I vote suicidal. How could they expect to sell expensive new lenses like the DA15 or DA*55 when there would be much better choices for thier new top-of-the-line camera? Two competing lens lineups would be very confusing, and in a rapidly declining global economy there is no margin for error.

Gary,

You don't know if DA*55 is FF or whatever format it supports. I heard is FF ready and if we judge by how big is compared to FA50 (a FF lens) I may be right. DA15 is in early development so again, you have no way to know what format it will cover. As a matter of fact I bet not a lot of people can say for sure what DA lens covers exactly what format ...
But about the lenses IMO a new 1.3x crop will be a stroke of genius since this means that new lenses will not overlap in FL as much as only APS-C one will. Example: a potential FA* 24/2 with motor and weather seals for 1,3x means an equivalent of 20mm when used on the APS-C. Now a FA*20 will be too close to DA21 and the 1.5f more speed, seals and SDM could be not enough for some to buy it let alone the fact that !20mm/f2 it will be probably larger and heavier. But some may find 24mm more appealing than 21mm in principle.
So, let wait a bit and see what future holds.

Just a thought!
Radu

[Shashinki]

I see absolutely nothing in this thread that I feel have any possibility of happening IRL.

I see absolutely nothing in this thread that I feel have any possibility of happening IRL.

I remember the mantra of a year ago when the rumour of the 14,6 Mp sensor first appeared. "There is no way Samsung and Pentax will do more than the 12Mp of Sony and Canon fot their first sensor. It's ludicrous!!!!!"
I bet Anastigmat still believes that in K20D is the 12 Mp Sony sensor but with a hack in firmware to show 14.6 Mp.

Regards,
Radu

[Shashinki]

I don't remember that.. I remember saying that Pentax wouldn't come out with a APS-H camera, and they didn't. And they most likely won't.
There were some really crazy rumors last year, 14,6Mpix sensor was one of the more likely ones at the time.
The same rumors of a APS-H camera... was it from the same people that talked about it that time as well?

---

Last edited by Shashinki; 11-02-2008 at 04:55 PM.

[anomaly]

I am hoping they can give us a nice big viewfinder, as big as fullframe. It is the only reason I wanted fullframe to begin with.

I expect that it will have video.

[benjikan]

I remember the mantra of a year ago when the rumour of the 14,6 Mp sensor first appeared. "There is no way Samsung and Pentax will do more than the 12Mp of Sony and Canon fot their first sensor. It's ludicrous!!!!!"
I bet Anastigmat still believes that in K20D is the 12 Mp Sony sensor but with a hack in firmware to show 14.6 Mp.

Regards,
Radu

I see a FF Pentax within 12 months perhaps sooner. I also have a feeling that Pentax will come out with a MF camera as well, perhaps in the New Year.

Ben

[rparmar]

This looks like some fanboy's wish list rather than any actual prediction. There is no way this rumour makes sense. I might have "bought" the body, but the lensmap is pure fantasy. It is obvious that Pentax have been consistently releasing digital lenses that are equivalent field of view to their film predecessors. So sorry, there will be no new 85mm... we have the DA*55 instead. And why should they reissue the 16-45 when they just replaced it with the 17-70? And another 35mm? We just had one.

I'm in agreement with...

I DOUBT IT

I see a FF Pentax within 12 months perhaps sooner. I also have a feeling that Pentax will come out with a MF camera as well, perhaps in the New Year.

Ben

Well, Ben when you said "September": https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-news-rumors/31744-i-am-betting-ff-september.html in all truth you never mentioned a year to go with this prediction. I'll still bet you on 2009 like I did on 2008 (and I think I'll win again).
I got a bit worked up about this theory because a Pentax insider that knows a lot of things told me "not to sell my FF lenses waiting for the next camera" and after my initial skepticism now I feel things start to add up. To me the APS-H way looks more feasable and a better compromise in performance and features vs the price this is all. Again IMO APS-H is a gamble but FF for Pentax is russian rulette with all bullets in the gun.
The rest is pure speculation maybe some lenses are bogus or the pixel count doesn't match up but in my case it's a case of "wanting to believe".

