[EricL]

Sorry for the newbie question, here, but none of these are full-frame cameras...I'm guessing Pentax will eventually come out with one from the rumors. As a newb to photography, is it worth waiting for?

[Kunzite]

It's good - I think you even don't understand the deep sense of this phrase.

Understanding is a three-edged sword: your side, their side and the truth

EricL:
Short answer: who knows?
Long answer: https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-full-frame/

[Into The Lens]

Sorry for the newbie question, here, but none of these are full-frame cameras...I'm guessing Pentax will eventually come out with one from the rumors. As a newb to photography, is it worth waiting for?

I don't know. Ask a real salespersons.

[ElJamoquio]

Sorry for the newbie question, here, but none of these are full-frame cameras...I'm guessing Pentax will eventually come out with one from the rumors. As a newb to photography, is it worth waiting for?

I'd get a camera now. A FF camera will cost ~2k at least... if it's a D800-ish clone it could be $3k-$4k.

[RobA_Oz]

The biggest issue of Pentax is Pentax

Well, an issue isn't necessarily a problem, but, that aside, what you say is probably a universal truth. In the photographic world, Sony is probably the prime example of that issue being a problem because, even if they are pushing "game-changing" products out the door, they're not really making money out of them. This is an instance of a prophet being with honour, but without profit, or, to mangle another Biblical quotation, "What profit it a company if they gain the respect of the whole world, but lose their shirt?".

[Aristophanes]

Sorry for the newbie question, here, but none of these are full-frame cameras...I'm guessing Pentax will eventually come out with one from the rumors. As a newb to photography, is it worth waiting for?

It will likely cost at least $2,000 for the body alone. Plus lenses.

And it will be a fair bit larger than today's APS-C models.

[EricL]

I'd get a camera now. A FF camera will cost ~2k at least... if it's a D800-ish clone it could be $3k-$4k.

It will likely cost at least $2,000 for the body alone. Plus lenses.

And it will be a fair bit larger than today's APS-C models.

That's a big jump in cost from say the K-50 and since they haven't come out with one at this point, I guess the demand isn't really there.

Maybe it's one of those nice to have features. For me anyway I still have a long way to go before I even master my K-x and all it's features.

[Docrwm]

For anyone still debating why Pentax needed a K-500, K-50, and K-5II/IIs it's because they are trying to take Nikon on directly. Just look at the chart the 3100 and 5100 combined have 22.4% of the market for dSLRs for 2012, but the 3100 has nearly as much as the 5100 (K-500 and K-50 for Pentax).

[Kenn100D]

Here, I fixed it

Like it. We are just not satisfied.

[ManuH]

The new cameras are a bit underwhelming, not because they are not good values but because like ogl I don't see any technological progress here. No new processor, no new feature, just a rehash of 2 years old designs.

Now they need to make a bold move to get noticed again. My hope is a mirrorless full frame with a new mount but with an adapter for full K-mount compatibility. I'm not interested anymore by an OVF FF. I almost bought the D600 when it was at 2000$ with kit lens, I ordered it but Nikon was not able to deliver it at this price... And I'm glad because that's not really what I need. I want the IQ but also something much lighter, something like the OM-D but with a FF sensor.

[VisualDarkness]

The new cameras are a bit underwhelming, not because they are not good values but because like ogl I don't see any technological progress here. No new processor, no new feature, just a rehash of 2 years old designs.

Now they need to make a bold move to get noticed again. My hope is a mirrorless full frame with a new mount but with an adapter for full K-mount compatibility. I'm not interested anymore by an OVF FF. I almost bought the D600 when it was at 2000$ with kit lens, I ordered it but Nikon was not able to deliver it at this price... And I'm glad because that's not really what I need. I want the IQ but also something much lighter, something like the OM-D but with a FF sensor.

That's Leica!

[IchabodCrane]

The new cameras are a bit underwhelming, not because they are not good values but because like ogl I don't see any technological progress here. No new processor, no new feature, just a rehash of 2 years old designs.

Now they need to make a bold move to get noticed again. My hope is a mirrorless full frame with a new mount but with an adapter for full K-mount compatibility. I'm not interested anymore by an OVF FF. I almost bought the D600 when it was at 2000$ with kit lens, I ordered it but Nikon was not able to deliver it at this price... And I'm glad because that's not really what I need. I want the IQ but also something much lighter, something like the OM-D but with a FF sensor.

I doubt "technological progress" was any kind of goal with this offering. Instead, I see Pentax using their existing technology to create a coherent lineup of good, better, and best cameras in the APS-C format. None of the three (I'm defining the K-5 II and IIs as one offering) look like a one-off experiment compared to the other two. Pentax now has a very identifiable proposition that will be easier for retailers to explain and potential customers to understand. I think it makes a lot of sense.

[mecrox]

The new cameras are a bit underwhelming, not because they are not good values but because like ogl I don't see any technological progress here. No new processor, no new feature, just a rehash of 2 years old designs.

Now they need to make a bold move to get noticed again. My hope is a mirrorless full frame with a new mount but with an adapter for full K-mount compatibility. I'm not interested anymore by an OVF FF. I almost bought the D600 when it was at 2000$ with kit lens, I ordered it but Nikon was not able to deliver it at this price... And I'm glad because that's not really what I need. I want the IQ but also something much lighter, something like the OM-D but with a FF sensor.

There may be a little method in the apparent madness:

1) What would have cost you 1000 bucks two years ago is now yours for 500 bucks. Not a bad deal at all.
2) The K50 and K500 are perfect for new and emerging markets outside the West where 500 bucks needs to go a long way.
3) The hook here isn't the specs, it's the user experience: twin dials, pentaprism, full manual controls, proper photographer's features. Once you are used to these it will be hard to forego them - similarly priced cams from Canonikon and co are going to seem thin gruel. And the only way you can be sure to continue enjoying the full pack of features is to migrate up the scale (by then) of Pentax cameras.

Yes there are risks but I think one can see some careful thinking here from Ricoh. Add in that behind the scenes they will surely have revamped production methods to allow sharing of parts and cost efficiency. If this improves their margins, the whole camera division is on a firmer financial footing than in the past.

[RobA_Oz]

The new cameras are a bit underwhelming, not because they are not good values but because like ogl I don't see any technological progress here. No new processor, no new feature, just a rehash of 2 years old designs.

They're not top end, or even middle range, which is where you'd expect technical innovation. What you've got here is some trickle-down technology from the upper-middle to the lower range for DSLRs - that's market development.

Now they need to make a bold move to get noticed again. My hope is a mirrorless full frame with a new mount but with an adapter for full K-mount compatibility. I'm not interested anymore by an OVF FF. I almost bought the D600 when it was at 2000$ with kit lens, I ordered it but Nikon was not able to deliver it at this price... And I'm glad because that's not really what I need. I want the IQ but also something much lighter, something like the OM-D but with a FF sensor.

You may get that mirroless "full frame" at some stage, and I agree that a K-mount adapter on a new mount would be essential to maximise the opportunity in losing the mirror box, but I think we'll see a conventional DSLR in this format before a mirrorless. The only way you will get something with the dimensions of the OM-D (which I like as a product, in its category) though, is to lose IBIS, as there just isn't the room to fit it into a sensor enclosure of that size, when the sensor is literally twice the size of the OM-D's 4/3" format.

[fraank]

I don't understand why Pentax (RIcoh) is wasting so much money in the same camera with few and poor variations, insted of launching a FULL FRAME CAMERA!

Sorry for my bad english, i'm from Argentina (I'm a huge fan of Pentax, I own a K-30, and i'd love to acquire a digital full frame pentax some day)