[ogl]

Photokina 2012 -

DK: I have heard that you can make specifically designed lenses for the K-01, with back flange put inside the camera body, to minimize the overall dimensions of the body+lens system. Do you have a roadmap for such lenses?

SW: We showed this concept model at the show, we'd like to have some feedback from the users, but for now we don't have many. Currently, we don't plan to launch this kind of lenses for K-01. We don't want to eliminate the possibility, but for today we don't have much feedback. If it increases, of course there is a possibility to launch this kind of lenses.

[crewl1]

Thanks for the link. This interview reveals more about Pentax future plans than I saw in previous interviews.
From this one I can surmise:
1.) K-01 will be a one off product
2.) We will not see the lenses that will take advantage of the empty mirror space in K-01.
3.) Any FF camera will be an (expensive) pro high spec unit, Pentax expects APS-C to cover the entry and mid level spots as the image quality is excellent for this use
4.) No more SDM for new lenses, will use DC
5.) The Q will be supported going forward
6.) Japan market is the product focus target for Pentax, whatever that market deems desirable is how the roadmap will pan out. - Global trends are secondary

In summary, if you like what Pentax produces enjoy it in good health.
If you think your suggestions/petitions/complaints have any bearing on what Pentax does you will be disappointed.
For clues as to where Pentax is going next, rely on Japan market trends and get a good translator so you can read the Japanese photography forums.

[Kunzite]

Very interesting, thanks for posting.

crewl1, I hope they'll try the K-01 idea again, just in a more ergonomic shape and with an optional EVF. I don't think people rejected the concept, as much as the implementation... Of course, I'm sticking with DSLRs.
I'm not sure where did you get 6) ?

[crewl1]

I'm not sure where did you get 6) ?

Statements like these show that management is very Japan focused/biased and do not make a concerted effort to gauge acceptance or trends in other countries, or to design products that appeal to the global market:

We think that in Russia, you have many rich people, so this kind of people want to have status cameras.

For example, Ricoh cameras are well accepted on the Asian markets, such as Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, but not in Russia or European countries.

Being flippant and accepting of the situation as they see it, vs indicating an attempt to understand other markets and creating products that fit.
Their idea of globalization is to limit the color schemes they sell in each country !(?)

[Zygonyx]

Thanks for the link. This interview reveals more about Pentax future plans than I saw in previous interviews.
From this one I can surmise:
1.) K-01 will be a one off product
2.) We will not see the lenses that will take advantage of the empty mirror space in K-01.
3.) Any FF camera will be an (expensive) pro high spec unit, Pentax expects APS-C to cover the entry and mid level spots as the image quality is excellent for this use
4.) No more SDM for new lenses, will use DC
5.) The Q will be supported going forward
6.) Japan market is the product focus target for Pentax, whatever that market deems desirable is how the roadmap will pan out. - Global trends are secondary

In summary, if you like what Pentax produces enjoy it in good health.
If you think your suggestions/petitions/complaints have any bearing on what Pentax does you will be disappointed.
For clues as to where Pentax is going next, rely on Japan market trends and get a good translator so you can read the Japanese photography forums.

I think you speculate on somehow very vague informations, as brought by this "one more time convenient" interview.
If they put their acts together and listen to theirs clients, something should definitely change.

[mecrox]

Thanks for the link. This interview reveals more about Pentax future plans than I saw in previous interviews.
From this one I can surmise:
1.) K-01 will be a one off product
2.) We will not see the lenses that will take advantage of the empty mirror space in K-01.
3.) Any FF camera will be an (expensive) pro high spec unit, Pentax expects APS-C to cover the entry and mid level spots as the image quality is excellent for this use
4.) No more SDM for new lenses, will use DC
5.) The Q will be supported going forward
6.) Japan market is the product focus target for Pentax, whatever that market deems desirable is how the roadmap will pan out. - Global trends are secondary

In summary, if you like what Pentax produces enjoy it in good health.
If you think your suggestions/petitions/complaints have any bearing on what Pentax does you will be disappointed.
For clues as to where Pentax is going next, rely on Japan market trends and get a good translator so you can read the Japanese photography forums.

I'd guess that Pentax's new owners may not see it this way at all and so if Pentax's managers persist with a Japan-centric strategy they may find themselves looking for new employment before very long.

[crewl1]

I think you speculate on somehow very vague informations, as brought by this "one more time convenient" interview. If they put their acts together and listen to theirs clients, something should definitely change.

Don't get me wrong, I really like the Pentax products that I use.

I wish them nothing but the best, but I do tend to take a sort of pessimistic view of the future to avoid disappointment.

[LFLee]

-----------------
DK: Do you have plans to make cameras with a full frame sensor, like the recent trend you see with D600 or 6D?

SW: In terms of the entry full frame models, this kind of categories we're thinking of. In the APS sensor, there are also possibilities to evaluate a good image quality, that's why we don't actually have plans to launch a very cheap kind of full frame cameras. We also understand that the number of users increased recently so we are building technologies for the future models.

DK: But no specific models at the moment?

SW: No.
-------------------------

Enough said. Pentax should really said "No FF available in 2 yrs" or "No plan for FF at all", just be frank.

[Kunzite]

I think you speculate on somehow very vague informations.

I guess that's all we have to speculate on (well, sort of)

By the way, I like how they're thinking of various things. "Yep, we're just thinking about it... that's all we're doing..."

