Originally posted by Cannikin You know, sometimes (or maybe most of the time) I really think that people suffer from serious memory issues and confusion in recent years.
1. So many people post comments like "Pentax is 10 years too late", especially on DPR. Really? I guess that means Nikon should've given up, as they didn't have a FF 10 years ago either. The first Nikon FF was the D3 in 2007.
2. Pentax's so called "broken promises", "record of failure", etc. The "MZ-D" prototype was shown in 2001 (before even the first Canon FF, the 1ds, existed), and was officially canceled shortly after. Pentax then said nothing official about FF for the next 13.5 years until CP+ 2015. This week marks the very first and only official FF delay (that wasn't an outright cancellation). People see the PentaxForums 2012 "FF K-3" April Fool's joke, and have been going ballistic ever since based on that nonsense and third hand rumors.
Man, I'd hate to see what they'd say if they had to deal with delays like those in the video game industry, where there can be a decade or more of "release date: TBA" from official announcement.
Anybody whose complaints go beyond mild annoyance definitely does not know the "brief history of the (DSLR) universe" as it were. You're right, in the realm of delays, secrets, even betrayal, Nikon still takes the cake with their DX->FX transition.
Before the D3 was announced in 2007, five years after Canon's 1Ds, Nikon's corporate marketing mantra was die-hard DX. They repeatedly made official statements (well, interviews at least) that DX was (TLDR) the brightest possible future of DSLR technology, and they were fully committed to supporting it as a format for hard-working pros and amateurs alike.
Then, practically overnight, the D3 and D700 came out, and Nikon hasn't released a serious DX lens since then. They only ever got around to making 2-3 serious / pro grade DX lenses, period actually, and by 2007 / 2008 they were only interested in rehashing the D300 with the D300s, and we havnen't seen a flagship style crop-sensor body since then. Let alone a full-body (vertical grip) DX body since then, but hey, nobody would buy that anyways so who can blame them.
Also keep in mind that both Nikon and Canon (And Kodak!) early forrays into the full-frame world were in the $5,000-$8,000 range. It took a generation or two before they even had the ability to deliver in the $3,000 range, and another generation or two before they could deliver in the $2,000 range.
Now, at least half the "K-FF3" rumors are putting it at under $3,000, and with either of what are arguably the two most cutting-edge full-frame sensors available.
To me, that is worth waiting for.
Don't get me wrong, the broken "promises" and delays are really tough to deal with, and I hope they follow through with this "final" promise, and I hope the camera is a wild success that affords them the hiring of some new team members to bring future cameras to market sooner.
For the record, I'm a semi-former Nikon user who is very excited to join the Pentax ranks for my adventure photography and astro-landscape photography. I'm not particularly overwhelmed by what Nikon or Sony or Canon are doing for guys like me right now, whereas Pentax is offering amazing cameras like the K-3 II which have features galore right up my alley. I really, really hope that this is a successful endeavor for Pentax, since as a highly nostalgic camera buyer (I still have my grandfather's Asahi Pentax K1000 on display next to my Nikon FM3) ...I would hate to see Pentax slowly fail as a company right as I'm beginning to invest in them, and right as they seem to be hitting their digital stride...