[Kunzite]

And what a title!
No personal impressions yet, I still have to read it...

Medium-format DSLRs are coming, and mirrorless converts will return! Ricoh Q&A from CP+

---------- Post added 15-05-19 at 02:04 PM ----------

Summary:
"Hiraku Kawauchi: Secret. Still secret. <laughs> We have so many secrets. <laughs>"

[Mistral75]

Enticing title, disappointing content. Thank you for sharing though.

645

Takashi Arai: First of all, we'll continue the 645 line within the Pentax collection. But what we are going to compete against our [rivals with] is not the pricing, but the quality of the picture. [That's what's] most important within the camera. So we will still continue to study and produce a good camera with good image quality: That is also the same within the 645 medium-format line.

Dave Etchells: Mmm, mmm. So you're not trying to come out with a cheaper and cheaper model.

Takashi Arai: At the current moment, no.

Mirrorless

Hiroki Sugahara: But anyway, we've been studying various formats, including mirrorless. But currently we don't have...

Dave Etchells: There are no plans yet.

Hiroki Sugahara: No concrete plans, but we've been studying it, yeah.

Hiroki Sugahara: So the DSLR market is currently decreasing a little bit, but one year or two years or three years later, it will [begin] getting higher.

Dave Etchells: You think it will return, will start growing again.

Hiroki Sugahara: Yeah. Yes, yes.

APS-C DSLRs

Takashi Arai: So [among] the advantages that APS-C DSLRs can offer, we think that, yes, one of them is compactness, and also [higher speed]. We can use a small mirror mechanism inside, so the frames-per-second speed can be faster, theoretically, than [for] full-frame. So we will continue the development of APS-C DSLR models, and we are sure that model will have [the kinds of] advantages which the APS-C category [typically has].

Competition for resources between traditional cameras and 360 cameras

Hiroki Sugahara: Basically the Theta itself is developed by the Ricoh company. As you know, Ricoh and Pentax combined five years ago. We have another development team for the Theta, before five years ago, in the Ricoh company. So there's no impact to the development of Pentax-brand cameras, actually. [Of course,] the Theta team and the Pentax team and the Ricoh camera team are communicating with each other about technical information or picture quality.

(interestingly, Sugahara-san mentioned separate teams for Ricoh-branded (traditional) cameras and Pentax-branded cameras)

[Ronald Oakes]

From an APSc standpoint I feel ….completely Disappointed and Abandoned by Pentax.
There isn't really any sign that Pentax has anything for us in the near future short of a "Discontinued" Sign at the retailers.
The wait is disgustingly LONG Overdue.

[Pål Jensen]

From an APSc standpoint I feel ….completely Disappointed and Abandoned by Pentax.
There isn't really any sign that Pentax has anything for us in the near future short of a "Discontinued" Sign at the retailers.
The wait is disgustingly LONG Overdue.

Huh??

[reh321]

Huh??

Since Google doesn't provide a translation I, {a very satisfied KP user} will: "a long time has passed with no APS-C 'flagship' on the shelves, with little expectation of seeing a K-3ii replacement in the next six months".

[Pål Jensen]

"So we will continue the development of APS-C DSLR models, and we are sure that model will have [the kinds of] advantages which the APS-C category [typically has]."

[reh321]

Enticing title, disappointing content. Thank you for sharing though.

645

Mirrorless

APS-C DSLRs

Competition for resources between traditional cameras and 360 cameras

I don't see the content as being disappointing at all - there is new information here:

1. The 645 line is not "suspended" in the same way as the "Q" is. They will add to the line if they have additions that make sense.

2. The next DSLR will not be MILC - in particular whatever is being done that will change silhouette of the K-3ii replacement, that camera will not be MILC.

3. Yes, the K-3ii replacement really is coming.

4. Separate teams for Pentax-label and Ricoh-label cameras means that spurt of Ricoh-label cameras at year-end/beginning didn't cause long pause between K-1ii and next Pentax-label camera.

[Mistral75]

4. is indeed something new, at least to me. 1., 2. and 3. were somehow stated in other interviews.

Concerning 3. (APS-C DSLRs), what might be considered if not as new, at least as expressed with more vigour than before, is the implication of the two-fold advantage of APS-C over 24x36: compactness and fps. It hints at two ranges of APS-C products, one putting emphasis on compactness (e.g. KP), the other one on burst rate (e.g. the successor to K-3 II).

By the way, according to what I'm hearing those of us who look at the Nikon APS-C cameras to compare and position the successor to K-3 II should rather quote 'a modern equivalent to D2X' than 'a K-mount D500'.

[CarlJF]

1. The 645 line is not "suspended" in the same way as the "Q" is. They will add to the line if they have additions that make sense.

I'm not sure we could say it's good news for 645 users...

I would love to see an updated Q with some of the now usual technology from RP. Accelerator chip (would probably do wonders with a 1/1.7" sensor), 5 axis SR, pixel shift, on sensor phase detection aufocus and all the small software things that are now common but didn't existed when the last Q was released (like clarity, skin tones enhancement, multizone WB...) with a improved blur control using modern algoritmhs as a bonus... But yes, I know, I don't hold my breath even for one second hoping RP will launch such a camera...

[The Squirrel Mafia]

The APS-C part sounds interesting.

[gazonk]

I like the 645 answer, the implication could be that the next camera has a larger sensor.

[Larrymc]

And what a title!
No personal impressions yet, I still have to read it...

Medium-format DSLRs are coming, and mirrorless converts will return! Ricoh Q&A from CP+

---------- Post added 15-05-19 at 02:04 PM ----------

Summary:
"Hiraku Kawauchi: Secret. Still secret. <laughs> We have so many secrets. <laughs>"

So basically we know pretty much what we knew from the other CP+2019 interviews published earlier.

From an APS-C standpoint I feel encouraged.....for no particular reason. I see no reason that Ricoh/Pentax is not going to introduce a new High Spec APS-C as their next DSLR.

[RonHendriks1966]

(interestingly, Sugahara-san mentioned separate teams for Ricoh-branded (traditional) cameras and Pentax-branded cameras)

At the headquarter in the cafetaria they have two tables where these teams are still separated, now 7 1/2 years after the take-over........

At least they are busy studying the contracting market.

[luftfluss]

From an APSc standpoint I feel ….completely Disappointed and Abandoned by Pentax.

Howso? Pentax just released the *11-18/2.8, which seems to be a best-in-class lens. Not exactly a sign of abandonment.

"Disappointed" is an opinion, so sure if you feel that way, fine. "Abandoned" is more of a factual thing, and even though Pentax is slow to get products out their APS-C products over the last few years have been stellar. Don't see "abandoned" from them.

[RGlasel]

For a moment, I thought it was 1989. CP+ 2019 finished more than two months ago, I guess it takes 10 weeks to transcribe the cassette recording of the interview, cut and paste the text and graphics to a copyboard, do the colour separation in the lab and get the printshop to do a first run before anyone sees it in a newstand. It's a pity their stenographer didn't remove all the "yeah, yeah" "mmmm" and "mmm-hmm" bits before sending the transcript to the layout desk, it would have been easier to read and would have saved paper and ink.