Originally posted by monochrome Pentax is a tiny, tiny camera company. Mistral75 says Leica is a larger company than Ricoh Imaging. Pentax is a niche player, not a major, and it doesn't appear Ricoh parent Co. is willing to invest the way Sony and even Fuji are. I think we have to tailor our expectations to reality RE: near-term (at least) Pentax releases.
That may be true. But Ricoh's decision to stay very small is not just an investment decision, it is a bet that a photography company can get by while staying very small and "expenditure lite" in the current climate. There seem to be indications now that this bet is unravelling. Developing and selling consumer electronics can be hugely expensive and you may well need a bigger scale to underwrite the costs. But if you don't do it, then you fall behind your competitors and take a hit.
The three most common complaints I've read concern the lens catalogue, AF acuity and third-party support. I think third-party support can be dismissed fairly easily as amour propre. Few complain about third-party support on Fuji or M43 or even Leica. Why? Because those platforms are amply supplied with own-brand lenses their users like and they don't feel they are being ripped off. No one buys them for top-flight sports photography so no one complains that Leica or Fuji don't have 300-600mm f4 zooms in their arsenal.
The Pentax lens catalogue looks pretty ropey to me. People can say that too is the inevitable result of staying small. But it may be that a good modern lens catalogue is actually a necessary business overhead. Why? Because buyers want a company which offers a good and at least affordable modern lens catalogue even if they don't intend to buy many lenses. It's part of the overall offer.
AF acuity is a long-running issue and I suspect it is easily exaggerated. Again, no one complains that some other companies are not issuing systems to rival a Nikon D5 or D500. In any case, it is fixable with more investment, lenses which are designed for better AF, and much more marketing communication (always a weak point with Pentax).
I do get the sense that things can't really carry on as they are. There is clearly trouble with representation in North America and that in Europe is no great shakes either so far as I can tell. Video is still at 2012 levels. Nearly every other company now offers a pro support programme - except for Pentax. That too may well be another necessary business overhead and buyers will stay away if you don't offer it.
Perhaps Ricoh need to double down or move on. The present situation doesn't look sustainable especially when one sees the new cameras and their very advanced tech now coming from other players. I'm not going to saying anything about mirrorless in case too many Pentaxians faint. But the fact over the next few years folks is that without it, Ricoh's camera division is toast. Not only is it the future, it is the only way Ricoh is going to capture significant numbers of new owners rather than the shrinking pool of old Pentaxians. Quite a chance, I should think, that Ricoh will leave Pentax as a legacy DSLR brand and migrate the tech to Ricoh-brand modern mirrorless.