[Class A]

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[RonHendriks1966]

So they are going to add 4k in their next camera?

[fs999]

So they are going to add 4k in their next camera?

Only for animation purpose

[repaap]

They have had 4 K for long time already
So, let’s see the next step from K-1 m2 !

[Serkevan]

They have had 4 K for long time already
So, let’s see the next step from K-1 m2 !

I count much more than 4 K-mount cameras ;P

Let's hope the next announcement sparks joy!

[Class A]

It is interesting to see which models didn't make it. The "Q" (digital 110), the "K10D" (major success), and the "645D" (first digital MF) spring to mind as being conspicuous by their absence.

Of course it is just marketing, but I find the "story continues..." message very encouraging.

[Serkevan]

The Pentax 67 is also a stand-out absence, I would say.

[biz-engineer]

There is some dust on film at the beginning of the film strip.

[Zooland]

Nice to know that they are continuing the Pentax tradition.

[pid]

4K? Four new K-Mount Bodys? Or maybe 4K video ...

[ehrwien]

I'm interested in their reasons for choosing the cameras they did, and didn't.

1952 - Asahiflex I (M37 Screwmount SLR) - The Asahiflex I (labeled simply as Asahiflex) was the first camera introduced by Asahi Optical Company (later known as Pentax). The camera was largely a copy of pre-world war II German cameras. The novelty was the regular eye-level viewfinder mounted on the top plate which made it possible to follow a moving object since the primary viewfinder would black out after exposure due to the mirror not returning until the film was wound.

1957 - Asahi Pentax 'AP' (M42 Screwmount SLR) - The Asahi Optical Company released the 'Asahi Pentax' (AP) in 1957 as the replacement for their Asahiflex line of cameras. While not the first Pentaprism camera to be produced, the AP is considered by many to be the start of the modern 35mm SLR format still used today. The camera incorporated a number of features which were not typically found during this era. This was the first camera to combine eye level through the lens focusing, an instant return mirror and a right hand film advance/shutter cocking wind lever. The camera was so successful that the company eventually changed its name from Asahi Optical to Pentax.

1964 - Spotmatic (M42 Screwmount SLR) - It is historically interesting to note that Asahi produced their millionth SLR in 1966, so the early Spotmatics belong to the era before Asahi's millionth SLR was produced.

Pentax Spotmatic - Wikipedia
The camera allowed one to focus the lens at maximum aperture with a bright viewfinder image. After focusing, a switch on the side of the lens mount stopped the lens down and switched on the metering which the camera displayed with a needle located on the side of the viewfinder. The use of stop-down light metering was at the time revolutionary, but it limited the capability of the lightmeter, especially in low light situations.
[...]
The original 1964 Spotmatic was one of the first SLRs on the market to offer a through-the-lens (TTL) exposure metering system. The camera was presented as a prototype at photokina 1960, and was originally designed to use spot metering. Shortly before production Asahi decided that spot metering would be too difficult to use, and so the metering system was altered to use center-weighted average metering. The change took place too close to production to change the name, and so Spotmatic stuck.

1979 - Auto 110 - The Asahi PENTAX auto 100 was the first interchangeable SLR camera for the 110 cartridge film format. The camera was a part of an extensive system with several lenses, two flashes, winder, close-up diopters and other accessories.

Pentax Auto 110 - Wikipedia
This model represented the only complete ultraminiature SLR system manufactured for the 110 film format, although several fixed-lens 110 SLRs were sold. The camera system also claims to be the smallest interchangeable-lens SLR system ever created.
[...]
The Pentax Auto 110 features fully automatic exposure, with no user-settable exposure compensation or adjustments. Metering is TTL (through-the-lens) and center-weighted. Unlike 35 mm SLRs, the system's lenses do not have a built-in iris to control the aperture. Instead, an iris is mounted inside the camera body, and functions as both an aperture control and a shutter. This mechanism is capable of programmed exposures between 1/750 s at f/13.5; and 1 s at f/2.8. To ensure that light travelling past the diaphragm blades could not get through to the film over time, the camera's mirror system also functions as a light-tight seal when in the viewing and focusing position. Since the iris is part of the camera, all of the system's lenses had to be constructed with an f/2.8 aperture.

