I'm quite disappointed from many of the posts in here. They are negative but mostly based on personal beliefs and estimations without objective data... It's not forbidden, after all we all express our personal views, but it has become quite boring and annoying.
I want to express my opinion and some thoughts on the FF and Pentax future, as this has become the main subject of this thread.
I shot Pentax because I'm extremely happy with the results! I was shooting Nikon but when I had the chance to make the comparison and choose my system, Pentax was clearly better and more fun to use! I like the fact that Pentax is not from the biggest players in the market. The advantages are that you don't get a "new" product every 6 months that has little if anything to add to the previous one (I mean in real photography and not on a specifications list). Moreover Ricoh-Pentax is trying hard to offer more advanced features for the money you pay and differentiate from the companies that rule the market, and so far it has been extremely successful. I'm sure the FF will be another great camera simply because Pentax can't afford to and doesn't want to release another improved model within a year, if she makes a mistake. In fact Pentax can't afford to make a mistake in her main decisions. Although this must be really hard pressure for the company and the persons that decide its strategy and design the new products, we only benefit by getting even higher quality products. The question is has Pentax any success up to now in this highly competitive environment? The answer comes from facts. It has the 645Z one of the best medium format cameras in the market, the K-3 probably the best APS-C in the market (definitely the best value for money camera in the market) and the KS-2 a really wonderful camera that when you hold it you feel that it is another fine example of the Pentax philosophy in camera building... It has done mistakes as well or experiments that were not so successful but were exploring different market sectors, like the KS-1 that's is not bad but not a shining camera either, but also the Theta that is a really nice gadget-camera.
Concerning lenses Arsenal, the new DFA 150-450 is really superb and the all new 24-70/2.8 although rebadged, it comes from a highly competitive to the Canonikon lens at a great price. I really believe that it will be another winner lens.
So to sum up, I didn't give any unknown information as I don't know anything more than you, but I just presented Ricoh-Pentax present state as I see it. If Pentax will have problems in the future then we will discuss about them, now by discussing possibilities and problems that are based on assumptions we only create problems... When I'm affected by the negativity in here I just grab my K-5IIs and go out for some evening shooting with the great Pentax glass and when I open the pictures in my PC I go back to reality! And reality is objective... I just feel that many people in here feel "trapped" in Pentax and its different philosophy that doesn't suit them. There are always many different options in the market, just find those that fulfill your expectations and stop degrading something that is really worthy for some of us...
And I would like to close with one personal concern that since we talk about many different things in here on the occasion of the FF I find it strange that no one hasn't mention. My main concern is not the photography market, but the global market and the financial situation in general. In most Europe countries job positions and salaries are constantly decreasing and this harsh environment has affected my ability to travel around my country and abroad and take photographs, as I used to in the past. What's the point of having equipment (that is acquired with many sacrifices) when you don't have the opportunities that you would love to use it and enjoy it?
---------- Post added 09-30-15 at 01:27 PM ----------
Originally posted by rullrich So basically this thread is going this way: everything is lost and invain. All those top pundits around here advice me (and foremost themselves it seems) that now it's definitely time to jump ship. The story goes that RICOH absolutely has no idea of the dslr-market, has no idea where to move next, which product to develop and so on. If they only would listen to Uluru and the likes, they already have the answers ready. Unfortunately their don't run a global company on their own, but this detail is of minor concern and can be neglected. These days it's really hard to stand whats written in here. Please people, get happy again, even if this means you have to buy Nikon or Canon or Sony, really, the others don't mind, even if you think so. You are grown ups, you can buy whatever you like, even if it's non-Pentax gear, nobody cares. But please don't tell everybody else that it's useless to adhere to Pentax. Those who do for whatever reason are grown-ups as well who know what to do (I hope at least)!
+1