[Karen the Star]

The K-1's viewfinder is, indeed, very clear and, in my view, a big step up from the APS-C viewfinders.

and with new AF-sys, Pentax just need to renew some good lens to catch up camera itself.

Then I don't now any weakness about Pentax, nearly perfect DSLR

[Digitalis]

so the rear LCD clearly hinges in the middle...

Why yes!, spring loaded naturally, it's designed to swing open at the optimal angle to hit you squarely in the face.

I guess that limited processing power is also the reason why SR isn't available during video anymore.

Interesting theory, however in comparison the tiny DJI Osmo pocket 2 can encode 4K video and audio with AF, stabilize the camera mounted gimbal head...all at the same time. DJI are more than likely are using independent systems in parallel with instead of trying to do encode and handle real time sensory I/O on a single core. Perhaps Pentax is juggling too many balls one handed when a distributed IBIS control system and a separate chip for encoding video/audio would have been a more efficient means of managing the image processing pipeline and also allow for stabilization with equivalent power draw of doing it on a single core.

[reh321]

I’ve not found the APS-C viewfinder very clear for this sort of thing. Not sure what the K-1 viewfinder is like, but I hope it’s glorious.

If images are clearly out-of-focus, I have known something was wrong when looking through the viewfinder. That is true of my K-30 and that is true of my KP. Of course, I ‘help’ the camera by my 50-year habit of preferring deep fov, but my 71-year-old eyes don’t have the acuity they did 50 years ago.

[Andrea K]

Without inlens vibration reduction there is no way to match the competitors AF performances, above all in AF-C mode and also with the D500 AF module.

[Zygonyx]

The K-1's viewfinder is, indeed, very clear and, in my view, a big step up from the APS-C viewfinders.

So true, and even better than 645's viewfinders if you add-on O-ME53 magnifier.

[Erictator]

Without inlens vibration reduction there is no way to match the competitors AF performances, above all in AF-C mode and also with the D500 AF module.

...in cameras with a phase-detection AF system...so yeah, may be some slight theoretic disadvantage in low light... yet, Pentax engineers seem to have already found a way to get their existing bodies to focus very well in low light, to better than -3.0EV on my K-1, so I'm not particularly worried about this aspect. I think they will/have come up with something nearly as good as the competition, especially since single point AF was already very good/as good/better in some cases than the competition. Some consistency of subject choice, speed/accuracy in AF-C mode is really all that needed attention, more cross point coverage, and some added intelligence and CPU for making better/faster decisions about AF subject intent. That and a deeper buffer and/or wider memory bus, it would be golden.
Eric

[Rondec]

From what I can see, the rear LCD is actually going to be able to be removed completely for wireless operation. Ironically, it will also be able to be used as a cell phone -- helpful for those in this thread who don't own a smart phone.

(Cell Phone plan sold separately and not available in some states and countries. It is not necessary to use rear screen as a smart phone in order to use said camera. Some restrictions apply.)

[reh321]

Without inlens vibration reduction there is no way to match the competitors AF performances, above all in AF-C mode and also with the D500 AF module.

When I have had on-line discussions with Nikon users, they say that the in-lens 'VR' slows AF, so the D500 may have less of an advantage than we think it does. I believe the primary difference is that the D500 has a processor devoted to AF, while Pentax devotes their added processor to high ISO adjustment.

[photoptimist]

Attempting to satisfy DPR is a fool's errand for Ricoh. No matter what Ricoh does, DPR will find some negative spin on it. Moreover, there's no way Ricoh can match the big guys on video. Sony, Canon, and Panasonic have entire product lines dedicated to professional video. Those company's R&D budgets just for video probably exceed Pentax's entire R&D budget many times over.

Worse, every Yen that Ricoh spends on trying to catch-up on video is one less Yen spent on pushing forward on better still photography cameras and lenses.

I'd rather see Pentax develop new stills photography features that the competitors don't have rather than try to copy the video features that the pro-video companies already have.

[deus ursus]

Worse, every Yen that Ricoh spends on trying to catch-up on video is one less Yen spent on pushing forward on better still photography cameras and lenses.

I'd rather see Pentax develop new stills photography features that the competitors don't have rather than try to copy the video features that the pro-video companies already have.

Well said! I totally agree!

[Kunzite]

Without inlens vibration reduction there is no way to match the competitors AF performances, above all in AF-C mode and also with the D500 AF module.

If that were true, the D500's performance would drop dramatically when turning off VR; and it would be very dependent on light levels and focal lengths.

[Class A]

Interesting theory, however in comparison the tiny DJI Osmo pocket 2 can encode 4K video and audio with AF, stabilize the camera mounted gimbal head...all at the same time.

Yeah, but as you say it is probably optimised for precisely these tasks and 4K is just 8.3MP, so if the sensor supports a readout of just that portion of the 12MP sensor then there is less bandwidth to deal with compared to reading out a higher MP sensor.

[phoebus]

When I have had on-line discussions with Nikon users, they say that the in-lens 'VR' slows AF, so the D500 may have less of an advantage than we think it does. I believe the primary difference is that the D500 has a processor devoted to AF, while Pentax devotes their added processor to high ISO adjustment.

I hope the new K? follows the GRiii lead and ditches the old processor and OS for a multicore based Android implementation. Then we can expect noticeable improvements in AF and data throughput. That may also explain this early hardware display, but delayed availability - there will be a substantial task in replicating all the functions and interfacing using the new software, plus (hopefully) improved AF system and (probably) touchscreen interface, plus the new joystick control...

Internally I suspect there will be very few common components from the previous generation - hence the long development. Already it is known that the sensor and AF array are different to the KP and K3, and it is sensible to predict that the processor and memory will have been upgraded; and almost certain that a touchscreen will be fitted.

Certain posters may even get their desired UHS-II ;-)

I'm certainly interested in adding this to my collection!

[str8talk83]

Some consistency of subject choice, speed/accuracy in AF-C mode is really all that needed attention, more cross point coverage, and some added intelligence and CPU for making better/faster decisions about AF subject intent. That and a deeper buffer and/or wider memory bus, it would be golden.
Eric

I agree that this is the main issue. Single point focus acquisition for stationary subjects is quite good (in my opinion.)

---------- Post added 09-30-2019 at 09:46 AM ----------

If that were true, the D500's performance would drop dramatically when turning off VR; and it would be very dependent on light levels and focal lengths.

D500 AF is the same whether or not in lens stabilization is used. I like using "sports mode" VR for birds in flight, but it isn't needed for AF performance but to help a little bit in stabilizing the viewfinder.

[SteveinSLC]

Attempting to satisfy DPR is a fool's errand for Ricoh. No matter what Ricoh does, DPR will find some negative spin on it. Moreover, there's no way Ricoh can match the big guys on video. Sony, Canon, and Panasonic have entire product lines dedicated to professional video. Those company's R&D budgets just for video probably exceed Pentax's entire R&D budget many times over.

Worse, every Yen that Ricoh spends on trying to catch-up on video is one less Yen spent on pushing forward on better still photography cameras and lenses.

I'd rather see Pentax develop new stills photography features that the competitors don't have rather than try to copy the video features that the pro-video companies already have.

This exactly. Pentax is never going to be able to compete on the video front, and honestly, it's probably only a matter of time before this hits Nikon too. But there is a market for cameras focused primarily on stills. Certainly no one criticizes Leica because their video performance is poor, that's not why one buys a Leica.