[monochrome]

Actually this yours and Monochrome's repeated "I told ya" only confirms my "I told ya";

So far I have only asked whether I can yet say told ya. I haven't actually yet said told ya. I also just said I am confident I will eventually be able to say told ya unless I die before I can say told ya.

Though I believe Ricoh knows what they are doing and it will turn out well for us, ya gotta have some fun with it.



*But not too much fun.

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Last edited by monochrome; 10-25-2013 at 06:42 PM.

[monochrome]

Actually this yours and Monochrome's repeated "I told ya" only confirms my "I told ya";
— Ricoh started development of anything new only after the FotoKina 2012, and in early 2013.
— That is why in the end of 2013 they have nothing else to show but prematurely released K-3 and endless rehashes.
— And it also shows that they have not funded anything new prior to 2013, because if it were true, we'd see some of it by now, even a new lens.
— Ricoh had literally waited 15 months to start thinking what to do next.
— If the Pentax part of the company was protesting about it, that Ricoh delays funding and misses important development cycles, losing endlessly waiting Pentax userbase only to appear as non-risk-taking in front of shareholders, and thus to keep the share prices stabile, no wonder they had issues.
— When they've seen how other manufacturers are nuking the market with FF bombs, finally Ricoh Imaging Russia feels to address the poor communication issue, and at least reassure fans they indeed are working, and when is reasonable to expect things they are working on .
— "To be number 3 imaging company in 4 years" story was a lie told by Ricoh imaging USA to buy time before their own fans and users.

God bless Russians for at least one drop of sincerity in all of this Muppet Show.

As I have written many times in the past, Ricoh did not expect to undergo a financial rebuilding when they bought Pentax. They did not expect to report their first loss ever as a public company when they bought Pentax (after they bought IKON Office Systems). They did not expect to have all capital investments in all divisions put on hold until 2QFY2013 when they bought Pentax. They did not expect to operate under a 3-year microscope ending in March 2014 when they bought Pentax.

Once earnings were restored to a healthy, upward path (beginning in August, 2012) capital was released to this and other divisions for growth and product development, as can now be seen in new products and a revealed Plan.

Before being overly critical of the company it is important to understand the causes of their actions (or lack thereof).

[Rondec]

I think Ricoh's plan is clear. They will target certain segments of the market and make cameras that are compelling in those segments. High enough specs, well made, and maybe a few tweaks on Nikon/Canon's options that will gain them market share. The K3 feels like it matches up quite well against the D7100 in many respects. If they can have a camera that lies between the D600 and D800 and is priced right, it could be a winner.

What I don't expect is ground breaking performance or, earth shattering specs. Ricoh is not trying to reinvent the wheel, they just want to own a good section of the wheel market.

[RobA_Oz]

I think Ricoh's plan is clear. They will target certain segments of the market and make cameras that are compelling in those segments. High enough specs, well made, and maybe a few tweaks on Nikon/Canon's options that will gain them market share. The K3 feels like it matches up quite well against the D7100 in many respects. If they can have a camera that lies between the D600 and D800 and is priced right, it could be a winner.

What I don't expect is ground breaking performance or, earth shattering specs. Ricoh is not trying to reinvent the wheel, they just want to own a good section of the wheel market.

The only thing we know with any degree of certainty (and that information is getting a little old, now) is Ricoh senior managers have said that, if they do release a FF body, it won't be conventional. Precisely what that means isn't clear, and has been the source of much speculation, here and elsewhere, but it implies such a body wouldn't be like the K-3 is to the D7100. Up to now, each Pentax DSLR body series has had a distinguishing feature to compete with the other offerings, but nothing so radical as to warrant such a description. So, not re-invent the wheel? Perhaps, but how much of a new approach constitutes re-inventing?

[bossa]

Why would they re-invent when they could just as easily invent?

[bossa]

What I don't expect is ground breaking performance or, earth shattering specs. Ricoh is not trying to reinvent the wheel, they just want to own a good section of the wheel market.

Being always 6 months, to a year, "late", could offer the chance of newer technology that leapfrogs the competition. This may not be the case of course, and a problem with that scenario is, potentially, when the market is saturated you are late to the party. I realize that every year new buyers come online, especially in China and India, so the previous comment may be totally incorrect regarding saturation. The answer is probably a balancing act where you tread lightly, keeping one eye on where your competition is, your own concepts and the new, versus available, technology that offers something more for less outlay.

[Uluru]

[Rorschach]

"645DII will be different from 645D". As I understand - it will be new body, controls and new "stuff" inside.

Thanks ogl, great information!

[Fl_Gulfer]

The only thing I care about was not even mentioned........ "TELECONVERTER"

[thickeyebrow]

launch date is 4/1/2014, and it's confirmed

[Winder]

The only thing I care about was not even mentioned........ "TELECONVERTER"

I was hoping for news about a Pentax DA*200 coffee mug.

[jeffshaddix]

Nice one Uluru.

Thanks for the heads up ogl, sounds like we've got an interesting year ahead. There are so many ways Pentax could produce something different; I'm looking forward to seeing what they cook up.

[Uluru]

A mirrorless 645D would probably turn out to be the same size as a D800. Imagine that with an 80MP sensor?

645 has a huge flange distance compared to any FF SLR.
So I have no idea how will they overcome that issue to make camera smaller; it may borrow a more of Leica S look, but they'd be crazy to make all 645 lenses usable through an adapter.
I think we see a problem in their plans ; they should apply a K-01 mirrorless idea on 645D, never bother with K-01 but issue an FF K-mount DSLR instead of K-01, and steadily work on a real mirrorless for the masses.

All in all, it is very likely that they have miscalculated the time of the FF offensive of others and were caught by surprise, at least by a year; Nikon and Canon hurried up, Sony followed quickly. No one was waiting for Ricoh to approve of their plans.

[stevebrot]

The lack of is explained by the lack of technology to support a MF mirrorless and the cost. We are just now getting to the point where FF mirrorless has the technology and is cost effective. It take a huge amount of processing power to run a high MP mirrorless camera.

The tech is there and has been for several years. There is nothing special about leaving out the mirror box. Any metered electronic film camera such as the Mamiya 7 would be a prime candidate for a high end non-SLR medium format digital. For some unknown reason, the market has stayed primarily with MF dSLRs. Cameras like the Alpa are about the closest thing at present and they are actually closer to a hand-holdable large format camera than MF and why someone would buy one is beyond me.*


Steve

*Though the good folk at Luminous Landscape seem to feel differently... http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/alpa.shtml

YES!!! I asked them about FF and renewal lenses 5 days ago and they said "YOU WILL SEE" so my dream come true!!