[Marktax]

I am of the unshakable opinion that LOTS of "consumer photographers" would be far happier, not to mention better picture-takers, with the ergonomics, menu interface, and quality-per-dollar with ANY of the Pentax APS-C DSLR's, rather than the Rebels and red Nikons I see around their necks in the camera-rich environment of my home city. Few if any of those tourist and casual shooters would split hairs over AF or, especially, the "grip angst," that so many more "advanced" shooters get distracted with (irony there, eh? The KP multi-grip was very probably Pentax fairly responding to all the unnecessary grip angst that swirled around the K-01 and later the K-S1. I give Pentax high credit for actually listening to the market and giving the KP multi-grip a chance. And then guess what? Advanced Pentaxians had the nerve to complain about that. Sheesh). I think the teaser is a K-1 mark 2, not another APS-C. The KP and K-70 are still excellent models for APS-C, and the K-3ii is still fabulous, without even considering the current pricing, which represent astounding value to be had nowhere else. Not being a Pentaxian is the single worst mistake that a budding photographer can make as far as I'm concerned.

But back to my point, with the supervalue K-3ii and the highly capable K-70 and KP still available, the teaser is a K-1 mk2.

[zmohie]

Current bestsellers on B&H: 1. K3II with grip 2. K1 3. K70 4. K1 with 28-105 5. K70 with 18-135 6. K3II 7. K70 silver 8. K70 with 18-55 9. K1 with 24-70 10. KP with 18-35 11. KP 12. K1 with 15-30 13. K70 silver with 18-135 and extras 14. K70 silver with 18-135 and more extras 15. KP black The next 6 a various KP kits.

I realize this is only one seller, and a very US-centric seller at that, but it does give us some evidence about what is selling. We can know a few things for certain: The K3II still sells, and APSc sales are still significant.

Pentax maybe the only brand that their da lenses are covering almost all needs for a crop camera but FF sector is need more interest. A few of modern dfa lenses.
Btw from d300 to d500 it takes a 6 years from Nikon.

[normhead]

K3II was discontinued while making number one sales. We live in a strange world.

And yet no new APS-c flagship in the system officially? Does that mean stocks of K-3iis are sufficient to get us through the next couple of months, until they release an APS-c flagship, or does it mean the K-P is it for us APS-c-ers.

I don't kn't know, is it common for a company to discontinue production before announcing a successor? Or is this just more weird Pentax behaviour?

I'm really annoyed at Pentax at the moment. Should I be upgrading my K-3 to a K-3ii because no upgrade to AF, buffer and FPS coming? As I pointed out above, my K-3 is well into it's 5th year. It's starting to feel like Pentax doesn't even care if I (and other k-3/K-3ii users) buy another Pentax APS-c. To me, the K-P is more like a K-1 only not as good IQ.

[afan137]

I dont believe that image teaser came from Ricoh Imaging marketing division.
It is plain silly to share the product teaser to the photography forum where the reader is so small. If Ricoh really want to get attention by cheap image spoiler, Ricoh will only lose credibility.
Look at fuji they invite the famous blogger to their factory as the smart marketing program.
The image teaser is really funny.

However, what Asahiman said make sense to the current condition. Maybe future DSLR will get smaller, with more electronic rather than mechanical stuff. Nevertheless, we can't trust 100% what Asahiman said will come into reality in the future.

[biz-engineer]

Or is this just more weird Pentax behaviour?

With Ricoh it's like with children: tell them not to do something and they do it. So if you wanted a sporty yet affordable DSLR, you'd have to tell Ricoh that you don't want it.
It's the same with lenses, lot of people asked for a small 20mm f4 wide angle prime lens, Ricoh come up with a 1kg 50mm 1.4 lens.

[monochrome]

And yet no new APS-c flagship in the system officially? Does that mean stocks of K-3iis are sufficient to get us through the next couple of months, until they release an APS-c flagship, or does it mean the K-P is it for us APS-c-ers.

I don't kn't know, is it common for a company to discontinue production before announcing a successor? Or is this just more weird Pentax behaviour?

