[Larrymc]

You have some vivid DREAMS!



Technicolour!

Hey, its as believable as all the other W.A.S. (Wild *ssed Speculation) going on right now

Larry

[twilhelm]

While I can only speak for myself, (as I have zero inside information) I can't see Ricoh taking Pentax into the mirrorless market, either fullframe or apsc. A mirrorless mount, in my opinion, would spell the beginning of the end for them. Although I'd like to see them continue the Q system.

I'll wait, and speculate with everyone else here, what's coming. And then I'll decide what I'll be doing for my next body. What I have is perfectly capable to handle what I do, but I'd like a new apsc body, even if it is the KP.

But more than that, I'd like to see a few modern primes for my K-1. And hopefully they'll keep with the traditional Pentax size, on the smaller side.

I do find it amusing that every time something new is forecast for us Pentaxians, we get a flurry of people who are going to jump ship because what's been forecast isn't exactly what they want...

Just saying...

[monochrome]

I just hope I don’t get excited and twitch my right index finger before I think.

[Fcsnt54]

645z is nice, but why a Fuji mirrorless 645 get more people excited than 645D, 645Z? the endless possibility with MF glasses.

If i had to make a stab at it, its not pentax... other reasons id say it was the first functioning mirrorless medium format(x1d had too many software glitches), its fuji, size, weight, and glass. The 645d and 645z did do well, especially the z. It was the reason or one of the reasons why the k-1 was delayed.

[mecrox]

As a long time Pentax fan owning numerous Pentax digital and film cameras, I am not sure if Ricoh should continue the DSLR, I hope they at least have a mirrorless.

Don't think except long time Pentax users, there is much new comer will look at Pentax cameras.

There are many new, nice glasses from Sigma, etc., that simply don't have anything in K-mount.
A mirrorless Pentax at least allow people who wants those glass to consider Pentax.

645z is nice, but why a Fuji mirrorless 645 get more people excited than 645D, 645Z? the endless possibility with MF glasses.

DSLR will be like Facebook, only old folks still clinging on it.

if Fuji goes FF mirrorless, it will be too late for Pentax.

Whether it is mirrorbox or mirrorless, the main thing for Pentax is to get some growth and good news back into their finances and for that they need an enticing range of new items to hit the market throughout 2018. In two or three weeks, we will get a solid taste of what they have in store, at the CP+ show in Japan. Even Olympus, often in the frame as the next company to get it in the neck, recently reported growth of 7 per cent in their digital cameras and revenue two or three times higher than Ricoh's Smart Vision camera business. That's on track to report annual shrinkage of around 10 per cent or so, I think, something that has to be reversed if Pentax is to have a healthy future. Stakes are very high in 2018. Pentax need sales and sales need good new products!

[clickclick]

I just hope I don’t excited and twitch my right index finger before I think.

I've already got a cart waiting at B&H

[Mistral75]

(...) Even Olympus, often in the frame as the next company to get it in the neck, recently reported growth of 7 per cent in their digital cameras and revenue two or three times higher than Ricoh's Smart Vision camera business. (...)

¥14.9bn for Ricoh's Smart Vision segment vs. ¥47.3bn for Olympus's Imaging Business segment, split as follows: 77.3% from mirrorless cameras (sales went up 7.3% yoy), 14.6% from compact cameras (down 19.6% yoy) and 8% from other devices (mainly voice recorders; down 7.3%).

[kenspo]

And hopefully they'll keep with the traditional Pentax size, on the smaller side

Those days are over as said before.

But more than that, I'd like to see a few modern primes for my K-1.

Primes will come

[dafbp]

What shots are you unable to take as a result of working with your existing body, Chris? I ask that not just of you, but of anyone waiting impatiently for the next APS-C flagship to arrive and potentially looking at the EXIT sign. I'm not suggesting you and others wouldn't benefit from a K-P or other newer body, but what would you expect (or hope) it could do that would really transform your photography as opposed to offering incremental improvements in certain areas?
...
Anyway, for those frustrated by waiting for a K-3II replacement, I hope one arrives sooner rather than later, and I hope it offers everything you wish for. I may even buy one myself in a few years' time - when it's about to be replaced and reaches an acceptable close-out price

Better AF would decrease my OOF-rate.
Interesting though the KP is, that [very] shallow buffer depth would be a killer for me on some (not few) occasions. Shame. Especially at that price.
I'm not even remotely thinking of switching, just waiting.

That would mean you'd buy a K3 replacement in about 6-7 years . "Like getting your money's worth?"

[BigMackCam]

Better AF would decrease my OOF-rate.

Yes, I accept that. With better AF, you'd get more in focus shots than you're currently able to achieve in certain situations. But some will still be out of focus. To me, that's an incremental improvement... valuable, no doubt, but hardly transformational. You still get great shots right now with your existing body - or if you don't, an improvement in AF performance isn't going to change that significantly.

