[c.a.m]

Brand X doesn't do Y, here are a list of not convincing rationalizations why it's for the best. Brand X a few years down the road begins doing Y. The tune predictably changes. Just you wait for the day when video oriented sensors will be the only option on the market.

My hobby is photography, not videography. At the moment, I have no interest in producing videos. Perhaps I might get interested in the future, but that would be a different hobby line. The evolution of the Pentax brand from digital APS-C photography towards full-frame APSC photography - while maintaining the APS-C format - is very different than an evolution towards video. I just can't see myself making a 10-minute 4K video of a landscape scene or cityscape. However, I can understand that others need a capability for photos and videos.

I don't think I would have any issue with future sensors being video-oriented, as long as they are also image-oriented and provide an excellent image-taking capability.

[ffking]

If you look at YouTube vloggers, almost none of them use a FF DSLR for video - and that applies to studio based vloggers, not just those who want to keep weight down. People who want to do video use a dedicated camera, which isn't a FF DSLR

[maw]

Well, the sensor in the Nikon is TowerJazz,not Sony...When Sony develop a new FF sensor for their cameras RI will be able to afford the "old hat" 42mp sensor Sony has in the A7r3.

Someone better tell TowerJazz that Sony is telling everyone that's its built by them

I had already read about the Nikon D850 sensor for a long time, and it seems plausible to me. Sony cannot should not be a monopolizer of the sensors on the market.
In this regard I would like, a Pentax made of Pentax, totally Pentax. I believe that the pentaxians like me as well. I quote the full text from the magazine where I read the article.

" Dependency on Sony for the sensor is certainly not a pleasant prospect for Nikon, especially today that Sony has become a fierce competitor. Nikon has therefore turned his gaze elsewhere.
It is well known that the sensor mounted by the Nikon D850 is no longer produced by Sony, but what is the manufacturer then, given that Nikon has not revealed it? According to our sources, this would be the result of collaboration between different companies. First of all Nikon, who defined the characteristics that the sensor should have. Engineering, i. e.
the definition of the specifications for industrial production, was carried out by Forza Silicon Co. Surprises the Italian name, but the company is from Pasadena, California.
Founded in 2001, according to Bloomberg, it is a semiconductor design company for high-resolution, high-speed CMOS image sensors.
Its image sensors are used inter alia by cameras, camcorders, mobile phones and X-ray equipment. It is active in consumer electronics, medicine, biotechnology, defence and the automotive market.
Forza Silicon Corporation has a strategic partnership with TowerJazz.
And here comes into play the manufacturer, TPS Co Ltd, Towerjazz Panasonic Semiconductors Co Ltd, which materially produces the sensors; this company is a joint venture between Towerjazz and Panasonic,
which has contributed three of its plants. If Panasonic does not need any introduction, TowerJazz is a highly customizable chip manufacturer that was founded in 1993 and has 2 factories in Israel and 2 in the United States."

[jatrax]

I'll continue to use the Pentax gear I have, but it is highly likely that I'll swap brands down the road.

Sorry to see you go but I think the reality is that development of new products under Ricoh is going to be much, much slower than many would like. We expect a new phone of the year, new camera of the year, new whatever of the month. But things have not always been that frantic. The K1000 was produced virtually unchanged for 21 years. I believe the pendulum is moving back toward the K1000 model. A new product will take longer to develop and will need to be a viable product for much longer than we are used to.

I have often seen noted that Pentax held to an 18 month development cycle for APS-C camera bodies. I suspect that will be pushed out to 2 years or even 3 years and even longer than that for FF bodies. Say a 4 year cycle for FF with a refresh midway through that and a silver model at some point.

Lenses have a product life of 10 or even 20 years. The problem with Pentax is that they are looking out one, two, three generations of sensors that those lenses have to keep up with, not just what is in the K-1 today. And they have very little that can be considered truly 'modern'. So they are faced with moving the entire lens catalog forward at the same time. Not an easy task, especially with limited resources and a shrinking market.

Personally I am expecting 1 new camera body and perhaps 2 or 3 lenses per year going forward. People who need things faster than that will be forced to move to another brand.

[monochrome]

@jatrax Pretty much on target, except APSc where the flagship is on a 40 months cycle with more frequent introductions of derivative bodies; the FF is 48 months and the 645 is 60 months, both with an update.

All 5 DA Limiteds could be upgraded to small electric motors and KAF4 in short order. All three FA Limiteds together. The long-cycle lenses will be Reference Lenses - ‘*’ and Limited

[SSGGeezer]

If the lens lets in the light that covers the sensor area, how could it not be keeping up? Aren't the sensor sizes standardized so the total shape and area is a known quantity?
Pixel pitch is changeable though, but based on comments from knowledgeable folks here, that can mean more noise at the sensor, which is bad for IQ. Even older lenses can support newer sensors, you might not like its characteristics though. This is just like using a low end, 30 year old consumer zoom on your K3 and comparing it to new 70-200mm 2.8. The differences are visible but the sensor is still getting enough photons to create an image.

