[rawr]

Note the very last line... a reference to a wireless flash.

That is very relevant to my interests. Hopefully they mean RF wireless, rather than optical wireless. It may be hard to implement, but if Pentax have done RF wireless with P-TTL support in body, that would be great. RF wireless flash support built-into the body would be a first for a DSLR, as far as I know.

[monochrome]

^^ They did promise us a 'surprise' . . . . . .

[rawr]

But of course there are no consumer flashes out there for Pentax with RF wireless P-TTL support, so Pentax will have to introduce a new Pentax flash unit alongside the new body. Or a wireless RF receiver/trigger unit to work with any wireless transmitter built-into the body.

More gear to buy. FBA.

[Mikesul]

Don't put words in my mouth. I also think that's a great camera but I was just rectifying the belief that on sensor PDAF were superior at std PDAF in any situation and faster. It's not faster and not as good in low light (even if it may be well implemented in this case, it's not as good by design) but allows more points and very precise positions (that allow eye tracking, ...). I came to look at it after questioning myself if a single semi-translucent mirror and on sensor PDAF were a viable design option for DSLR using the 42MP sony sensor. The fact that std PDAF concentrate more area than on sensor ones was the big advantage of the std pdaf against my idea.

It's not very fair to be called "high school football fan" for that.

I was not responding to your post but to the prior one which rejected Winder's link and to all of the bashing of other brands found so often in these discussions. All of which confirms why it is better not to get into these discussions. No slight was intended to you Glorfindelrb

[Zygonyx]

^^ They did promise us a 'surprise' . . . . . .

Could be price...

[rawr]

Could be price...

Maybe Ricoh will switch to a leasing model, rather than a purchase model, for new consumer hardware like their FF. Kind of like what Adobe, Microsoft, Capture One etc have already done for photo software. So we would buy a Pentax FF subscription ...

Pentax FF for $15/month sounds very attractive to me.

[awaldram]

Ricoh claims metering on the K-3 down to -3EV on a 50mm F/1.4 lens. I believe AF performance is with the same lens.

Well Rioch don;t seem to believe your thoughts.!
And my use seems to indicate -3ev still functions with at least f2.8 lens and f4


Dependable AF at super-low minimum luminance of –3 EV

The K-3’s high-sensitivity AF sensor assures dependable autofocus operation down to a minimum luminance of –3 EV (when using 25 middle sensors), preventing the AF mechanism from slowing down or being confused by high-contrast areas in back-lit situations. It also captures low-contrast subjects with great accuracy.

Not seen any promise from Sony of Lux capability of their AF system , seems to be always missing from MilC Specs (If I was cynical I might question why !)

Milcs advertised of new super low light shooting fail to give specs !
Though Hybrids should be capable of surprisingly good AF maybe sensor noise messes with it ?

---------- Post added 04-09-15 at 12:10 PM ----------

That is very relevant to my interests. Hopefully they mean RF wireless, rather than optical wireless. It may be hard to implement, but if Pentax have done RF wireless with P-TTL support in body, that would be great. RF wireless flash support built-into the body would be a first for a DSLR, as far as I know.

If they wanted to steal a lead why not infrastructure based RF (WiFi , 802.11x)

imagine you could have Point to point just like today normal RF/Light firing but also AP based (access Point)

Each Flash would be IP based using adHoC in Point to point mode and named in infrastructure .

You could place a flash anywhere and talk to it.

And Penatx would have new revenue streams for new flashes with very advanced capabilities

[Zygonyx]

Maybe Ricoh will switch to a leasing model, rather than a purchase model, for new consumer hardware like their FF. Kind of like what Adobe, Microsoft, Capture One etc have already done for photo software. So we would buy a Pentax FF subscription ...

Pentax FF for $15/month sounds very attractive to me.

LOL ^^
That Blabla Car / Bookings / Uber pop & whatever "Rent a DSLR" kinda model doesn't seem convincing from the industry point of vue

[Kunzite]

Pentax FF for $15/month sounds very attractive to me.

Considering they won't recover the money even in a decade, yes, it must be very attractive to you.

[rawr]

it must be very attractive to you.

