Originally posted by regken Richard,
Normally I wouldn't dream of disagreeing with you but the Ned Burnell interview was very emphatic on stating the K200D is Pentax's entry level body. He said the intention is to keep the Pentax name out of the big boxes so that specialty shops would be willing to up sell customers to a K200D that would better serve them in preparing to jump to a more robust model. This is similar to what Sony is doing with their more expensive models and their S.U.R.E, program.
That sounds like a good game plan, or one heck of a spin as to why they don't have an entry level priced unit. If they do come out with a low priced unit we'll know Ned was saying what he had to and Pentax is just trying to do the best they can with the limited amount of money Hoya is willing to let them spend on R & D. If we don't see a low cost unit it will be a good indication of Pentax's long term game plan, which as Ned said is to develop bodies that appeal to a niche market.
My guess is that niche is not faster AF which is more main stream than say a higher resolution, low noise at low ISO settings, and more DR. Somewhat closer to what Ben wants than what a "Soccer Mom" is looking for. The DSLR market has reached a size in the last year that warrants more niche type products. Personally I hope Ned was being straight in the interview and this is where Pentax is heading. The idea of owning bodies from several manufacturers for different types of shooting doesn't bother me at all.
It may take Pentax another year to come out with the next APS-C body and I expect it to emphasis resolution, low noise at low ISO numbers and better DR as opposed to better and faster AF. Samsung is driving the bus on the FF body so that will come along as soon as they can put it together.
Ken
Deciding to back specialist dealers doesn't mean you shouldn't have differentiated "niche" offerings at similar price points. The K200D is Pentax's entry camera "at the moment", and a great one at that, but that doesn't mean there won't be a lower model soon.
As Canon have just launched their 1000D, the independent specialist stores that don't want to go with Canon (we do have a few here in the UK!) will need the lower priced entry point camera.
I'm certain that one will be introduced in time for Photokina, if not before. I actually believe it's fairly close.
What happens further down the line is less clear, but I'm pretty convinced there will be a higher spec APS-C body announced before PMA and maybe even at Photokina. Pentax may decide to make their future plans regarding further bodies and other formats clear by PMA, but I suspect they would only do so if they feel it's absolutely neccessary to keep the faithful, but I think caution will prevail.
But I'll put money on an entry body by Photokina, and I'm a tightwad!
I also think we will see some more mockup lenses and maybe even the long awaited 60-250 actually appear in reality, and, as a very long shot, a mockup of the model above the K20D, but I wouldn't bet on anything more than that.