Originally posted by Falcons The simple truth is that R& D is an expense and a ROI is expected - Do people really think Pentax is so stupid that they don't know there AF is not the fastest? Till they can realistically show a ROI for a faster AF I can't see them spending the $$$ - have to wait and see how K20D sells.
Shortly after the K20D was released, I read an interview with one of the top guys at Pentax-Japan. He admitted that they had basically carried the AF system over from the K10D, with little or no improvement. His reason was that they simply did not have the engineering resources to perfect the 14MP CMOS sensor and improve the AF in the same camera.
They made the strategic choice to improve image quality, rather than AF speed or increased fps. Their feeling was that IQ was more important to their target market than AF speed of fps. I'm sure that they also felt that they could make more of a market "splash" with a 14MP sensor than with the somewhat more esoteric (to many buyers) concept of improved continuous AF. We may not like the marketing games that must be played and we may decry the megapixel race, but both are a fact of life in the camera business.
"Engineering resources" = money + trained, experienced engineers. Most of the K20D's development was done before the Hoya takeover, so Hoya didn't have much of a chance to add more money to the mix. And, you can't simply hire a bunch of engineers and expect them to immediately make drastic improvements to the product, even if you have the money to pay them. It takes time for them to come up to speed and become part of the team.
The next Pentax camera will be developed entirely on Hoya's watch. While Hoya has not dumped huge amounts of cash into Pentax R & D, they do seem to have made some targeted investments. Perhaps the K30D (or whatever they call it) will stay at 14MP and improve the AF and fps, that so many here have been wanting.
But then, what do I know?