[Kunzite]

In Hoya era, Pentax said things like "we would launch a FF camera if we believe we would make a profit out of it" and "for now, the 645D is a priority - a FF will have to wait". I can't remember any flat no coming from Pentax.
I agree with Quicksand, Pål and JinDesu, there's no "we'll go mirrorless NOW at any cost", on the contrary - and that's good news for me. I'm not very surprised to see the rumour actually turned out to be quite different than the real thing.

And thank you very much, v5planet, for your excellent job (I tried to learn some Japanese and I know it's not a trivial task - the language itself is beautiful, but different than "western" languages). I can't wait to see the second part, there should be more interesting "hints" (100% viewfinders even for entry levels?).

[jsherman999]

The different interpretations of this here are interesting.... I'm not sure how many more hints could be dropped without him coming out and openly saying it, which he probably can't do right now for various reasons.

It appears some folks need a "We will release a FF (DSLR/mirrorless) at midnight, DD/MM/YYYY!!!" statement before they will be satisfied. Anything less contains too much ambiguity, no matter who it comes from or how many hints are dropped. So be it. The "Pentax will never release a FF camera" position's days are numbered, IMO.




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[v5planet]

There's more coming guys, sorry for the delays.

[sjwaldron]

There's more coming guys, sorry for the delays.

Well done so far. I tried some translation but didn't get past the first third of the page. For some reason when I copied the text it would get jumbled up. Maybe it's my PDF reader I'm using.

[v5planet]

Well done so far. I tried some translation but didn't get past the first third of the page. For some reason when I copied the text it would get jumbled up. Maybe it's my PDF reader I'm using.

No, it's not just you. The text gets very jumbled copying and pasting for some reason, including some flat out errors with individual characters. I've had to retype most of it.

[Adam]

Thanks for posting this, I'm going to mention it on the homepage in a bit. Finally something that's not pure speculation!

[manishved]

Thank you V5planet....

[elho_cid]

Thanks for this job. It seams to me as an interview with questions leading to an answer.

Yes, very true. But I have positive feeling about the answers. Very sensible, no crazy ideas as the interviewer suggested.

[Aristophanes]

The different interpretations of this here are interesting.... I'm not sure how many more hints could be dropped without him coming out and openly saying it, which he probably can't do right now for various reasons.

It appears some folks need a "We will release a FF (DSLR/mirrorless) at midnight, DD/MM/YYYY!!!" statement before they will be satisfied. Anything less contains too much ambiguity, no matter who it comes from or how many hints are dropped. So be it. The "Pentax will never release a FF camera" position's days are numbered, IMO.
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The entire interview is ambiguous and verging on the contradictory:

In many talks during the preparation for this interview, I was left with one impression that stood out, which is that there is still much that can be done to miniaturize SLR cameras more and more.

And later:

Well, regarding the 645, sooner or later we will want to make it into a mirrorless. The reason is the mirror shock inherent to SLRs. Those very tiny vibrations do have an effect on the final image. I think in the future I would like to pursue mirrorless full-frame and 645 cameras.

So FF, if Pentax goes that way (no commitment whatsoever in the interview) will likely be mirrorless, not K-mount.

K-mount sounds to be the APS-C standard now in SLR. It might get smaller. You'll have to live with mirror shock.

Then again the whole interview was a puff piece from the tone, caveat to the translation. It spoke only to generalizations within the industry and how the tech might progress, all of which is speculation going on for 5 years plus, amongst Canikon, Sony, Pentax, and the 43 crowd.

Those hungering for FF K-mount should be most worried by this, especially as FF is more closely related in the logic to the 645 than to APS-C. And any development is a long ways away.

If I was to take any market read on this, I would say that K-mount is not high on Ricoh's list of where they want to guide Pentax. It's not why they bought the brand. It's an APS-C legacy offering now with some option to stay viable by moderate shrinkage of the form factor. It generates revenue, but it's not the future. 645 may go mirrorless, and so might FF, but with new mounts (you'd have to).

[jsherman999]

It's not an interview, it's a Rorschach test!

[Mike Cash]

No, it's not just you. The text gets very jumbled copying and pasting for some reason, including some flat out errors with individual characters. I've had to retype most of it.

I had to scratch my head for a second until I figured out 重い was a 変換ミス for 思い

[VisualDarkness]

Really interesting interview in the way both tried to be extremely sneaky.

[Oog]

Thanks for the translation v5plantet. From your translation, I get a bit of "Mums the word" (execs from other companies were also interviewed) and some speculation. Although, just mentioning possibilities of mirrorless APS-C and FF may get Canikon to turn heads and up their competitive urges to preempt Pentax's desire to "be different."

(Off topic: the preview page shows the interview with Sigma and mention of "Foveon" (the sensor?). I wonder what that's about).

I do hope 2012 - 2013 will be a year of excitement for Pentax/Ricoh.

[lurchlarson]

I would fully support a Pentax FF, even if it required a new lens mount.

Now this here is all day dreaming but imagine this scenario,

Since C&N are not making any significant jumps into the mirror-less markets, Pentax comes out with a mirrorless full frame that blows the 5dmk2 out of the water. It has a virtually silent shutter (great for birders), great high ISO (6400+), 24-36mp, shoots at least 7fps, crazy fast AF, is weatherproof, dual sd, and launches with a 28-80, 50 1.4, 85 1.4, 100mm 2.8 macro, and a 70-200 2.8. The lenses are all sporting a new focus system, "Hypersonic Drive Motor" replacement for the old SDM and all the lenses are weatherproofed. The camera is priced at $2199. Canon and Nikon, not seeing Pentax as a threat, ignore it, but the reviews for the camera+lenses are excellent, sending serious amateurs and a few pro's flocking to it. Suddenly Pentax has the #1 FF and has money to invest in even more R&D. That would be a wonderful return to the old glory days of Pentax for sure.

[lats]

I enjoyed that read.
Thanks for the translation (and notes on voice tones)

Here's hoping for something exciting this year.