Originally posted by mee Calling this practice 'nefarious' could be considered unnecessarily accusative. I'd rather say it is more typical of corporations globally. The goal is to make money, not burn it. Even for Japanese companies, and their unusual business culture, it would be hard to argue otherwise directly. Profit is important.
I like the way you worded this. I am personally sick and tired of the Mainstream cultural bias towards making falsely-accusative statements with no negative consequences to those who utter them. We need a more holistic view of things to understand.
For instance, as a personal example, as a K3 user, I actually like many FF lenses because of a more flat surface usable with APS-C sensors (potentially less destructive corrections needed in post-processing). When I first got my K100D Super and then the K200D, I even went to buying cheap used 6x7 lenses and was able to push the sharpening (in certain ways) during post-processing much more than if I only had APS-C lenses. I am *so* glad that Pentax finally came out with the K1. What I don't like is that there are only old fixed focal length lenses based on old designs with lots of aberrations, lack of digital-coping coatings, etc. IMHO, we need to scrap ALL the old FF lenses (including the LTD's) and come out with brand new computer-aided-formulations for digital sensors, and might as well make ALL of them weather resistant (why not, just standardize that practice to bring long term costs down). That is one area that Pentax can still push/influence the whole industry to compete. Profit is important and making lenses that are relevant to the 21st Century would really help. (I met an Olympus user last weekend and he commented that he has heard the Pentax K3 is "a good camera".) So, the reputation seems to be growing among some camera enthusiasts.
Parallel to this, there are probably a couple of APS-C lenses that could be phased out, like, how many people using crop sensor cameras use a 40mm lens? It would be better to have an updated 35mm FF and crop a little as needed. Could not do that before digital all that easily but now a company can consolidate *some* (not all) of the crop sensor lenses to save some money which could then be plowed into the newer lenses. If I were in the market for a 35mm (or even a 30mm), I might get a refreshed FF version (but it does not exist yet!!).
So, bottom line is I would continue to buy APS-C cameras in K-mount as long as they follow-through on a complete revamp of both FF (and to a lesser degree, APS-C) lenses. I *think* the implications of this viewpoint are that Pentax does not need huge numbers of converts from Canikon, but just enough "at the margin" where profits are increased to give the Parent company Ricoh to take notice that something good is happening at Pentax and not to screw it up by meddling, but in fact, empower it a little MORE, so that this potential can be actualized! And we need that actualization NOW or we miss the opportunity in a tangible sense.
This is a different perspective so I can understand if some people would disagree.