Originally posted by ffking As I mentioned somewhere earlier (and I.m more convinced of now) the reason I find this convincing is that it's sufficiently counter-intuitive not to be arrived at by normal logic, and yet people like Tony Northrup (who must have industry contacts) were predicting it in his predictions for 2018. All uninformed logic would have said that a 645Z or K-3ii replacement was more likely -which doesn't mean that they won't happen, but it's not what he was majoring on. There must have been a reason for that.
I think it depends on the logic you choose to follow. A lot of people seem to follow the idea that the cameras will be updated sequentially, based on past precedent. Another way of looking at it is to look at Ricoh's future plans, some of which are public. We know that most of the lenses they plan to release are full frame, so it makes sense to expand the base of users that would consider buying them. It's difficult to do that with just one model.
Let's say they introduce a new FF camera with better AF and better video at a price if 2,500-3,000, and then reduce the price of the K-1 a bit and introduce a lens kit with the 28-105. That would extend the appeal of the system both up and down. I don't think keeping the K-1 as it is will be enough, because the people who were going to buy it have mostly done so by now. Really there needs to be more choice in both bodies and lenses, and they have to go hand in hand. I don't know much about Sony's FF A-mount efforts, but didn't they have just one body most of the time? Look where that ended.
2018 is going to be an interesting year if the rumors are to be believed. Both Nikon and Canon are expected to release serious mirrorless systems and they will need to manage that very carefully not to alienate their existing users. There will have to be a switching of resources from their DSLR lines to these cameras. If Ricoh introduces a number of solid full frame products, they could end up looking like the only company really committed to OVF cameras, and that could be an opportunity for them.
And as for Kunzite's comment about cheap cameras damaging the brand, I don't think that's really valid. Canon and Nikon have had the 6D and D600 for years, and it hasn't done them any harm. It just makes the system more accessible for people with less to spend.
Last edited by JPT; 01-27-2018 at 02:24 AM.