[monochrome]

A webpage dedicated to explaining "What Pentax Values Most in Future Cameras" has just been released.

1. We design new cameras through sheer devotion.
   It is our intention to produce cameras that will be the preferred choice for photo enthusiasts, because we love photography and have an in-depth knowledge and understanding of cameras.
   
   
2. Our goal is to produce cameras with the power to capture images that allow for direct communication with the subject.
   We intend to design cameras that create memorable images, that make us feel as if we're connecting directly with the subject, capturing our imagination and captivating our senses.
   
   
3. We design cameras that allow our users to enjoy all the processes involved in taking a picture.
   We pursue every essential element involved in the joy of photography. From looking through the viewfinder to composing the image, focusing on the subject and releasing the shutter.
   
   
4. We pursue a level of quality and performance that can’t be measured by numbers alone.
   We produce our cameras not only by pursuing higher performance based on numerical values, but by integrating our designers’ sensory feedback into the design and development.
   
   
5. We respect and value the photographic experiences of our users and view this as an invaluable asset.
   We want to share all the inspiring experiences of our users, from the hardware to the shooting processes, creating and viewing the images.

It is a big committent to optical viewfinders and the principles that led to the FA Limiteds (rendering over benchmark performance).

I like it.

At the end of the page, a ~30min video is featured:

What PENTAX Values Most in Future Cameras - YouTube

I actually felt an affinity for the people and the language used in this video. I do hope enough people who enjoy the experience - the process - of creating a fine image with sensual cameras and lenses buy Pentax gear.

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Last edited by monochrome; 07-17-2020 at 01:52 PM.

[Mike.P®]

Spot on. I believe the people who buy mirrorless are very different from those who buy a Pentax. The latter are enthusiast and photographers. Mirrorless is just another electronic gadget.....

So basically anyone who uses the mirrorless variant of almost any other brand of camera purchased in the last few years is not interested in "real" photography but is just a techead? Are Ricoh GR users not enthusiasts?

Whether I agree or not with others on the direction Pentax seems to be going I honestly sometimes shake my head in disbelief at some of the stuff I read on this forum.

[repaap]

Did you hear that "Wow" when he looked in the viewfinder ?
Pewrhaps it's only the magnification, but...
I'm sure it is the first hybrid OVF/EVF ! And soon after that on a successor of the K-1 !

Looking forward of that 22/7...i did hear that 'wow' and 'can I take it home with me' too

[BarneyL]

AFAIK they once said that hybrid EVF/OVF would make the OVF part inferior to current OVFs. Hybrid viewfinder is a compromise solution, which means, it's not good at either.

I'm looking forward to better OVFs. Frankly, currently available OVFs in pentax cameras aren't that special compared to competition, unless we talk about entry level segment, where CiN have pentamirror models.

[ffking]

I'm sure it is the first hybrid OVF/EVF ! And soon after that on a successor of the K-1 !

I wondered about that, but wouldn't it rather contradict the previous 30 minutes?

[Wheatfield]

With the great lens line-up (considering all K-lenses) and the good layouts of menus and screens I still think it's a pity Pentax will not advance into the mirrorless sector. That is just about the only one with growth potential. The reasons are many. Among them the decline of car travel, which makes it essential to shrink your luggage and also your photo equipment.
Another is the vast selection of lenses available with adapters when you go to thinner bodies. Point in case: I own both of the bodies below, they produce images of roughly the same quality, but the one on the left takes only Pentax lenses and is hard and slow to use in manual focus, the one on the right takes every Pentax, Konica, Minolta and Konika-Minolta lens I own and it's a breeze to focus manually. Weight and bulk difference almost 2:1.
The only situations that keep me using the K-1 II from time to time is outdoor daylight photography, where the Sony EVF is not bright enough, or when AF is essential (I happen not to have any Sony FE-lenses yet).
Pentax might consider what the buyers value in future cameras. What the producers value is, frankly, less interesting.

