Originally posted by grahame The more I look at the picture of Pentax K-S1, the more I feel like it is a smaller mirror less camera inserted in an adapter consists of lens mount (to adjust K lens) + mirror box + flash + OVF.
Maybe you will be offered an option to take the adapter off, put a smaller lens with new mount and use it as compact mirror less came, and put the adapter on, you can use it with K mount lenses as an DSLR!
Maybe that is the "totally new product" pentax was talking about!
A prototype system close to what you are describing was developed by Pentax Ricoh Imaging R&D department in 2012 and early 2013 under the name of "Pentaflex" and reported back here. This was a modular camera with:
- a mirrorless, viewfinderless body with a new mount, totally electronic, with a large diameter and a short register, then called 'Ace' mount (as being superior to K-King and Q-Queen)
- an electronic viewfinder one could plug on top of the body
- alternatively, the 'Pentaflex' module one could plug on the front and top of the body, comprising a K mount, a mirror box (partly 'penetrating inside' the Ace-mount), its mirror, an optical viewfinder, a dedicated phase-detection autofocus system, an actuator to settle the aperture on K-mount lenses (with full retrocompatibility with K and M lenses) and an AF motor
- two more simple K-to-Ace adapters, both with SDM/DC contacts, one with AF motor, one without (the one without AF motor being targeted to SDM, DC and non-AF lenses), both without optical viewfinder but compatible with the electronic one and including a simple, mechanical aperture coupling (think K-to-Q adapter)
- dedicated Ace-mount lenses with electronic aperture, focus-by-wire and stepper motors.
Then Ricoh people took the power within Pentax Ricoh Imaging, the launch of K50/K500 was slightly postponed to make way for that of the Ricoh GR (which was initially branded Pentax and eventually Ricoh), Pentax Ricoh Imaging was renamed Ricoh Imaging and, from mid-April 2013 on, I never heard of the Pentaflex project any more except, indirectly, in July 2013 from
asahi man here:
Originally posted by asahi man Not this year.
But it looks like a classic dslr in K-3 Style and K mount and later a mirrorless with a new mount,but compatible with K SDM mount by converter
But it is not sure,the second camera
.
As
Kunzite points out,
Originally posted by Kunzite I think Ricoh found out that modular things don't work/sell.