Originally posted by JPT I measure the distance from the mount face to the back surface of my MZ-3 to be 53mm and the K-01 to be 58mm. So, the K-01, which was designed to be as small as possible but still has a screen and IBIS, adds 5mm. Not so dramatic. I realize that some other SLRs were a few mm thinner than the MZ-3. The LX seems to be 50mm. I think a K-mount camera that resembles an LX is feasible, but it would help to keep the dimensions down if it were mirrorless like the K-01.
It's funny that I mentioned the lack of a new generation sensor yesterday, and today we get details of the Fujifilm X-T3 with a 26mp APS-C sensor. It seems that after many years of variations of 24mp, it may be time for a new sensor, and Sony is not keeping it to itself. Fuji haven't particularly got sensors earlier than Pentax in the past as far as I can tell.
Yes, a MILC comparable in size to the old svelte SLRs should be possible .... but many users here are happy with what they are doing right now and don't want to see drastic change - in fact they want large cameras, not smaller cameras where they have to use two hands to control a large lens. I am not willing to say right now how pervasive the change to MILC will be, but I think it has the potential to be more "revolutionary" than the other two recent changes - to autofocus and to digital - were. Pentax lost ground during that time, and Kodak was basically forced out of the business.
One time when my family was visiting the Greenfield Village living history museum, I was at one end of the property when the rest of my family decided we should eat at the other end, so I texted "I'm told we'll be there in ten minutes" along with the photo below; we would have been there in five minutes if they'd been using one of their 1920's buses on the route. I'm sure there were people back in 1920 who complained that they got nauseous riding in a car, and some said that the roads just wouldn't handle these new-fangled things, but cars did eventually come to dominate, and buggy makers either made cars or went out of business. I believe that scenario is entirely possible with cameras also. I think it is perfectly fine for companies like Pentax to continue to make DSLRs, but I believe they need to be prepared to make MILCs also, in case the market does suddenly flip in that direction.