Originally posted by rawr Good points. The quirky strategy certainly maintained sales and market visibility without requiring too much R&D expense.
But another Pentax trait is a willingness and ability to keep things on the back-burner for a long time until the technology and marketplace is ready for them to achieve what they want. The 645D and the Q are a case in point - both sat in the Pentax labs for a LONG time until the right sensor etc came along for what they wanted to achieve.
It is entirely possible that the same thing may be happening with their full-frame plans. They built a FF prototype a long time ago but judged that the sensors and other technology at the time were not great so they didn't launch a product. Maybe now they may be feeling differently, particularly if Sony is cooking up newer, cheaper, better FF sensors that they may be able to use.
Agree. I also suspect Pentax has a FF project on the backburner, waiting for the right circumstances and the right mix of specs.
It's hard though to tell what that right mix ought to be. If I were Pentax and reading this thread, the impression I get would be there is no clear consensus on what sort of full frame camera would appeal to the (limited sample size) of the users of this forum.
Producing a camera that can compete directly against Canon and Nikon pro models (the K-1?) - that would require a lot of money and frankly I am not sure Pentax is capable of it even if they had the money. Just in the area of AF, even though the K-5 has improved over previous models, anyone who has used the high end Canikon gear will attest that the K-5 is not in the same league and I am not sure what Pentax can do - I get the feeling the K-5 represents the best they can tweak their existing AF mechanism to and they will struggle to find further improvements without a completely new design, SDM Mark II etc.
A full frame equivalent of the K-5 (K-3?). That won't require a lot of cost or time to design, and would appeal to users with legacy FA glass. Would it be able to compete? I doubt it - K-5 features/specs with a full frame sensor would be distinctly underwhelming. That sort of model is more likely to lose street cred rather than win awards.
A mirrorless full frame accepting FA glass? Intriguing, but again likely to meet with a mixed reaction. I can already imagine the scorn that some users on this forum will pour on it.
A pellicle mirror design like Sony? Hmm, even more quirky and even more of a mixed reaction.
A Leica like rangefinder? Sorry, but Pentax doesn't have the brand goodwill that Leica has - I used the M9 for a few weeks and it's a mediocre camera with a mediocre sensor - the only redeeming feature is the amazing quality at base ISO with Leica glass.
If Pentax do produce a full frame (in any of the above variants), I will probably buy it (only because I own FA glass), but then hey I also find the Q exciting and planning to buy it, and I think we've already established I am not the "norm" in my buying preferences. :-)
With the resources that Pentax apparently has poured into the Q, yes arguably they could have made a full frame camera. But the Q is a bolder move, and arguably smarter. It remains to be seen whether the market Pentax believe exist for the Q is truly there. Early signs are encouraging - there's a healthy level of interest in the first week of release in Japan even in the environment of a very likely severe recession as a result of the earthquake/tsunami/nuclear reactor leaks. And the camera itself is a typical Pentax product - quirky, yet with surprisingly good image quality.
Last edited by Christine Tham; 09-07-2011 at 01:10 PM.