Originally posted by reh321 I don't necessarily disagree with you. When the KP was offered at rock-bottom prices on Black Friday, I spent a few uncomfortable hours until I decided to purchase one - I was trying to understand what is in Pentax's future. I believe, but do not know, that Pentax has also had some uncomfortable moments. Looking at the market, the future of APS DSLR is unclear; "FF" SLR was the standard during the age of film, and APS DSLR became standard at the beginning of the digital age solely because of cost, but in the past dozen years they have done of good job of building an ecosystem around it. In the past few years, they've demonstrated the difficulty of building a new ecosystem around "FF"-DSLR or anything-MILC. "FF" MILC seems to be where the other companies are going, but it isn't clear whether sticking with APS DSLR is an opportunity or a trap for them .... Pentax lost market during the transition to AF - Canon's decision to jump to EF-mount seems to have been a good decision, since they gained market while the other companies slowly went there. Pentax lost market during the transition to digital. If we are in the middle of another major transition, Pentax might not be able to survive a third weak response; my guess is that indecision has delayed the K-3ii replacement project.
The successor to the K3 may have been delayed, who knows. Last year at CP+ I was really closely interested in Pentax' plans for APS-C, because I wanted to replace the K3. I became aware that the KP could well be Pentax' intention with APS-C, and suggested that a "K3 successor" might not be as near as was generally expected. I believe that was not appreciated. I have however come to see that as a logical cause for the remaining absence of a new Pentax APS body myself, and have noticed how since CP+ last year, people have slowly started to accept the KP, and I would not be surprised if sales picked up since then. The bottom line is that Pentax is not a philanthropic institution meant to cater to my needs or wishes, it is a commercial company, and it may very well come down to selling enough of the KP stock before Pentax allows a new APS body on the market.
In that sense, it is a good thing that people have in general revised their opinion of the KP and have started to buy it instead of demanding a K3 successor. For me personally though, the KP was not the solution for the DA560. Suggesting that Pentax is not the right brand for those wanting the latest tech and regular product updates, may be seen as brand bashing, but then people forget that Pentax is a commercial company to be run, and it is i.m.o. not realistic to ask more than the few products that Pentax is able to get out the door and to market. The KP will have to sell, at least an amount that satisfies Ricoh's financial demands for pentax, for a new APS-C body to hit the market, that is the way I see it.
Chris