Originally posted by interested_observer I've posted over the last several years hoping for Pentax to do something exactly like this. Provide the functionality within the camera and post and/or make publicly available the interface. Let third party software developers bring their innovation to the Pentax community. Pentax wifi tethering has been panned by a number of reviewers. With a better in hand user-interfaces, Pentax may get a bit of additional traction in this respect. Hopefully, third party tethering tools like Backyard EOS / Nikon will expand their support to include Pentax. Pentax has some really nice astro capabilities - hopefully this can be expanded.
... along with other more general purpose tethering tools like LightRoom.
The addition of a "BackyardPentax" program to the Canon (EOS) and Nikon versions would be most welcome in the astro community. This could release the awesome astro capabilities of Pentax cameras to begin to overcome the overwhelming Canon domination of DSLR astro imaging.
I have been quite jealous of the ease of using Canon DSLRs in astro imaging, while I have to do everything manually with Pentax. Which is why I've moved on to the ZWO ASI071 MC-COOL astro camera, which "happens" to use the same sensor as my K-5.
Note that I'm talking about deep-sky astro imaging, using tracking mounts, at the moment, rather than wide-field. But BackyardPentax could go beyond the Canon and Nikon versions to incorporate using Astrotracer in wide-field applications also, without needing a tracking mount.
This move by Ricoh is excellent, should give a noticeable boost to Pentax over time.