1980 - LX (Manual Focus Film SLR) - The Pentax LX was introduced in 1980 as a system camera for the professional photographer. It is the only Pentax 35mm SLR to feature an exchangeable viewfinder - a total of 8 viewfinders were available together with 9 focusing screens. A large array of other accessories, hereunder a 5 fps motor drive and a 250 exposure film back were available as well.
The LX has Av auto exposure as well as metered manual.
The built-in exposure meter is very sensitive being able to meter down to -6.5 EV in auto exposure mode. In manual exposure mode the meter goes down to 1 EV. The meter reads the light reflected off of the first shutter curtain or off of the film during exposure. Manual metering as well as auto exposure are available no matter which view finder is being used.
The set shutter speed is shown in the viewfinder. Some of the viewfinders show the aperture as well via a window that projects the aperture value from the aperture ring into the view finder.
Manual exposure is set by adjusting shutter speed or aperture until the LED indicating shutter speed matches the needle of the light meter. When shooting in Av auto exposure mode a +/-2 EV exposure compensation is available but no exposure lock.
The camera can be operated without batteries in the mechanical shutter speed range 1/75s - 1/2000s.
The camera body is light but rugged and sealed against dust. The Pentax LX was produced through a time span of more than 15 years.

Pentax LX - Wikipedia
Construction is strong and durable, with a solid cast metal frame and metal covering plates. All buttons and dials are weather and dust sealed, a unique feature not found on other professional cameras of the day. Underneath the satin black finish is black chrome, so that even as the surface finish inevitably wore through in hard professional use, the underlying metal would not look brassy.
[...]
The camera has an uncommon frame counter, being able to keep track of the frame number in either direction, whether advancing or rewinding the film; this feature dramatically adds to the flexibility of the camera, as well as aids in multiple exposures. The camera has a multi-function lever that supports mirror lock-up, self-timer and depth of field preview. Both a winder and motor drive were available, and a full complement of other professional accessories. The film take-up spool is of the "Magic-Needles" type, as found on Pentax M Series cameras, which simplified loading. Two databacks are available, one of which superimposes up to three characters chosen by the user in a corner of the frame, and the other superimposes a tiny analog clockface. Also taking advantage of the removable back is a high capacity magazine allowing for 250 exposures.
[...]
The shutter and metering systems are very sophisticated, as much or more than any other camera of its time. The titanium shutter curtains are horizontally running with a flash synchronization ('X') speed of 1/75 second.

1985 - P30 (Manual Focus Film SLR) - The Pentax P3/P30 was the first of four P-series cameras. It has lower specifications than the Pentax Super Program/Super A that was released two years earlier. It only has Program and Manual exposure modes, and the ISO can only be set by the DX coding on the film canister, but it is the first Pentax with an exposure lock which makes up somewhat for the lack of exposure compensation.

Pentax cameras - Wikipedia
The P series featured fully programmed exposure control (in addition to manual mode), DX-code film speed setting (defaulting to 100 if the code couldn’t be read), exposure lock and depth of field preview.

2003 - *istD (K-mount DSLR) - The 6 MP Pentax * ist D was the first DSLR from Pentax. It had for its time a very comprehensive set of features and most are accessible from buttons and dials so that "menu diving" largely can be avoided. It is very compact but still sturdy. In addition to P-TTL flash automation the *ist D also has TTL flash automation which is a big plus for flash photography with older lenses.

Pentax cameras - Wikipedia)
To address this "crop factor," Pentax created a new series of lenses that were designed only to cover the smaller sensor. These are the DA series for their digital SLRs, which still feature the K-mount but have a smaller back-focus element designed specifically for use with the Digital SLR lineup. The DA series lenses do not have a mechanical aperture ring and so are not backward compatible with some earlier film bodies. The later D-FA lens series re-introduces a mechanical aperture ring in some lenses and these are fully compatible with both film and digital SLRs.

Pentax *ist D - Wikipedia
It was the smallest and lightest dSLR at the time, but still well equipped. For example, it had a large and bright pentaprism viewfinder, compared to pentamirror in other similarly priced competition.

