[rawr]

they have exactly 26-29th Sept.

Gives them plenty of time to make and release some YouTube videos.

[mee]

Would be pretty cool if some third party manufacturers suddenly showed some support) but dreamers can dream..

If Tamron alone suddenly supported K mount it would be a dream. We'd get an affordable UWA zoom that accepts ring filters, a decent 100-400mm lightweight zoom, a larger 150-600mm, a 70-210mm f/4, and a trio of sharp, sealed f/1.8 primes. All lens options currently missing from the D-FA lineup.

[surfar]

Gives them plenty of time to make and release some YouTube videos.

Yes, but they will all be in Japanese...the market they cater for!

---------- Post added 09-09-18 at 01:45 PM ----------

If Tamron alone suddenly supported K mount it would be a dream

Stop dreaming,but the 18-400mm Apsc would be nice too.

---------- Post added 09-09-18 at 01:48 PM ----------

if they don't announce something by Sept 29???

I'll definitely cash in my Pentax Apsc gear apart from the glass thats useable in FF mode.

Now,even if they announce a Apsc body...it will get considered up against the others in the same class.

[Racerdew]

all sounds good! I love my Pentax and lenses but I am thinking of going with an entire new Sony system. I do real estate photography and now Im looking at sports and more event photography. Tough!

[biz-engineer]

My theory is that Pentax believed those who said their main interest was in allowing their old prime lenses to "be themselves" .... only afterwards did they realize that people meant for them to actually produce a full set of modern lenses for this camera in a timely manner - and they simply are not well prepared to do that. No - I cannot prove that .... it is just a theory

There is something here. I would tend to think that Ricoh did not see camera market shrinkage coming, that is why they purchased Pentax. So, my theory is that Ricoh believed by pricing the K1 aggressively (which is the case for such DSLR), they would recover sales volumes such as volumes reached by the K5 series (K3 sold a lot less than K5). But sales of K1 happened to peak on the first months and dropped significantly afterwards. They knew for sure that they would have to roll out new lenses for the K1, but then they realized sales volumes of K1 were below expectations they had to reassess their business plan for the new lenses. Beside DFA28-105, DFA70-200, and DFA150-450, other lenses have been shared development with other company, simply because Pentax have reach a point below critical size to be able to be profitable with products fully developed in house. My theory is that Pentax lost a lot of customers after the K5 , either because some K5 owners upgraded to a smartphone (not using DSLR anymore) or when Pentax did not offer a full frame DSLR while Canon and Nikon were offering it. Now, they count their beans: they look at how many K1 and K1 II they sold, and they tune lens development accordingly.

---------- Post added 09-09-18 at 08:01 ----------

all sounds good! I love my Pentax and lenses but I am thinking of going with an entire new Sony system. I do real estate photography and now Im looking at sports and more event photography. Tough!

I don't like Sony cameras for how they are designed, but I have to acknowledge that Sony system deliver some of the best image quality. For lenses, only the very expensive ones happen to be very good. The base lenses of Sony aren't that good from what I've seen.

[Kunzite]

There is something here. I would tend to think that Ricoh did not see camera market shrinkage coming, that is why they purchased Pentax. So, my theory is that Ricoh believed by pricing the K1 aggressively (which is the case for such DSLR), they would recover sales volumes such as volumes reached by the K5 series (K3 sold a lot less than K5). But sales of K1 happened to peak on the first months and dropped significantly afterwards. They knew for sure that they would have to roll out new lenses for the K1, but then they realized sales volumes of K1 were below expectations they had to reassess their business plan for the new lenses.

And so they scrambled to make their most advanced lenses ever (D FA* 50mm on the market, several more to follow).

[RonHendriks1966]

I don't like Sony cameras for how they are designed, but I have to acknowledge that Sony system deliver some of the best image quality. For lenses, only the very expensive ones happen to be very good. The base lenses of Sony aren't that good from what I've seen.

A Sony A7iii with a set of Batis lenses would make a great set I think.

[biz-engineer]

A Sony A7iii with a set of Batis lenses would make a great set I think.

