[Adam]

Here's the full overview of the interview, with pictures:
Interview with Pentax at Photokina - The Video - Pentax Camera News & Rumors - PentaxForums.com

You Tube

You Tube

Enjoy!

Adam
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[rvannatta]

I would hope that ultimately a transcript appears. English with a thick Japanese accent isn't something I can understand readily.

[JPT]

Thanks very much for the interview, Adam. I thought the questions were well chosen and they answered quite fully. I'm looking forward to seeing what difference the HD coating will make.

I don't interpret the "no plans yet" comments about full frame as being anything too serious. That's a standard thing they have to say until they are ready to announce a product. Remember they have made the mistake of showing a full frame camera too early and then disappointing everyone before, so they will be very wary of doing it again. Also it would seriously undermine their launch of the K-5 II, which is supposed to be their flagship camera.

I was hoping to hear more about Ricoh cameras at Photokina. No Ricoh products have come out this year except the APS-C zoom module, which was delayed from 2011 anyway. They have now released everything they had on their roadmap and they've just said that a K-mount module is not a priority. You can see why some Ricoh fans fear the worst. On the other hand, they are still proudly showing the GXR at trade shows and it has a decent retail presence in Japan. Did you get a sense that the GXR has much of a future?

[Sol Invictus]

Thanks very much for the interview, Adam. I thought the questions were well chosen and they answered quite fully. I'm looking forward to seeing what difference the HD coating will make.

I don't interpret the "no plans yet" comments about full frame as being anything too serious. That's a standard thing they have to say until they are ready to announce a product. Remember they have made the mistake of showing a full frame camera too early and then disappointing everyone before, so they will be very wary of doing it again. Also it would seriously undermine their launch of the K-5 II, which is supposed to be their flagship camera.

I was hoping to hear more about Ricoh cameras at Photokina. No Ricoh products have come out this year except the APS-C zoom module, which was delayed from 2011 anyway. They have now released everything they had on their roadmap and they've just said that a K-mount module is not a priority. You can see why some Ricoh fans fear the worst. On the other hand, they are still proudly showing the GXR at trade shows and it has a decent retail presence in Japan. Did you get a sense that the GXR has much of a future?

But don't you think they could have said something like, "It's something we're in the early stages of investigating right now"? Just something to keep the hope alive? It would have given people thinking of switching for FF a reason to hang on while still ensuring the K5II sells as it's their flagship for the foreseeable future. I think the Fuji guy said what the Pentax honchos should have said.

The "no plans yet" is what they have been saying for ever and it has turned out to be true year after year. I don't see why it would be different this year or next or the next...

[Zygonyx]

Good question JPT.
There seem to be quite a "paradox" between the very positive intention to "listen to, and exchange with customers" ; and the achievement of decent ROI on their product lines, therefore having the sufficiently wide "customers basis" to talk to...

[Sol Invictus]

Thanks very much for the interview, Adam. I thought the questions were well chosen and they answered quite fully. I'm looking forward to seeing what difference the HD coating will make.

I don't interpret the "no plans yet" comments about full frame as being anything too serious. That's a standard thing they have to say until they are ready to announce a product. Remember they have made the mistake of showing a full frame camera too early and then disappointing everyone before, so they will be very wary of doing it again. Also it would seriously undermine their launch of the K-5 II, which is supposed to be their flagship camera.

I was hoping to hear more about Ricoh cameras at Photokina. No Ricoh products have come out this year except the APS-C zoom module, which was delayed from 2011 anyway. They have now released everything they had on their roadmap and they've just said that a K-mount module is not a priority. You can see why some Ricoh fans fear the worst. On the other hand, they are still proudly showing the GXR at trade shows and it has a decent retail presence in Japan. Did you get a sense that the GXR has much of a future?

Oh, and I totally want the GXR line to suceed and continue. It's a great product and should, at the very least be the building block of future Pentax mirrorless cameras. If they announce a K mount or a full-frame M module it will be my next purchase.

[ENicolas]

"No plans yet" probably means "No plans yet". As in "We currently have no plans to do that".

[Pål Jensen]

A FF DSLR for a ~5% marketshare player simply isn't viable if the camera is going to be competitive. Pentax also have to release a bunch of FF lenses along with the camera. They need to be more sucessfull in volume market before FF is a realistic options. That means more APS camera that sells even better than todays models.

[ogl]

I think - no Pentax FF next year...It could be K-3 APS-C and 645DII.

[jeff knight]

A FF DSLR for a ~5% marketshare player simply isn't viable if the camera is going to be competitive. Pentax also have to release a bunch of FF lenses along with the camera. They need to be more sucessfull in volume market before FF is a realistic options. That means more APS camera that sells even better than todays models.

This is so very true. Why can't people understand this!?

Pentax has been put through the wringer changing owners while other more established companies have remained stable. This has put Pentax at a disadvantage and has put them behind the curve a little bit. It also seems obvious, at least to me, that a fine Japanese company like Pentax Ricoh needs to be treated with respect if you want to convince them to listen to your needs. The loud complainers on this forum (me included) run the risk of making themselves look utterly foolish and without credibility.

This forum can hurt Pentax terribly, and especially newcomers to Pentax, by too much negativity here. It would probably be better for some of the FF fanatics to go ahead and move on to other systems. Maybe it's time for more new Pentax users and new blood.

[ogl]

This is so very true. Why can't people understand this!?
.

FF is already close to 10% of market or even bigger. It's rather high result.
5% - it was several years ago.

Canon, Nikon and Sony have 90% of DSLR market, more than 10% of cameras are FF.

[Na Horuk]

Great stuff, can't wait to go through the interview! But I also hope to see an English transcript

[karma13612]

Well, I got good vibes from the interview.
And I now know that it will pay to keep asking for full frame. They want and welcome our feedback, so lets provide it!

Full frame or bust!

and thanks to Adam and the two forums for representing we users at Photokina

[Pablom]

FF is already close to 10% of market. It's rather high result.
5% - it was several years ago.

I believe he was referring to Pentax's share in the DSLR market

[netrex]

A nice interview, good job on it =) (similar settings on the cameras would be nice though :P Very yellow image on the right camera). Thanks for posting it

It's sad that they've started using a new CPU that can't be used for all purposes, so now I have to choose a camera either for the best image quality, or video functionality :/ Both are important to me, but I can't afford two new bodies (I do want a K-5 IIs for no AA, but with the video functionality of the K-01/K-30). Maybe a K-3 with 24 megapixels (and no AA, but I doubt that will happen) can use double CPU's and then get the best of both, also, for video, binning, not line skipping. I'd buy a full frame (so I'd get wider angle on my 35mm tilt/shift), but it's not important for me.

Edit: Also, the Japanese accent was not a problem understanding.