[Quicksand]

Do I understand you well?
People who think that the form factor of the K5 is not perfect (or people with big hands) are whiners?

I think you may have missed the winking smily-face.

There is no perfect size for everyone. It's possible to make a small camera larger. But making a large camera smaller is usually problematic.

[wigelII]

I There is no perfect size for everyone. It's possible to make a small camera larger. But making a large camera smaller is usually problematic.

I understand why should be lighter but I never understood why they should be smaller.

[Uluru]

Coming back to the title of this thread: are there or aren't there (prosumer) cameras coming this year? Does somebody know more?
Olympus launched the great EM-1, Sony comes with FF Nex, Nikon is rumored to come with the D610, Canon will launch a high spec M-series, and Pentax ..................?
I think somebody at Ricoh abuses the expression "no news is good news".

Ricoh will announce a season of new, really exciting and big plans.

[Aristophanes]

Stabilisation will be a bit problematic with full frame but Sony managed it with their a99. You probably need to correct vignetting (but with the dr of modern chips that should not be a problem). The image processor won't be bigger since chips have been getting smaller and more powerful since 2010 (Prime II) and it will not be more than a 24mp sensor. The main reason why dslr's are bigger than slr's is the presence of a lcd in the back and the need for a bigger print plate. But mainly those have been design choices about how to make a digital slr that's still a slr. You could probably make a better design. e.g. put de sensor with stabilisation inside the print plate instead of on top of it.

Until the Canon SL1 with no IBIS came out, the smallest APS-C camera was the Pentax K-x with SR:

Compare camera dimensions side by side

The K-x also uses space-hogging AA batteries. Pentax also has a better placed mount release button for trimming size down. The Canon is still deeper despite having a shorter register distance. Both use a pentamirror design which may explain the reasons why the K-x-K-30 gained so much in size.

[mamethot]

Wow and I thought the *istDS2 was small!

[monochrome]

"i don't see why a ff should be much larger than a aps-c larger mirror house and larger pentaprism, but pentax was able to make perfectly compact film slr's so why not for digital? The reason why full frames are bigger is mainly because they are pro dslrs which have always been bigger than consumer models for durability and ergonomic reasons. A d7000 is not much smaller than a d600."

certainly in time they will be smaller, but ff sensors with in-camera stabilization require larger mounts. Also, the hardware to process the data takes more space. More material generates more heat and that required larger and better heat removal systems. All that requires a a larger frame which inandof itself needs to be slightly heftier to carry all the added stuff.

battery.:d

[wigelII]

Ricoh will announce a season of new, really exciting and big plans.

that's 2 months ago .... and still nothing.
that's Rumours ... NOT releases

[Uluru]

that's 2 months ago .... and still nothing.
that's Rumours ... NOT releases

Apparently, Ricoh Theta is ready and can be ordered.

[wigelII]

Apparently, Ricoh Theta is ready and can be ordered.

You must be a Ricoh representative.
Last year on fotokina when people asked for FF they just smiled.
I read a few days ago on this forum about someone who asked Pentax about the next 645 .... and they smiled.
smiling apparently means: we have nothing.

[Clavius]

You must be a Ricoh representative.
Last year on fotokina when people asked for FF they just smiled.
I read a few days ago on this forum about someone who asked Pentax about the next 645 .... and they smiled.
smiling apparently means: we have nothing.

Makes sense, I've said it before and I'll say it again: giving a straightforward "no" is considered not polite in Japanese culture. Smiling or expressions like "maybe", "in future", "some other time" are often used instead. I used to be surrounded by many Japanese colleagues, and such politeness is often misunderstood by westerners. With the interviews at last photokina they hinted at FF too. They confirmed that there is a need and that they're looking into it. That does in no way constitute a Japanese: "Yes, there will certainly be an FF Pentax in 201X." Any other vague comments that don't commit them just mean "no".

[RonHendriks1966]

So I was thinking as I read this that "until Pentax is sold in Best Buy they won't gain market share", but then I realized that may not be true anymore. Does anyone know where the majority of camera bodies are bought these days? Is it Best Buy, or online at Amazon, or elsewhere?

Just about my home market, The Netherlands. We have about 5 large internetshops wich have the main market when it comes to serious camera's. They all have one or two real stores you can visit and ask for help and to touch a camera. All sell Pentax, but just two off them have a lot off items in stock (one even has DA 560mm/f5.6 in stock). You can leave all off them with a camera and a lens, zo sales are made.

Then there is Media Markt (or named Saturn), wich is a large chain of electronica shops in Europe. They have a huge camera division and only a few stores also sell Pentax (near the border with Germany). They have mainly the market for hobby and family and sell mostly things that Canon (Nikon, Samsung and Sony are also on the shelfs) sells under the 7D. Not the cheapest stores, since the internetshops are mostly cheaper and have more lens options, but convenient since it is always around in the next shoppingcity. They have a marketshare of around 25 % in this camerapart. They do sell FF, but not many, since those customers mostly know more about camera's and pricing, but some D600 with kitlens may leave the shop. They have a weekly brochure that gets to all 7 million houses in The Netherlands.

Then there are the small shops wich have a hard time to survive for the last 5 years and with the current econimics are closing down fast.

[RonHendriks1966]

Coming back to the title of this thread: are there or aren't there (prosumer) cameras coming this year? Does somebody know more?
Olympus launched the great EM-1, Sony comes with FF Nex, Nikon is rumored to come with the D610, Canon will launch a high spec M-series, and Pentax ..................?
I think somebody at Ricoh abuses the expression "no news is good news".

Well:
- The EM-1 is a dead mouse with no sales to talk about
- I still have to see the FF Nex to be good and selling (Sony is expensive and the FF Nex won't be half the price off the RX-1)
- D610 is a big shame and Nikon should offer all D600 owners a return policy!!!!!!!!!!
- M-series is a dead mouse, no Canon users are wiating for this.

And:
- I also hope for some new Pentax offering.

[D1N0]

You must be a Ricoh representative.
Last year on fotokina when people asked for FF they just smiled.
I read a few days ago on this forum about someone who asked Pentax about the next 645 .... and they smiled.
smiling apparently means: we have nothing.

Smiling means, we can't tell you but we can't say that so we smile. It's a eastern thing.

[Mistral75]

Coming back to the title of this thread: are there or aren't there (prosumer) cameras coming this year?
(...)

Definitely yes and will be on show during the Salon de la Photo in Paris.

[Rondec]

You must be a Ricoh representative.
Last year on fotokina when people asked for FF they just smiled.
I read a few days ago on this forum about someone who asked Pentax about the next 645 .... and they smiled.
smiling apparently means: we have nothing.

Uluru is joking with you, he just doesn't put a sarcasm tag on his joking posts...