Originally posted by btnapa With all the speculations on what the specs are and what is or is not inside the camera, I think the biggest surprise may be the price. My guess, all along, has been in the $2,200-2,500 range which would make it the deal to end all deals.
If they put 42mp sensor, GPS, astrotracer and pixel shift in the camera, that might attract converts from Canikon or even Sony.
Yup, it is already attracting this Nikon user, and it hasn't even been announced yet!
Considering that the Pentax K-3 II costs (now) under $1K while the Canon 7D mk2 costs $1500, or more importantly considering that the Pentax 645Z costs about $8K while a Phase One IQ180 costs about $30K, ...I'm really betting the full-frame Pentax will cost within $500 of $2K. Maybe just under $2K, after the initial pre-order rush dies down, and maybe as much as $2500 at first MSRP, but I strongly feel that if they're offering a medium format digital camera for $8K, they're not going to try and pull some $3K+ stunt on full-frame shooters.
(BTW the Canon 5Ds is already selling for under $3K I hear, and a grey market Nikon D810 can be had for just $2200, so yeah the market is getting pretty saturated and competitive, even for the camera bodies that are chasing medium format in a professional, near-flagship form factor...)
Keep in mind that in the Canon / Nikon world, it is very easy to spend $10K on bodies and lenses if you're a hard-working pro, or just a upper-middle-class hobbyist. If Pentax is going to put a real dent in the full-frame market, they have to do it for considerably less than that. Considering they're hoping to charge about the same for a 70-200 2.8 as Canon and Nikon are, the enticement is going to have to come from the bodies.
Just my opinion as an un-educated but highly fascinated industry observer.
=Matt=