That would mean you'd buy a K3 replacement in about 6-7 years . "Like getting your money's worth?"

Sure I do And why not? The image quality from my K-3 and K-3II is fantastic, and they do everything I need. The rest is up to me. I'll probably stick with them for as long as they're operational, and replace them when they break.

I'm perfectly happy shooting my two old 10MP "K10D clone" Samsung GX-10s, and they're eleven years old... My *ist DL and GX-1L are a little older still

[jpzk]

Originally posted by twilhelm And hopefully they'll keep with the traditional Pentax size, on the smaller side Those days are over as said before.

So, you definitely are in the know, it seems ?

[kenspo]

So, you definitely are in the know, it seems ?

Yes..and so?

[pres589]

The only lens that retains the classic Pentax design ethos, of a decently corrected small lens that might not have the max aperture that you'd hope for (meaning, an f2.8 prime where others might offer a 2.0 or 1.8, etc) released in the last few years is the DA 55-300 retractable. D-FA* 50mm and 85mm prototypes are not small, D-FA 70-200 is as heavy or heavier than anything it competes with, and the lenses they worked out with Tamron (the 15-30 and 24-70) aren't exactly lightweights either. The DA* 11-18 isn't small, from the images we've seen of it. If/when a D-FA* 35mm shows up I am sure that it'll be not very small either. If they come out with a D-FA* 2xmm prime, will it be much smaller and lighter than the old Sigma 28mm 1.8 EX? I doubt it, at this point.

This isn't entirely bad but it does take away some of the "specialness" of being a Pentax user, I think.

[MMVIII]

The only lens that retains the classic Pentax design ethos, of a decently corrected small lens that might not have the max aperture that you'd hope for (meaning, an f2.8 prime where others might offer a 2.0 or 1.8, etc) released in the last few years is the DA 55-300 retractable. D-FA* 50mm and 85mm prototypes are not small, D-FA 70-200 is as heavy or heavier than anything it competes with, and the lenses they worked out with Tamron (the 15-30 and 24-70) aren't exactly lightweights either. The DA* 11-18 isn't small, from the images we've seen of it. If/when a D-FA* 35mm shows up I am sure that it'll be not very small either. If they come out with a D-FA* 2xmm prime, will it be much smaller and lighter than the old Sigma 28mm 1.8 EX? I doubt it, at this point.

This isn't entirely bad but it does take away some of the "specialness" of being a Pentax user, I think.

I see your point. Still, after I was begging for a “limited“ camera for years I went for the K-P with the 20-40 and the 55-300 and I must say: what else does the world of compact, rugged and environmentally protected photography need? It's limited with WR, and very solid performance! I even tried to find a comparable package in mirrorless APS-C land, I dont think it exists.

[Chris Mak]

What shots are you unable to take as a result of working with your existing body, Chris? I ask that not just of you, but of anyone waiting impatiently for the next APS-C flagship to arrive and potentially looking at the EXIT sign. I'm not suggesting you and others wouldn't benefit from a K-P or other newer body, but what would you expect (or hope) it could do that would really transform your photography as opposed to offering incremental improvements in certain areas?

I take quite a lot of shots in low or less-than-ideal light (we seem to specialise in such lighting here in the UK ), so I'd love to have better high ISO performance from my cameras. But my K-3 and K-3II do pretty well, and careful (dare I claim "skillful"?) post-processing gets me very pleasing results at ISO 6400. Depending on the subject matter, I'm even happy shooting them considerably higher than that. Would I benefit from the high ISO performance of the K-P? Sure. Have I bought one? Nope. I can work with what I have, and I don't feel I miss out much for the few occasions where my K-3/K-3II and Lightroom or Darktable can't cope...

And then there's the glass. There's a handful of Pentax lenses I've grown quite attached to. I'm used to the field of view and how they will render in certain situations, and I don't want to give them up. To a large extent, my camera bodies are secondary - they're just digital backs for those lenses. I don't know how attached you and others are to their lenses, but for me, it's a big reason to stay with the brand.

Anyway, for those frustrated by waiting for a K-3II replacement, I hope one arrives sooner rather than later, and I hope it offers everything you wish for. I may even buy one myself in a few years' time - when it's about to be replaced and reaches an acceptable close-out price

Mike,
A fair bit of missed shots from the K3+DA560 over the last 4 years due to focus hunting, and difficulty to securely lock on a target. Perhaps the AF module, or processor, or algorithms. Not talking C-AF, I know the DA560 is no lens for tracking. Perhaps the KP would do better with the newer algorithms and a different processor. + would have liked to see the new 5 axis SR and improved high iso in a new APS-C body with suffiecient buffer depth, battery life, and hopefully a denser AF module.
Not to be, no matter, life goes on, and there are other roads.

Cheers
Chris