2010 - K5 (K-mount DSLR) - The Pentax K-5 DSLR was developed using the Pentax K-7 as its base; the K-5 inherits the user-friendly operation, array of advanced features and compact, lightweight body of its predecessor, yet it is more resourceful with its high-speed, low-noise CMOS image sensor and high-performance PRIME II imaging engine. [...] The K-5 features a new-generation, wide-frame SAFOX IX+ autofocus system with 11 sensor points (with nine cross-type sensors positioned in the middle). The AF system has completely redesigned optics, and factors the light source at the time of shooting into its calculations so as to improve the accuracy of autofocus operation. It also offers a choice of shutter-release options - between focus priority and release priority in the AF.S (single) advance mode, or between focus priority and speed priority in the AF.C (continuous) advance mode.
The K-5 sensor is estimated to be 2-3 stops more sensitive than that of its predecessor, the K-7, meaning that a K-5 photo taken at ISO 6400 will look about as grainy than one taken at ISO 800 with the K-7.

Pentax K-5 - Wikipedia
The use of a Sony sensor in the K-5 signalled a major departure from the Samsung sensor partnership.
[...]
DxO Labs gave the 16.3 MP Sony-built sensor a score of 82. This ranked at the time of testing, the highest ever for an APS-C sensor and ahead of several full-frame sensors such as the one used in the Nikon D3. One of the major factors was shadow noise and dynamic range (in raw mode, to bypass in-camera processing). However, the closely related sensor in the Nikon D7000 scored 80.

2014 - 645Z (Medium Format DSLR) - The 645z is targeted at professional landscape and studio photographers.
This camera takes image quality to another level by offering increased resolution and sensitivity compared to its predecessor. It features a low-noise 51.4-megapixel CMOS sensor and various hardware improvements, modernizing its capabilities and performance over the 645D. The physical dimensions of the sensor is approximately 33 x 44 mm like for the 645D.
The key changes in the 645Z compared to the 645D include the improved sensor, a faster burst framerate of 3FPS (up from 1.1), and the very presence of a video mode/live view, which the 645D lacked. All things aside, the main thing this camera is designed to deliver is superior image quality. The 645D struggled at higher ISOs, but with a CMOS sensor with sensitivity going all the way up to ISO 204,800 (a new high for Pentax), those problems are history.

Pentax 645Z - Wikipedia
While it shares its sensor with the Phase IQ250 and Hasselblad H5Dc, it retails at less than a third of the price of these (~8500 at ~27000 USD).[1] In 2015, the 645Z won the TIPA Award for the Best Medium Format Camera.[2]

2018 - K-1 II (Full frame K-mount DSLR) - New features compared to the K-1:
Pixel shift super resolution is now available also when shooting hand-held
Sensitivity up to ISO 819,200 (for an extra two stops)
Hardware accelerator unit which preprocesses the image before it hits the Prime IV engine
Improved image quality at high ISO thanks to the accelerator unit (image resolution, color reproduction, and noise reduction)
Improved autofocus performance through updates to the AF firmware
And not seen mentioned on the camera review here or at wiki, the possibility to send in your K-1 and let them change it to a K-1 II. I hadn't heard of other manufacturers offering such a thing before.


Other than the already noted, missing cameras, I thought the K2/KM/KX as first K-mount SLRs not featured were odd, the K-5 instead of the K-7 (but I guess this one marks the change from Samsung to Sony sensors and with it a huge jump in IQ?), and the K-1 II instead of the K-1 (the first Pentax full frame DSLR everyone and their mother were waiting for?!?)

[TwoUptons]

I thought the jump from the P30 straight to the *istD was weird.

No love for any of the autofocus film cameras?

-Eric

[Serkevan]

I'm pretty sure that the K-5 is far more fondly remembered than the K-7, and the body platform is the same so no big mystery there I think. They also might have put the 645Z and K1ii because they are the current flagships.
It is certainly interesting that they didn't show any of the K- or M-series (1975 and 76, respectively). They skipped to the LX. It's also interesting that there are 0 AF film cameras. I know they were not as legendary, but still.

In any case, I wouldn't read too much into the models not present. I'm pretty sure it was simply adding a selection of the most iconic cameras made by Pentax, while keeping the video short and simple.

[bdery]

It is interesting to see which models didn't make it. The "Q" (digital 110), the "K10D" (major success), and the "645D" (first digital MF) spring to mind as being conspicuous by their absence.

Agreed. The K-3 was also a significant camera, as was the K1000 back in the day. Surprising editorial choices.

[boriscleto]

4K? Why would Pentax users want a Zorki?