Regards,
Radu

[*isteve]

On dpreview isteve mentioned it will be smaller than the k20D. He has a good history of having some inside info. He also thinks it will be an APS-C sized sensor. Given the other mentioned improvements it doesn't make a lot of difference to me what size the sensor is. An APS-H would be preferred but I'd buy it either way as long as the AF system can equal my Sony A 700.

Ken

Nope I have no "inside info" but I just apply common sense to what I do read and interpret Pentax's strategy from there. Anything consistent with that strategy I generally assume is correct.

I would believe the K30D will be faster (AF and frame rate) and the sensor will be a new gen 14.6 MP APSC sensor with a much improved image pipeline and a stop less noise (at least).

So far so good.

A 645D or FF will be announced next year. One but not both. My money in on the 645.

[kristoffon]

Considering a FF camera is inevitable in the future (1, 3, 6 years who knows?) I think a APS-H format won't hold much water against the competition. FF or bust. My bet is not yet for next year.

[rvannatta]

Considering a FF camera is inevitable in the future (1, 3, 6 years who knows?) I think a APS-H format won't hold much water against the competition. FF or bust. My bet is not yet for next year.

I thnk you all missed the news in the opening item. The sensor size isn't the news-- who cares?

the real news was a rapid conversion of many existing lenses to SDM.

what this tells me is that we are soon going to see low end bodies
which do not have support for the camshaft drive AF.

There is good reason for doing this---particularly on the low end
leaving out backwards compatibility is a way to reduce costs and allows for making a low end competitor even more competitive, and low end buyers are more likely to be 'newbees' who don't have a closet full of camshaft focusing lenses. Similarly reserving backwards compaitibilty of the AF to upscale models assures that the the upscale models will have at least some 'value added'.

[anomaly]

FF is unlikely at this point.

The performance of the current APS-C sensors is more than enough. Pentax is more likely to attempt to diversify its offering and stand out from the competition with a medium format system aimed below the Hasselblad crowd. Probably a little more than the cost of a D3.

I think that video is almost inevitable due to the fact that it is about to become a standard for the competition and the fact that photojounalists, who will be under pressure to give video coverage, have taken well to the K10D and K20D already.

Realistically I expect the K30D to have:

APS-C sensor, somewhere between 14-18 megapixels
Faster AF
Slightly higher burst rate. 5 fps the most
HD video capability
At least a stop better when it comes to noise performance
A few extra creative and useful features

I mean what do you people want? Blood?

[ebooks4pentax]

I believe all things are possible. Last week, we posted two articles about the use of the DA and DA* lenses on full frame and also as to what Direction we thought Pentax could go. Here goes:

Pentax DSLRs: You thought you couldn't use any DA/DA* lenses on future full frame DSLRs from Pentax? Well...think again. (See Update) By: Yvon Bourque

Pentax DSLRs: Editorial: Where will Pentax go from here?

If indeed a new APS-H was introduced, I believe all DA and DA* lenses would work. I tend to think that Pentax may revive the 645D instead.

It just my opinion and it's free.
We all have different opinions and no one is wrong or right until a new product is unveiled.

Regards,

[ogl]

I remember the mantra of a year ago when the rumour of the 14,6 Mp sensor first appeared. "There is no way Samsung and Pentax will do more than the 12Mp of Sony and Canon fot their first sensor. It's ludicrous!!!!!"
I bet Anastigmat still believes that in K20D is the 12 Mp Sony sensor but with a hack in firmware to show 14.6 Mp.

Regards,
Radu

I had information about new sensor in the time of K10D's release.
I've already knew the figure - 14 MP 1 year ago.

[ogl]

Pentax will make new APS-C cameras and MF digital camera. And maybe later - FF.