[kavolis]

Great interview. Now I know: no FF body in next 2 years.

And if that mysterious something what is not on the roadmap is a FF body and FF covering lenses, Pentax, you better say it, because those pentax-guys who are deeper in photography (freelance photographers, fineart makers) are switching to canikon too often, i.e. Pentax is loosing those users who WILL buy high-end lenses and other stuff - you do not need a pro gear to shoot pussies, puppies, kids, sunsets, flowers, or parade in your city. All they need is faster and more accurate AF, greater resolution, i.e. all what goes with high-end FF body.

Personally I will not switch to other brand, because Pentax has all I need (or Sigma has , but there is enough pentaxians who now waits a response from canon (5D MKIII) and then they will deside to go with canon or nikon.

[ducdao]

Actually I liked his answer on full frame. Basically it was "We're not going to do it just to do it, we're going to do it when we can make it successful in our own way." I think that's as best we can hope for as Pentax fans. From what he said, I personally think we can expect a full frame camera some time down the line.

But if you want a full frame camera this year or maybe even next year, YES, definitely look at companies who already sell full frame. Especially if you want a huge beast for professionals that has 36 MP because I can't imagine Pentax creating anything like that.
Don't delay, do it! Otherwise it will just turn into resentment toward Pentax that they don't deserve.

Personally my current plans include picking up a used Canon 5D to have fun with full frame and to continue on with my Pentax stuff so I can take advantage of the exciting new products that will be coming down the pike from Pentax/Ricoh. I am particularly interested in this new limited zoom, which, besides the super telephoto and possibly the XS lens line, seems like the most ambitious and promising item on the lens roadmap.

That's what I did. Bought an used 5D and moved on. I now have both Pentax DSLR and a 5D, the joy of Pentax lenses and FF at very reasonable price.

[Raffwal]

So, what did the dude actually SAY? Lots of nice chatter with rather little content. Two concrete points which I noted were that DSLRs will still be made - as many have taken as a given - and that no FF mirrorless is in the pipeline. Anything else really?

[ak_kiwi]

To all that made the interview possible, thank you!
Personally, I will wait and give Pentax at least 12 months under their new company owners, plus the time to get over earthquakes etc before evaluating their performance.
My 'waiting' time has nothing to do with two kids that now want their own cameras to go out shooting with Dad and Granpa!

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Last edited by ak_kiwi; 02-20-2012 at 10:26 AM.

[Urkeldaedalus]

So, what did the dude actually SAY? Lots of nice chatter with rather little content. Two concrete points which I noted were that DSLRs will still be made - as many have taken as a given - and that no FF mirrorless is in the pipeline. Anything else really?

Well on the K-01, basically he talked about Pentax making it a little bit larger than the competition on purpose, in order to take advantage of mirrorless benefits. What are those mirrorless benefits? He didn't say, but I'm guessing the XS lenses with the rear elements extended may provide a clue.

That doesn't explain the no EVF, but he didn't really address that.

That combined with him saying they will keep making cameras with lenses reveals some of their thoughts on the APS-C line. To them, I think the K-01 is sort of an experiment searching for its own niche, not something that is going to take the market by storm. Their bread and butter for the near future will still be the K-5 type of camera, IMO.

Also I was interested in him saying that they will now be focusing on all their camera lines at the same time. This suggests that before due to limited resources they had to switch from each project, which is probably why stuff took so long to come out.

Oh, and they consider the limited wide zoom as the successor to the DA*16-50. That is interesting to me.

In general, I thought it was cool to see him talk about what Pentax thinks about itself, such as promising to be unique and well made. It's not just an accident that they are weird, in other words, they do it on purpose and take pride in it

I'd have to watch it again, but those were some things that jumped out at me.

[ElJamoquio]

Great interview. Now I know: no FF body in next 2 years.

He shot down the mirrorless full frame unequivocally.

"As the planning person, [mirrorless full-frame] is not under our current development roadmap."

On the other hand, when asked about the full-frame, he responded in marketing-speak about what qualities something would have to have in order to be brought to market.