Pleasing the customer is always a good move in business ...

Plus the FF 'subscription' could act as a lure to snare other purchases/bundles/long term contracts. Offer the cheap monthly subscription, but lock the customer into a 5 year Pentax equipment contract.

[IchabodCrane]

Well Rioch don;t seem to believe your thoughts.!
And my use seems to indicate -3ev still functions with at least f2.8 lens and f4


Dependable AF at super-low minimum luminance of –3 EV

The K-3’s high-sensitivity AF sensor assures dependable autofocus operation down to a minimum luminance of –3 EV (when using 25 middle sensors), preventing the AF mechanism from slowing down or being confused by high-contrast areas in back-lit situations. It also captures low-contrast subjects with great accuracy.

Not seen any promise from Sony of Lux capability of their AF system , seems to be always missing from MilC Specs (If I was cynical I might question why !)

Milcs advertised of new super low light shooting fail to give specs !
Though Hybrids should be capable of surprisingly good AF maybe sensor noise messes with it ?

---------- Post added 04-09-15 at 12:10 PM ----------



If they wanted to steal a lead why not infrastructure based RF (WiFi , 802.11x)

imagine you could have Point to point just like today normal RF/Light firing but also AP based (access Point)

Each Flash would be IP based using adHoC in Point to point mode and named in infrastructure .

You could place a flash anywhere and talk to it.

And Penatx would have new revenue streams for new flashes with very advanced capabilities

Not quite true. Panasonic claim -4 EV auto focusing for at least a couple of their MILCs.

[Erictator]

Pleasing the customer is always a good move in business ...

Plus the FF 'subscription' could act as a lure to snare other purchases/bundles/long term contracts. Offer the cheap monthly subscription, but lock the customer into a 5 year Pentax equipment contract.

A typical $600 Smart Phone will put you under contract to the tune of $99 down, and an extra $25 a month for 3 years on your bill, and you end up paying $999.00 for the $600 phone (which is why I buy my own phones outright)


I don't see how a ~ $2000.00 camera gets to $15 per month in any reasonable time frame. Yeah, I think a bunch of us would jump at that deal!


Eric

[monochrome]

A typical $600 Smart Phone will put you under contract to the tune of $99 down, and an extra $25 a month for 3 years on your bill, and you end up paying $999.00 for the $600 phone (which is why I buy my own phones outright)


I don't see how a ~ $2000.00 camera gets to $15 per month in any reasonable time frame. Yeah, I think a bunch of us would jump at that deal!


Eric

The phone doesn't cost Apple $600, it costs your carrier something more than what it cost Apple. Your carrier makes a spread on the hardware 'lease' and fudges the data contract cost to make you feel good.

Ricoh would need to base their capital contribution on their volume price to their distributors (significantly less than retail) and cut the distributors and retailers out of the deal, or let the distributors and retailers mark up the capital base, depreciate the cameras, offer a Buy-out at end-of-contract or bulk re-sell used cameras in emerging markets when you turn in you 42Mp at the 's' upgrade (iPhone 6s and 6s+ coming in three weeks),

[IchabodCrane]

The problem with the lease scenario is there's not really a robust and established secondary market for complex DSLRs coming off a hypothetical lease. Much different than mobile phones or cars. Regardless, it seems the mobile network operators are de-emphasizing the lease model in favor of simply financing the purchase of mobile phones.

Monochrome -- what's your guess as to the wholesale price Verizon, AT&T, etc. pay on a $650 iPhone 6 (16GB)?

[Kunzite]

Pleasing the customer is always a good move in business ...

Plus the FF 'subscription' could act as a lure to snare other purchases/bundles/long term contracts. Offer the cheap monthly subscription, but lock the customer into a 5 year Pentax equipment contract.

Going bankrupt isn't
It might sound cynical, but a company's primary purpose is to make a profit. Sure, a stable profit can be achieved (among other things) by making your spending customers happy. It is not however made by giving away your products to people too stingy to buy anything

There's no positive effect from locking the customers into a 5 year contract, if in those 5 years it will pay only a fraction of the product's price. Going back to the phone subscription example, you will pay more, not much less; why are you expecting the complete opposite with cameras?