It's pretty much a given that Canon, Nikon and Sony will be 100% mirrorless in a few years. That gives a small player like Pentax good growth potential by catering to the people who want to use optical viewfinder cameras.
Sixty years ago, Leica should have given up on rangefinders and moved to SLR cameras like everyone else.
They didn't, they stayed with what they did best.
Their few attempts to make an SLR failed miserably. At that time, it was Pentax, Nikon and Canon that had a stranglehold on the SLR camera market and Leica couldn't break in.
However, staying with rangefinders was a good decision, as people who wanted one had very limited choices.
Mirrorless may have growth potential, but that market is sewn up, the same way the SLR market was sewn up on the 1960s. Where are the bit players from that era now?
There is no future in being a bit player in mirrorless.

[Rondec]

I think it would reflect better on us as Pentaxians if we didn't constantly say that anyone with a different perspective isn't serious about photography.

I think we have to be realistic about what Pentax as a brand can offer. I don't think they have the capability of producing a Z6 or A7r III right now. Probably the best they could do would be to turn out something that matches decently with a couple of generations old MILC -- maybe a A7r II or something like that.

Would you really want something with a couple of generations old EVF, sub-par continuous auto focus, laggy interface, and so-so video that is priced in the 2000 dollar range? Because I think that is what we would be looking at from Pentax.

Companies are struggling to sell cutting edge MILCs, I can't imagine if Pentax came out with one that lags way behind what others are offering, but cost the same.

[sundown]

Looking forward of that 22/7...i did hear that 'wow' and 'can I take it home with me' too

22/7 equals Pi 3.14

[AlwaysAl]

I actually felt an affinity for the people and the language used in this viceo. I do hope enough people who enjoy the experience - the process - of creating a fine image with sensual cameras and lenses buy Pentax gear.

I agree, no glitz, just regular folks having a chat. The kind of people you'd go out shooting with; sharing and supporting.

[bertwert]

Brand C: Look over here! We've got a 44 MP camera that can AF on the eye of a newt!!

Well, good new for this guy here

Youtu.be

Youtu.be

[Spodeworld]

But, is it a niche that is large enough to sustain the brand? It has to be sufficiently profitable, or at least there has to be a plan where it appears it will be, for a large, publicly traded corporation to continue to invest in it (or even maintain it).

I really think that Pentax is in good hands - seems like they've identified their niche and are going to stay faithful to it. A good business decision.

[BarneyL]

But, is it a niche that is large enough to sustain the brand?

I'd rather ask, is this niche large enough to sustain the brand outside Japan.

So far, marketing effort from RI is Japan-centric, with an exception of 100th anniversary events, that took place in a few more countries.


In my country, there used to be regular cashback offers and an "pentax ambassador" program that had a photo contest each month and gave some Pentax branded trinkets & baubles. Now there are no offers at all, the ambassador program looks defunct, and k-mount stock in online photo gear stores is visibly waning.


Honestly, sometimes it feels like Pentax is going to pull out of my country, just like Nikon packed their things and left Brazil.

[FozzFoster]

just like Nikon packed their things and left Brazil.

Pentax really shouldn't be compared too much to Nikon anymore.
Nikon wasted a lot of R&D into making a mirrorless option. I doubt much (any) effort will be put into making Canon/Nikon SLRs anymore.
We are now talking about two different types of camera all together.
I believe the SLR market is much more stable than the mirrorless options. Especially with fewer competitors now.

[thibs]

Leica never really tried much with SLRs, the lenses are well, Leucas but their bodies have always been meh (mostly Minolta with a R mount).

[grahame]

As a photographer, I am happy to see Pentax is going to stick with DSLR in the near future. If Pentax releases mirror-less system, it will have to come with a new mount. So for regular users, what is the different from buying a new "pentax" brand new system vs buying a more matual system, say Sony? Maybe a little better support for K mount lens, but most likely only for KAF4 mount, not for screw drive AF mount and even KAF3 that has aperture lever. Very few lenses there.
Maybe mirror-less camera is more profitable for camera makers, or maybe it has brighter future in long term, but we, established Pentaxians, are definitely benefit from Pentax's persistency.