[ElJamoquio]

...Of course there are things that aren't on the roadmap

[ManuH]

Good questions were asked during the interview but very little answers came. It was like interviewing a politician, you get the canned lines but not much new information if at all.

[Kunzite]

Anyone seriously expected Pentax to release its secret plans before time, in an interview?
It was a nice interview, well done and thanks. End of story.

[falconeye]

Of course, it was great a manager from Pentax spoke to us, or to Adam representing us.

However, I am a bit disappointed too.

If I am not mistaken, Hiraku Kawauchi became product manager in March 2009 when Hoya took over and I learn now, still is. He may have absorbed Hoya thinking too much and be not used to more stratregic planning with visionary products Pentax used to be known for.

When confronted with "full frame", he actually laughed! What level of ignorance is this? As if Pentax would still exist w/o the support from the internet fan base ...

So, Pentax is fully aware of what their audience wants to see and still decides it would be better ignored.

The politically correct answer (he did read ALL his answers btw as if he feared us ...) was "we do it if we can fill a niche". That's worth nothing. With this logic, the K-5 wouldn't exist because the D7000 exists.

IMHO, one would have had to ask the question why again Pentax decided to miss the FF boat with the new Sony 36MP sensor. But that would have been an too unpolite a question of course. ...


I really hope Hiraku Kawauchisigns up here right at PF. He's manager product planning and it is here he meets his market. We better enter into a dialogue now than to publish monologs ...

[RXrenesis8]

The laughter was the most telling part of this interview. Well, that and the announcement of the new AF system in the 560.

[Urkeldaedalus]

Of course, it was great a manager from Pentax spoke to us, or to Adam representing us.

However, I am a bit disappointed too.

If I am not mistaken, Hiraku Kawauchi became product manager in March 2009 when Hoya took over and I learn now, still is. He may have absorbed Hoya thinking too much and be not used to more stratregic planning with visionary products Pentax used to be known for.

When confronted with "full frame", he actually laughed! What level of ignorance is this? As if Pentax would still exist w/o the support from the internet fan base ...

So, Pentax is fully aware of what their audience wants to see and still decides it would be better ignored.

The politically correct answer (he did read ALL his answers btw as if he feared us ...) was "we do it if we can fill a niche". That's worth nothing. With this logic, the K-5 wouldn't exist because the D7000 exists.

IMHO, one would have had to ask the question why again Pentax decided to miss the FF boat with the new Sony 36MP sensor. But that would have been an too unpolite a question of course. ...


I really hope Hiraku Kawauchisigns up here right at PF. He's manager product planning and it is here he meets his market. We better enter into a dialogue now than to publish monologs ...

I took the laughter to be a little bit more benign than you did. Like, I knew you were going to ask me that. The question was even asked in a way that would make him laugh: "You know there's this elephant in the room I'm going to ask you about, right?" "Yeah, yeah I know."

Were you expecting tears of contrition for letting you down?

I want full frame, too, and I think Pentax fans should keep pushing for it. But like I said, it might not happen and if it does it may take awhile. Better to buy a different full frame camera instead of being bitter about it.

[Kunzite]

"Don't ever dare to laugh on me!"
Ignorance? Really, this forum is something - always trying to invent reasons to be unsatisfied with something.
FFS, it was just a natural reaction to that question. Maybe because the way it was formulated, maybe because he expected it, maybe because he can only give a standard, non-committal answer. He/Pentax certainly knows FF is important, after the laugh he actually said that.

[Zygonyx]

To all that made the interview possible, thank you!
Personally, I will wait and give Pentax at least 12 months under their new company owners, plus the time to get over earthquakes etc before evaluating their performance.
My 'waiting' time has nothing to do with two kids that now want their own cameras to go out shooting with Dad and Granpa!

+1
Many thanks to Adam & Pentax Forums for this interview.

[Sol Invictus]

So can we now safely assume the new DA* 16-something lens will be an f/2.8?

The interview hinted strongly at it being a replacement for the 16-50mm. An f/4 can hardly be considered a replacement for an f/2.8 lens.

The performance, price and SDM issues of the 16-50mm scared me off. However I badly wanted a WR, high quality, fast lens in that range. I'm really looking forward to this!

Oh and great job on the interview!