[aurele]

So Pentax is doomed by very those who have same unreasonable requests imposed on one small company that needs to cure malfunctions and problems of toys of other boys. One little company cannot deliver an answer to everything available out there. That is simply a wrong approach altogether.

Those boys are called Uluru, right ?

[christiantypet]

Should I be waiting for the potential k-60 or just buy a k-50 now? It's a really good deal but I feel like I would be missing out if the new one comes out soon...

[RonHendriks1966]

Should I be waiting for the potential k-60 or just buy a k-50 now? It's a really good deal but I feel like I would be missing out if the new one comes out soon...

That is an easy one. You either want a great deal or the newest camera just out. So take the deal on the K-50 or wait at least another year for the same deal on the next model.

[formercanuck]

I agree. K-50 is good deal. I picked up a K-30 last year for ~$450.

Putting on my realist hat, I would see the following if/when Pentax releases a new set of entry level cameras:

K600/K60:
without/with weather sealing
without (ugh)/ with more AF points (more similar system to K-3) - its less expensive technically to use the same parts - just like they did for K-3/645Z. Just make them less
mono/stereo microphones - no input jack
updated screen - similar to K-3
usb2/usb3
no wifi/wifi (flu or integrated?)
no gps/gps

K30 didn't come out matching the K-5 sensor until K-5 was scheduled for upgrade for K-5ii/K-5iis and K-3
If the K600/K60 were to use a larger (different) sensor, it would be an expense on Pentax's part, as they pretty much only support 2 sensors on APS-c
16MP (K500/K50/K-01/K-5 series) and 24MP K-3.

It would be a big change/cost to migrate to anything but the 24MP sensor.

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Last edited by formercanuck; 07-11-2014 at 02:34 PM.

[Uluru]

Those boys are called Uluru, right ?

Other boys are Nikon, Canon, Fuji, Sony, etc.
They have toys and Pentax users believe Pentax must match those toys with something of their own with a Pentax badge and make even better.

[mee]

That is an easy one. You either want a great deal or the newest camera just out. So take the deal on the K-50 or wait at least another year for the same deal on the next model.

Yes. Good point -- you can wait for the next gen model. But it won't be at current gen's price!

Personally, I'd find a nice shape K-5 II or IIs instead. Very solid camera, sealed grip optional, LCD top panel comes in handy, 14-bit raw, and a slightly faster burst.

Or even a lightly used K-30 (which is a K-50 for all intents and purposes) and spend the extra cash on a nice lens.

[monochrome]

Other boys are Nikon, Canon, Fuji, Sony, etc.
They have toys and Pentax users believe Pentax must match those toys with something of their own with a Pentax badge and make even better.

Toys? TOYS??? We don't need no stinking TOYS!!


We shoot Pentax.

[aurele]

They have toys and Pentax users believe Pentax must match those toys with something of their own with a Pentax badge and make even better.

it sounds a lot like you somethimes

[mee]

Toys? TOYS??? We don't need no stinking TOYS!!


We shoot Pentax.

Actually, if you're doing this for hobby.. then I consider that play.. hehe

And, please try to remember what happened to that bandito after he gave his line in the movie.. *kerpow*

[monochrome]

And, please try to remember what happened to that bandito after he gave his line in the movie.. *kerpow*

He didn't shoot Pentax.

And I seriously considered (based upon the quoted line) referencing the original rather than the derivative.


(' . . . . with a Pentax badge . . . . . "

Badges? BADGES?? We don't need no stinking BADGES!!)

[Aristophanes]

Toys? TOYS??? We don't need no stinking TOYS!!

[tibbitts]

I don't want an articulated screen. Not sure I even want live view - the screen is typically going to be unusable in sunlight. Viewfinder with focus peaking and exposure info is almost all that's needed. Scratch the histograms too.

Why wouldn't you want a histogram? How can you know if your exposure is correct without one?

