[Mazhe]

I'm not sure, but how about this one :
"Nobody is perfect, what do you think is/was Pentax greatest weakness/failure?" (let's say in the 2001-2012 timeline).

[Mariusz_B]

I'm not sure, but how about this one :
"Nobody is perfect, what do you think is/was Pentax greatest weakness/failure?" (let's say in the 2001-2012 timeline).

Let me ask another question - what was the biggest strength in the history of Pentax?

[Uluru]

How about something along the lines of....
I'm sure there has been a great deal of "settling in" for Ricoh-Pentax since the merger/buyout. I'm sure that everything hasn't completely come together, but it must be far enough along now to have a good idea of what the future looks like for Pentax slr cameras and lenses. All across the internet there is speculation that the aps-c format for dslr is going to disappear within the next few years. They say this because of the emergence of systems like the Pentax Q and many others along with more budget friendly full frame releases like the Nikon D600. Obviously at this point full frame is still more expensive, but the gap does seem to be narrowing. Pentax is obviously highly invested in the aps-c dslr. I am curious as to whether you share the view that we will see only full frame dslr cameras and mirrorless aps-c cameras in the future, or do you see a longer future for the aps-c dslr.
Of course feel free to reword that any way you see fit. It's really a where do you see the future of dslr cameras question. Pretty open ended I guess.

This proposition is totally silly!
Just because Canon and Nikon play this game, it does not mean it makes any practical sense at all. It's totally outdated 20th century thinking.

It makes much more contemporary sense to make FF and medium format cameras mirror-less — therefore reduce bulk and weight of their bodies and glass — and keep the modern DSLRs systems at an APS-C sensor size. Because then benefits from each approach — price vs optimum body size vs size and performance of optics etc. – are then at their best and most commonsense ratios.
I truly hope Pentax thinks in this direction and will do the opposite of what others "think".

[apisto]

This proposition is totally silly!
Just because Canon and Nikon play this game, it does not mean it makes any practical sense at all. It's totally outdated 20th century thinking.

It makes much more contemporary sense to make FF and medium format cameras mirror-less — therefore reduce bulk and weight of their bodies and glass — and keep the modern DSLRs systems at an APS-C sensor size. Because then benefits from each approach — price vs optimum body size vs size and performance of optics etc. – are then at their best and most commonsense ratios.
I truly hope Pentax thinks in this direction and will do the opposite of what others "think".

I guess I am stuck in the 20th century then, because I "think" I would buy a Pentax FF DSLR, but I "know" I would not buy a Pentax FF mirrorless.

Pentax has to decide which side of the fence to jump on. Unfortunately for them it seems to be roughly a 50/50 proposition.

[JPT]

I like the question about whether Ricoh's best practice with firmware will be adopted by Pentax. Also the question about the vision for the future is good. Here are couple more.

"Pentax Forums members often have ideas that they would like to pass on to Pentax engineers. What would be the most convenient way to do this?"
"There was a strong advertising campaign for the K-30 and Q10 in Japan. What kind of impact did that have on sales?"
"Sometimes it seems that Pentax's products are so different from each other in style, that it is difficult to believe that they were made by the same designers. What can you tell us about the way the development teams come up with products at Pentax?"

[Clavius]

I guess I am stuck in the 20th century then, because I "think" I would buy a Pentax FF DSLR, but I "know" I would not buy a Pentax FF mirrorless.

Pentax has to decide which side of the fence to jump on. Unfortunately for them it seems to be roughly a 50/50 proposition.

Yeah? You really want our beloved but tiny little Pentax to step into the ring with the big boys? That would be their demise.

An FF mirrorless doesn't exist yet. Neither does a mirrorless with pro level features. If they market a pro level FF mirrorless camera they would hit a home-run without crossing paths with CaNiSon.

Pentax used to be a fearless innovator. They should follow up on that. With Ricoh's deep pockets they may even just do both sides of the fence.

[Kunzite]

Let's not make this thread another "FF vs MILC". There are "big boys" in both markets, neither is easy to compete in, people wants different things - so the discussion could last for many page without ever reaching a conclusion.

[Selenium_27]

Let's go crazy and imagine a strange mirrorless box referring to old time TLR with a tactile screen you can slide on the top of the box and a square sensor and a K mount to adapt most of pentax lenses.
A squared FF would be ok for most of DA lenses with minor post processing which is common, even for luxury products like leica M digital rangefinders.

An autofocus TLR with tactile screen, made by pentax !!

Rangefinders leads to my second idea which is the release of another screw mount pentax lens based on limited lens (or another)
43 limited was a hit an let pentax name shine in the rangefinder world.
Moreover, today, it would be much much more welcomed with the EVIL market (m39 lense are very easy to adapt).
31 would be welcomed !

But it is for far future

[Tanzer]

Pentax has recently stated that it wants to do things "differently" from other manufacturers. With this vision in mind, and with many changes in the industry in recent years, who does Pentax consider to be its main competitors today?

What technologies/innovations does Pentax believe could be most disruptive to the industry, in general?

The micro-four-thirds consortium has given some manufacturers an opportunity to take a larger share of the market. What opportunities exist for Pentax to collaborate with other manufacturers in jointly developing technologies/products?

[hkiran1]

I have a K7(by some chance i got it), and all my friends who have at-least handled it once want to buy Pentax. But the sad thing is i reside in India.
So the Q is how to find a PENTAX Dslr body with good primes(with proper service) to buy and don't tell me ebay.

[Clavius]

Let's not make this thread another "FF vs MILC". There are "big boys" in both markets, neither is easy to compete in, people wants different things - so the discussion could last for many page without ever reaching a conclusion.

Please enlighten us... We all know the big FF DSLR players: CaNiSon, but who are those big boys in the FF MILC market which you speak of?

[Kunzite]

Not on this thread, sorry.
By the way, from what I understand it is Adam's wish to talk here about "open ended" questions - for product related ones we can use the old thread, although there's surplus of them.

[Clavius]

Not on this thread, sorry.

Oh but I'm very flexible. You can even PM me the big PRO FF MILC players that you referred to. You know I'm dying to spend my money on one of those. Or are there no such players in that market yet, as I stated?

And it's all very on topic too. There's bound to be a question about how Pentax views the MILC/EVIL market. Or about what innovative niche Pentax plans on populating next. Or on how the Pentax FF, that they announced to be developing, will be different from the rest.

[NickLarsson]

How do they see the MILC market ?
How do they explain that it's quite strong in Asia and specifically in Japan and rather lukewarm in the rest of the world ?
Do they think it will remain a Japanese specificity ?

[monochrome]

Perhaps this is better suited to the US interview, but ....

"Consumer behavior in the USA differs from the rest of the world (online price-shopping, buy, try, return, brand image, etc.), which affects product development decisions, marketing planning and money allocation, distribution strategies - really, the entire business model. How does your long term vision for Pentax Ricoh Imaging integrate the unique USA consumer culture into the global product, pricing and marketing plan? How much does the USA consumer matter relative to consumers of the rest of the world?"