Originally posted by Chris Mak Just relax, all those that hate the KP and crave the K3III. A new APS-C high end body will come, and the KP will be discontinued. You have the patience, I did not.
So in the end, in 1, 1,5 or so years time, yoú will have your craved new high end APS-C K... body, costing 1500,- or so, and I will probably upgrade too.
And I will have enjoyed the very real KP, that I can hold in my hand, and enjoy the latest Pentax technology with, for a year or more, and you will have enjoyed anticipating the not yet so very real K... assuming it was just around the corner all the time..
And who will have been right? Won't matter a bit then.
Chris
Enjoying my KP right now.
I have been planning for a Galapagos (and other places) trip, and originally was going to take the K-1 with DA*60-250 (FF modded), DA28-105, and FA20-35, with a K-3 as backup/2nd active body. A bit awkward with the difference in sensor size, and certainly heavier than I wanted (with the various restrictions imposed by this trip format). I really, REALLY wanted the K-3 replacement for this trip, to be paired with my old K-3 and a different lens lineup (to include the DA*60-250, DA16-85, and DA12-24), but it was obviously not going to be available in time.
Finally, my brain exploded, and I went for the KP and DA55-300 PLM, to be supplemented by the DA16-85 and DA12-24, with the K-3 still as backup/2nd active body. Matching sensor sizes and less weight. Simple lens lineup. A few extra batteries needed for the KP, of course. The KP is hardly a full replacement for the K-3 line (missing this, weak that, etc.), but has many advancements, also found in the K-1, over the K-3 line. An important feature, for me, of the KP is the articulated LCD display, missing in the K-5 and K-3 lines. Also it has the 3rd wheel that the K-1 has. Love it.
Pounding on the KP and DA55-300 PLM during the recent January Single In Challenge showed that both were highly suited to my version of my upcoming trip. I don't feel that my images will be harmed much by the lack of the K-1. I have a new, balanced travel kit.
Now that I have that situation squared away, I'm definitely going to be getting the K-3 replacement in the future. To me, it's been obvious all along that there will be one, just as it was obvious to me that Pentax was going to have a FF camera at some point. I quietly amassed a nice line of old FF FA lenses in preparation for the Pentax FF. Got my K-1 when it became available, after letting the early adopters verify that it was a great camera. I have no inside knowledge of what Ricoh is up to, nor am I an all-seeing genius, but the Ricoh path has been reasonable IMHO. They keep me happy, but a biiiiiiiiiiiiiit slowly
. And I'm jumping all over the upcoming (whenever) D-FA 70-200/f4.
I guess I'm old enough (retired) to have the patience to deal with the Ricoh way.
Y'all can now return to your hand-wringing. I got my KP.