predictable sales record or release a new unproven design, incur new setup and manufacturing costs, and take a risk on the new camera not selling to expectations.
I know what I would vote for if I was in the Ricoh decision making tree, but it's probably a good thing I'm not.