I'm really annoyed at Pentax at the moment. Should I be upgrading my K-3 to a K-3ii because no upgrade to AF, buffer and FPS coming? As I pointed out above, my K-3 is well into it's 5th year. It's starting to feel like Pentax doesn't even care if I (and other k-3/K-3ii users) buy another Pentax APS-c. To me, the K-P is more like a K-1 only not as good IQ.

In theory the 42Mp BSI sensor forced into crop mode yields 28Mp 19 +/- Mp with a long FF lens or DA*60/250. If they could cram the electronics into a smaller body (near K-3ll sized) and keep FPS above 8 in crop mode would anyone need an APSc flagship?

[Mistral75]

In theory the 42Mp BSI sensor forced into crop mode yields 28Mp with a long FF lens or DA*60/250. If they could cram the electronics into a smaller body (near K-3ll sized) and keep FPS above 8 in crop mode would anyone need an APSc flagship?

Ahem!... 42 ÷ 1,5 ^ 2 = 18,7, not 28. Pixel count is proportional to the surface, not the diagonal.

Besides, using a full frame SLR camera in crop mode means that you have to cope with a smaller (effective) viewfinder than that of a genuine APS-C camera.

[monochrome]

Ahem!... 42 ÷ 1,5 ^ 2 = 18,7, not 28. Pixel count is proportional to the surface, not the diagonal.

Besides, using a full frame SLR camera in crop mode means that you have to cope with a smaller (effective) viewfinder than that of a genuine APS-C camera.

Corrected. Thanks. Need coffee.

[rangercarp]

I am of the unshakable opinion that LOTS of "consumer photographers" would be far happier, not to mention better picture-takers, with the ergonomics, menu interface, and quality-per-dollar with ANY of the Pentax APS-C DSLR's, rather than the Rebels and red Nikons I see around their necks in the camera-rich environment of my home city.

Spot on! I whole hardheartedly agree.

[thibs]

Yep 36MP FF -> 16 MP ApsC (+/-) so it's about right.

As for VF, yes and no, VF in APS mode is of course quite smaller but this dependant on the VF in FF mode. In theory, it could be as big as a usual APS VF.
Practically I doubt it though...

[Wheatfield]

I'm really annoyed at Pentax at the moment.

Gee, and after spending so many words telling me I had no right to be annoyed mere weeks ago, you are now "really annoyed".
The world is a funny place sometimes.
I'm now really amused.

[ogl]

70% of Pentax users are doing wildlife with long lenses?

We buy and use, most of all, APS-C cameras.

[biz-engineer]

We buy and use, most of all, APS-C cameras.

K3II renewal (higher frame rate, buffer) only needed for wildlife long lens kind of shots, for all other cases, the KP is very good. You can buy a KP, it's a very nice camera, for shooting flowers and landscapes of the lake baikal Pentax KP is perfect.

---------- Post added 11-02-18 at 19:00 ----------

I'm really annoyed at Pentax at the moment.

when shooting lots of bursts with the K3, you may have the shutter gave up in the middle of the spring season. then what to do? buy another K3 or wait for the next model?

[ogl]

K3II renewal (higher frame rate, buffer) only needed for wildlife long lens kind of shots, for all other cases, the KP is very good. You can buy a KP, it's a very nice camera, for shooting flowers and landscapes of the lake baikal Pentax KP is perfect.

It's rather absurd statement. Like (I had remember) many users said at the forums in 2004-2005 - no need more than 6 MP for landscapes. I shoot in all way from 1980. Landscapes are very rare. People and animals and street photos are the main.

I don't like the body of KP, no need to promote this camera to me I'm interested not in buffer or higher frame, but in really new AF system.

[Mistral75]

(...)

As for VF, yes and no, VF in APS mode is of course quite smaller but this dependant on the VF in FF mode. In theory, it could be as big as a usual APS VF.
Practically I doubt it though...

In theory yes, in practice a 24x36 viewfinder such the one in K-1 has a 0.7x magnification whilst the viewfinder in K-S2/K-70/KP/K-3 II has a 0.95 magnification.

To put things into perspective, 0,7x (K-1) is among the magnification ratios of the viewfinders of entry-level APS-C cameras such as the Nikon D3400 (0.57x) and the Canon EOS 1300D / Rebel T6 (0.8x) whilst 0.95x (current Pentax APS-C cameras) s the magnification ratio of the ME Super's viewfinder.