[manntax]

Wow amazing news. I am so glad I didn't burst and skipped K-3 :P - anyway looks like I should hurry with snapping up that A 50mm 1.2 I am longing for so long ...

[Digitalis]

...I should hurry with snapping up that A 50mm 1.2 I am longing for...

Yeah - before the price takes a massive hike.


Pentax K5IIs- SMCP-K 50mm f/1.2 @ f/1.2 ISO80 1/1250th

[monochrome]

new gear is new gear and as long as I can afford it and my wife is OK with it, I'll get one.

+++

Point #2 is, of course, a high hurdle. It's an avocation, not a job. This one might be a '$50 in an envelope every Friday' deal.

[Digitalis]

This one might be a '$50 in an envelope every Friday' deal.

...at least that is cheaper than a divorce. Thank god I'm single....

[monochrome]

...at least that is cheaper than a divorce. Thank god I'm single....

I don't know about Oz, but in the US the 'Plaintiff's' first entry on the settlement list would be all the camera gear.

[Mikesul]

I never had any doubts, my friend ;-)

This is what pentax users needed: perspective !

I've never been disappointed in a pentax product & i'd buy it blindly.

Exactly! Most of us were disappointed in the K-01 when it was announced but once I owned one I realized it was a beautiful machine. If the new FF is true to its long lineage, it will be a wonderful camera to work with.

[selar]

Amazing news!

[EricBrown]

This is fantastic about FF and the new lenses! I will be getting the FF so I better start saving. I think Ricoh is smart by putting out a very generic image of the new FF camera. Why tip off the competition of some the technology and features this early.

[r0ckstarr]

Do you really want to buy such a lens?

Yes..

[indy]

...at least that is cheaper than a divorce. Thank god I'm single....

I think I may have you both beat. My wifes response was along the lines of - well I know what to get you next Christmas , oh and would you like me to dress up like one of those Japanese tradeshow girls tonight? Life is good!

[kadajawi]

In the back of my mind, I share that fear.

But with the release of two new lenses that have been explicitly announced as FF (and are already being listed in stores), not to mention all the hoopla and positive feels the FF announcement has generated around the world, this FF announcement seems real. Ricoh would lose too much face if they pulled the plug on the camera now.

If I recall correctly the sensor that was to be used back then was also used in another camera that did make it to market, and it was spectacularly bad according to a review. That might be what have killed the Pentax...?

I highly doubt that they just started working on this camera. They mentioned for years that they are working on it but don't know if they will release it... only if it can bring something special to the table. The hardware that goes into the camera should be in the works for a while now. The design can still be changed.

[davidsyd]

Finally... I been waiting for this one as well.

[cfraz]

That 3D printed FF prototype is very unusual for Pentax. What gives? All prototypes up to now have been made from the real material. This can mean two things:

1. The design is far from ready as if they started just yesterday;
2. They want to keep the competition in the dark as much as possible, without showing too little to the Pentax customers.

Or it could reflect a change in their development process: using 3D printing for iterations of the external design rather than making the more expensive and time consuming traditional mock ups.

[astron]

That 3D printed FF prototype is very unusual for Pentax. What gives? All prototypes up to now have been made from the real material. This can mean two things:

1. The design is far from ready as if they started just yesterday;
2. They want to keep the competition in the dark as much as possible, without showing too little to the Pentax customers.

When the 645D was in the prototype stage it always looked like a finished product. Pentax could get away with that because in that field (middle format DSLR) there is almost no competition, especially not from Canon and Nikon. In the case of the FF however, secrecy is key. The 3D product as it is now probably won't trigger Canon and Nikon enough to take notice of Pentax. And who knows, the camera might show up sooner rather than later. It's all part of the plan to deceive Canikon and keep existing (and old) customers happy.

They didn't start development yesterday. Like I've been predicting for a while now, this is likely based off much the engineering effort that was put into the 645Z. It only makes sense. I really doubt that Nikon or Canon care as both companies are trying to stave off diminishing sales. It's a huge advantage that Pentax is small and has the backing of such a large company. It will enable them to release a new MF camera and FF camera in the span of only two years or so.


I think that the internals are probably largely finished at this point again, due to the existing 645Z tech. That's why they don't have a version with a better case quite yet.

[Photodana]

I was thinking that the only Full Frame Pentax was ever going to make was the 645Z, which I can't afford. Hopefully the new full frame will come with a more affordable price tag :-)
So, perhaps I can use all my "film" lenses again :-)
Jens