An articulated screen would have been incredibly helpful to me recently when I was photographing over the top of a 7ft railing. And it would have been equally helpful recently when I was photographing a flower on a muddy trail. Aren't these situations that most people encounter frequently?

[jatrax]

I spent a lot of time thinking that I would not want an articulated screen. For all the usual reasons, might break, might be harder to WR, would add cost, might make the camera bulkier. But I've recently decided I am OK with it. If Pentax wants to add an articulated screen they have my official approval. I have just found too many situations that I could have made the shot easier if the screen articulated.

So Pentax if you have been holding off on the articulated screen because of my comments, my apologizes. Please go ahead with it now and sorry if that held things up. OMG, maybe I'm the cause for the delay in the k-1?

[axelm7]

New(ish) member here, giving my two cents. We don't know what, if any, improvements are being made to the K-50. I think the wisest decision for Pentax would be to let it sit for another year or so, unchanged. My reasoning is that Pentax is enjoying relative success right now with the introduction of the K-3, which is hands down the best APS-C prosumer camera out there, ahead of the D7100 AND 70D with which it competes with. Their consumer DSLRs compete with Canon and Nikon, but are much cheaper. Yes, they lack the huge selection of lenses that the big brands have (a non-issue for most people who buy into the system, imo) but they cover wide angle, fast primes, and regular to super tele lenses; their silent focusing lenses are behind the competition, but improving them isn't a priority. I think that, given the circumstances, making improvements to the K-50 would involve moving it closer to the K-3, which poses a problem for Pentax. The best option would be to hold off the development of a successor to the K-50, instead introducing a few new lenses, improving Ricoh's existing lineup or previewing future technology to be used in DSLR bodies. But next year they would have the stage set for a massive improvement of the K-50, along with minor upgrades to the K-3, enough to make it stand out against a better consumer offering.

The way things are going, Pentax might have a chance at catching up to Nikon, if not Canon. Canon is the superior of the two big brands, and they seem eager to revamp their DSLR lineup with an "innovation". They have the best glass, and they still have the best bodies for video. Nikon have slumped, making incremental, gimmicky upgrades to their bodies, and produce inferior glass. Pentax might have a winning solution if a FF body is introduced in the next 3-5 years. They're innovative, but the only way for them to expand and keep their user base is to venture into FF territory. You then eliminate the K-5II/IIs and you're left with a simple product plan, with 3 APS-C bodies (K-500/K-50 successors, K-3 successor) and a competitive FF body, which could perhaps leave Pentax free to invest in lens development. FF looks very unlikely in the near future, however. Right now, profit must come first if Pentax is to succeed in the long-term, specially given the shrinking market for DSLRs. Eliminating the K-5II/IIs is the important first step, keeping the lineup simple and competitive. Video upgrades across the board would be nice, as well.

For me, the biggest advantage Pentax has is selling low-price, innovative, competitive gear. The second, for me at least, is the flexibility of the K-mount (cheap, fast lenses from film era). I live in Mexico, where Pentax isn't sold, and where DSLRs are enormously expensive. I went to great lengths to get a K-50 because the price point is unbeatable for the features, hands down. Canon users (even more elitist here than in other countries) like to boast about a huge lens selection, but Pentax has more than 100 MF lenses available for their digital bodies. I will eventually go FF, and I would like to see Pentax produce a FF system with the same advantages that their APS-C products enjoy, instead of switching to Canon.

[JPT]

My prediction:
- New high-end Q camera
- Q macro lens
- K-50 successor
- K-mount telezoom
- One more surprise K-mount lens
- 645 wide zoom actually announced
- New high end compact (like an MX-1 with a better lens and the hypothetical new sensor from the hypothetical new Q)
- New GR camera
- K-mount full frame shown under glass
- K-mount roadmap updated with an ambitious schedule of FF lenses

How's that for optimism! It seems to me, if you're going to play fantasy Pentax, you might as well do it properly.