Good idea. Images would be great. The truth is, if I use my K1 even with DFA24-70 wide open f/2.8, with right exposure, bump clarity and sharpness a bit, most people won't be able to tell which is which. I could also use my DFA*70-200, images would be even better and I could frame exactly as wanted. If I use what I have, I don't have to spend any money. To make really awesome pictures these day mostly requires the right doing from the camera user, the cameras themselves are very capable, even the ones from Pentax. Pentax isn't lacking so much in the standard type of focal lengths. Pentax lacks products for sports and wildlife essentially.

[Rondec]

So much speculation and dismay -- particularly by people who don't even shoot Pentax cameras any more.

Pentax will release things when they are ready. Under Ricoh that hasn't really fallen at the same time as photo shows. Maybe it will this year, but maybe not. The issue with lenses has been the production lines, not the lens design. My guess is that the DFA *85 is pretty close to done, but manufacturing it in sufficient quantities and with the quality expected is taking time. Hopefully getting the DFA *50 out helped iron out some of the production issues.

It is interesting to me that so many are glossing over the DFA *50. I don't own one but it looks as though it has been a solid seller and the image quality is top notch. Not the sort of lens that a company that was on its way out would produce, I wouldn't think.

You could look at the last couple of years as a dry spell, but you could also say that the release of the DFA *50 is the beginning of a golden age of glass for Pentax. Which is right? Only time will tell.

[thibs]

The real point here is that Pentax is close to having zero "flagship APS" cameras available.

So has been Nikon for years btw. (D300 -> D500)

[Sandy Hancock]

You could also say that the release of the DFA *50 is the beginning of a golden age of glass for Pentax.

Not quite the beginning. I'd suggest the DFA*70-200 showed the way, but the Fat Fifty confirmed it.

Good times ahead.

[RobA_Oz]

He collaborated with your Uncle too!

I could say, with your Mother too, but that might make us related.

[surfar]

My cousin is in Devonport.(well both of them)

[usernametaken]

I'll definitely cash in my Pentax Apsc gear apart from the glass thats useable in FF mode.

Now,even if they announce a Apsc body...it will get considered up against the others in the same class.

I'm thinking the same way atm. The more time passes, the more interesting other brands look (Hello there, D500). What's holding me back still is having a decent selection of very good APS-C-lenses for Pentax. Took me some years and would be a lot of work (and pain and money) to get the same again with another brand. And it would be a pity because I really love my K-5/3. But nothing lasts forever, and there will be a day I need a replacement. So I keep my fingers crossed.

[normhead]

We seem to have a bunch of folks here who think camera manufactures sole purpose is to keep them engaged and interested in buying stuff. All this gnashing of teeth about no new product. Because like there are only 80 lenses in the catalogue.

The K-P is being discounted, vendors are clearing stock... we notice, that there really is no APS-c flagship available at the moment, my first thought is "something is right around the corner." Others whine and cry and gnash their teeth.

It's all a matter of what you focus on.

As always in these types of discussions I'm happy with what I have, but I'm happy to take a look at the new stuff when it comes out too see if they've come up with something that might interest me. Photokina is not something magic. The whole world isn't defined by what they have to release there or just before.

I'm always somewhat amused at all the people who need new gear, but can't explain why. There's photographic needs, and there is "want to have the latest greatest type posing." Do we have photographic needs are is it all just posing. It's hard to tell from the posts.

Pentax is perhaps not the best platform for posers.

---------- Post added 09-09-18 at 09:13 AM ----------

Wow, I took over 600 today, now I have to put together the Pano shots and trash the trashy shots that didn't work. Went through 1 battery and used the flash perhaps 10-15 times. I am excited to think they have anything new at Photokina.

I always think shooting wildlife, that if I didn't take 500 pictures I probably don't have anything good.

The day I took this image, I took over 800 images in two hours. The Canon 1Dx shooter beside me took over 2300.
I gave a him a good ribbing about how much time he'd have to spend on those images just looking at each of them once without getting anything better than I got.



People have yet to convince me I'm working at much of a disadvantage working with Pentax. I don't give a crap about specs. all I care about is what I have when I get home after a shoot. And images like this stack up with anyone's.

The insinuation that folks need to switch gets old. Especially since it appears many just need to amuse themselves by buying new stuff, and their complaint is Pentax doesn't have enough for them to buy. If something breaks I replace it, but new just for the sake of new never impresses me.