[Docrwm]

Thanks for the link. This interview reveals more about Pentax future plans than I saw in previous interviews.
From this one I can surmise:
1.) K-01 will be a one off product
2.) We will not see the lenses that will take advantage of the empty mirror space in K-01.
3.) Any FF camera will be an (expensive) pro high spec unit, Pentax expects APS-C to cover the entry and mid level spots as the image quality is excellent for this use
4.) No more SDM for new lenses, will use DC
5.) The Q will be supported going forward
6.) Japan market is the product focus target for Pentax, whatever that market deems desirable is how the roadmap will pan out. - Global trends are secondary

In summary, if you like what Pentax produces enjoy it in good health.
If you think your suggestions/petitions/complaints have any bearing on what Pentax does you will be disappointed.
For clues as to where Pentax is going next, rely on Japan market trends and get a good translator so you can read the Japanese photography forums.

1 - Figures and makes sense given its apparently dismal sales.
2 - Follows from #1 .
3 - Expected. FF cameras cost $2500+, nothing new there.
4 - Excellent. No admission of a problem but avoidance of the faulty design going forward - excellent for those of us interested in the optical characteristics of some of the current SDM lenses but not in the failures that accompany them now. Also hints that they are looking at, or will look at, newer technologies as they emerge. Fine, just test the first - please.
5 - Good. Nice little camera.
6 - Yes. Nothing new there. But the moves with US management may signal at least some concern over how things go with Pentax in this market going forward.

[Alizarine]

6.) Japan market is the product focus target for Pentax, whatever that market deems desirable is how the roadmap will pan out. - Global trends are secondary

This has been quite the thing for Pentax even during the Hoya days. The K-x was created in different colors because they aimed at pleasing the home market - it was just by good chance that a lot of buyers worldwide also liked the idea. Personally I think they should shift to a global kind of market psychology. If they can't win home, then why not try the world? (ok now that sounded like a megalomaniac's plan...)

SW: We showed this concept model at the show, we'd like to have some feedback from the users, but for now we don't have many. Currently, we don't plan to launch this kind of lenses for K-01. We don't want to eliminate the possibility, but for today we don't have much feedback. If it increases, of course there is a possibility to launch this kind of lenses.

Time to start talking about it in 100 threads with 100 pages of incessant talk each, then maybe they'll "think" about finally making one.

they sure like the term "thinking about it". I wish they'd be more concise with their answers.

[pinholecam]

Thanks for sharing.
This has got to be the best interview out of the few posted so far.

Very to the point from both interviewer and Pentax rep.

[cfraz]

* The questions were more direct (and follow-up questions clarified) and accordingly Mr. Wakashiro's responses were much less ambiguous than in the PF interview.

* It looks like Mr. Wakashiro responded directly in English, rather than through a Japanese translator as in the PF interview. Less room for meaning lost in translation this way.

4.) No more SDM for new lenses, will use DC

He said it is possible they will use SDM in future lenses. For the current new lenses, it's DC, though for higher performance lenses would use something else.

6.) Japan market is the product focus target for Pentax, whatever that market deems desirable is how the roadmap will pan out. - Global trends are secondary

I didn't pick this up at all, though it's clear that in the past Pentax has been much more Japan-market-centric than Nikon and Canon. But appointing Mr. Noboru Akahane, Pentax Ricoh Imaging President, as P-USA President, and appointing a VP of P-USA that has been involved in the Ricoh/Pentax integration, and who directly reports to Mr. Akahane sends a completely unambiguous message that Pentax management intends to take the USA market seriously.

There is no way they would make that move without intending to elevate P-USA performance - there is too much at stake for Mr. Akahane's reputation and therby his influence in the company for it to be a half-hearted move.

[Docrwm]

* The questions were more direct (and follow-up questions clarified) and accordingly Mr. Wakashiro's responses were much less ambiguous than in the PF interview.

* It looks like Mr. Wakashiro responded directly in English, rather than through a Japanese translator as in the PF interview. Less room for meaning lost in translation this way.

He said it is possible they will use SDM in future lenses. For the current new lenses, it's DC, though for higher performance lenses would use something else.

I didn't pick this up at all, though it's clear that in the past Pentax has been much more Japan-market-centric than Nikon and Canon. But appointing Mr. Noboru Akahane, Pentax Ricoh Imaging President, as P-USA President, and appointing a VP of P-USA that has been involved in the Ricoh/Pentax integration, and who directly reports to Mr. Akahane sends a completely unambiguous message that Pentax management intends to take the USA market seriously.

There is no way they would make that move without intending to elevate P-USA performance - there is too much at stake for Mr. Akahane's reputation and therby his influence in the company for it to be a half-hearted move.

I agree that this interview was more straightforward. Often it is much more productive to interview one person than to have a panel.

On the issue of P-USA market being taken more seriously....perhaps. An alternative explanation is that it was the most disorganized and underperforming division in Pentax-Ricoh and they are merely going to straighten it out and then hand it over. I like your view on it better, but we don't really know what the reasoning behind the move was - nor are we likely to any time in the future for that matter.

[ogl]

In summary, if you like what Pentax produces enjoy it in good health.
If you think your suggestions/petitions/complaints have any bearing on what Pentax does you will be disappointed.
For clues as to where Pentax is going next, rely on Japan market trends and get a good translator so you can read the Japanese photography forums.

8. 645DII will be next year (already planning).
9. NO FF next year (no such plan) - if they make it later, it will be expensive.



I see specific questions and clear answers....PF's interview is more obscure, to say hohest.