[jatrax]

The long-cycle lenses will be Reference Lenses - ‘*’

I know there has been a lot of concern about the delay of the new primes. But I personally think that they want these right, and that they are a completely new generation of lenses designed for the future. The DFA 50 is a 'prototype' in many ways, and not just the lens design. They are also working out the design process and the manufacturing processes. That cannot be easy. And much better to take the time with the first one and get it right rather than have to correct things later.

I think after the DFA 50 is out the other primes will follow at a more measured rate.

All 5 DA Limiteds could be upgraded to small electric motors and KAF4 in short order. All three FA Limiteds together.

I think you are right on this. All of the Limiteds could be re-done and re-released at the same time. Assuming they can come up with a motor design that still fits the Limited concept.

[monochrome]

I know there has been a lot of concern about the delay of the new primes. But I personally think that they want these right, and that they are a completely new generation of lenses designed for the future. The DFA 50 is a 'prototype' in many ways, and not just the lens design. They are also working out the design process and the manufacturing processes. That cannot be easy. And much better to take the time with the first one and get it right rather than have to correct things later.

I think after the DFA 50 is out the other primes will follow at a more measured rate.


I think you are right on this. All of the Limiteds could be re-done and re-released at the same time. Assuming they can come up with a motor design that still fits the Limited concept.

Commentary on the K-1 Special Site suggests they’re rebuilding the entire product design, schedule, produce philosophy from the inside out, thinking about the long-term viability of the product platform(s) and the entire enterprise. Meanwhile they need to release current products to keep cash flow up.

What an exciting time to be a discerning Pentax User !

[jatrax]

What an exciting time to be a discerning Pentax User !

Agree. I am continually confused at the negative comments on things I think are wonderful. My outlook on life must be very different than other folks.

K-mount is alive. Everything else is just icing on the cake.

[Ian Stuart Forsyth]

It is well known that the sensor mounted by the Nikon D850 is no longer produced by Sony,

Nikon can not just and go to another company and say build us this sensor found in the D850, Nikon does not hold many of the patents to the technology found in the D850 sensor. While Nikon may have told sony what features they want in the sensor one of them being DCG Sony holds the patents to that technology.

[monochrome]

Nikon can not just and go to another company and say build us this sensor found in the D850, Nikon does not hold many of the patents to the technology found in the D850 sensor. While Nikon may have told sony what features they want in the sensor one of them being DCG Sony holds the patents to that technology.

Soon enough Roger Cicala will tear one down and we’ll know the answer.

.:

[photoptimist]

Agree. I am continually confused at the negative comments on things I think are wonderful. My outlook on life must be very different than other folks.

K-mount is alive. Everything else is just icing on the cake.

Exactly!

I look at the upgraded features of the K-1ii and say "wow!" And I look at the criticized lack of upgrades on other performance dimensions (e.g., fps, buffer, AF, and video) and say "so what."

The K-1ii reaffirms my choice of system because it shows that Pentax's development priorities are very aligned with my photographic priorities.

[Wheatfield]

This kind of "debates" are going and going (sometimes in the wrong direction) because there are no pictures involved in these discussions. There are to many technical comments and I rather prefer to see 2-3-5 images than 50 comments which are kind of the same in all the topics.

Sure, there will probably going to be debates even when pictures are involved into discussions, but at least I can rely on what my eyes see in those images rather then believing what someone who has 2000 comments on a forum and not a single image posted (I'm not referring to you ) has to say. Images always speak better than words.

Pictures on the internet are the great equalizer at this point. All the cameras out there are plenty capable of doing what a person wants.

[mee]

Agree. I am continually confused at the negative comments on things I think are wonderful. My outlook on life must be very different than other folks.

K-mount is alive. Everything else is just icing on the cake.

Well... I can understand the negative comments over the past few years. And I think you can too if you really try. Even if we do or do not agree with them.


It seems a number of Pentax shooters were waiting on a K-3 II replacement for multiple years, only to be offered a KP and no serious official discussion of the K-3 III replacement (outside of flaky rumors here and there that have yet to come true). Even today it seems we don't have official word that, YES, it is real and it is coming (at some point in the realistic future).

In the meantime, the K-1 came around to tremendous fanfare and it was soon quieted after a year+ long wait for further lenses to make use of the super resolution on the K-1. Seeing the 3d printed shell of the lone D-FA 50 over several tradeshows and a seemingly shifting timeline met with quietness on the Ricoh homefront can get frustrating. I can understand that. Especially since it now looks like some of the lenses that were (incorrectly) assumed to be released around the same time are being shifted out another year or more.

It is all about timetables and empathizing.. even if we don't agree with some of the thoughts or views shared, we can still say 'I hear you and can see how that can be frustrating or upsetting.'

Not sure it has to do at all with outlook on personal life.. I think that is a dangerous insinuation on your part...

[SSGGeezer]

Pictures on the internet are the great equalizer at this point. All the cameras out there are plenty capable of doing what a person wants.

This /\/\/\/\/\ +1
We just need to pick what works best for our vision of what we want to do with our choice.