[thibs]

Ditch the 645 and bring out the digital 6x7.

Yeah, let's show Ricoh has the bigger balls LOL

[lemono]

If that's true, then in a way, it's also the end of Pentax as 'bang for the buck' brand era. Writing was on the wall for quite some time though...

I had hopes that Ricoh will specialize aps-c line towards action shooting and video recording, FF line towards landscape and studio, and ditch the 645 entirely... I wonder what kind of plans they have for the last one.

In terms of the development speed of Pentax in recent years, I think it is reasonable to give up one of its product lines. Pentax has been busy realizing wishes for fans of various product lines over the years, and its pace is getting slower and slower.
But I also marked "low credibility". Personally, I don't think the credibility is very high. Because there was a video focused APS-C camera plan, but it's hard to get more information about it now.
In addition, under the premise of low sales, it seems inevitable to improve the profit of single products to maintain revenue.It seems that the pricing level is strongly related to the sales expectation of the product by the marketing department —— according K3III

[Pål Jensen]

Low:
The planning of APSC has ended, and K-3III and DA*1650 are the end of Pentax APSC era.
.

I think that it is very low as they have officially said that they plan to release a K-3IV and K-3V as well in the future....

[i_trax]

The medium format is pretty dead , at least from my perspective , I will not be buying one ever.
The FF is not far behind although I will keep and enjoy K-1/1ll & α7lll but will not be purchasing any more FF camera bodies.
The APS-C has still very long prosperous way in front of it , I love superb K-3lll and X-T4 with Zfc not far behind ( lack of IBIS /SR is rather disappointing ).
The Silver/Black X-T4 , Zfc and MX-1 look so happy together.
Future?

The invasion of AI into in camera and post processing is frightening , soon we will not know what is real and what is not.
And then we have smart phones / drones , iPhone 13 is insanely clever and capable.
Will we really need skillful photographers in the near future any more?

[StigVidar]

I think that it is very low as they have officially said that they plan to release a K-3IV and K-3V as well in the future....

For the new DA*16-50 they also published this on their web. Highlight is by me.

"We set these goals because we wanted to design a super-high-performance Star-series lens that not only optimizes the imaging performance of our latest PENTAX K-3 Mark III digital SLR camera, but also will be able to accommodate the more advanced APS-C-format digital SLR cameras of the future. We also wanted this new lens to be something to be cherished by users for many years to come."

[Kunzite]

If it is a detailed message, the publisher should specify the source of the message.
Any information I release is obtained from dealers or relevant employees. Of course, it will not be first-hand information. But when I learn an info from one channel, I will go to other channels to verify it, rather than spreading it out at the first time.
Even when I know some specific details, when I release, I will choose to blur or avoid it at all. Ricoh strictly controlled this kind of information after the KP incident. If I release all the content directly, it will affect many people.
For asahiman's info, I consulted some people who had some information. I was told that most of asahiman's info are obtained through crawler scripts. Now Ricoh has taken many protective measures against crawler scripts, so asahiman's message reliability is not high.
As for the future news, I have mentioned some in some threads.
High credibility:
The preparation of DFA21 has entered the final stage. My personal interpretation is that within one to two months.
After GR3X is released, the next one is GR3M and the next one is 645.
Medium:
The new DFA Limited in planning.
A new FF project has begun.
Low:
The planning of APSC has ended, and K-3III and DA*1650 are the end of Pentax APSC era.
There is an intention to develop a new 645 lens

Incidentally, some interesting facts can be said: Ricoh obtained Panasonic's video coding and Olympus's anti shake technology through patent exchange —— but it seems to have nothing to do with Pentax.

Sorry, but anyone can say anything on the Internet
You had/have some good info, he had/have some good info.
You too aren't 100% accurate - which is to be expected, unless you stay quiet until the press releases are distributed to dealers 2 days before the launch. A good part of what you say can't be easily verified.
Pentax stopping APS-C is hard to believe, for example. Yes, you're marking it as "low".
So, why should I start distrusting asahiman?

The problem with asahiman is that he doesn't specify the level of confidence he has in a certain piece of info, and sometimes it's difficult to differentiate leaks from opinion.
At least part of it is the language barrier.

The problem with you is that you're trying to replace asahiman
But you don't have to. There's plenty of room on this forum.

[BarneyL]

I didn't get the impression that lemono tries to replace anyone. Also I don't think running a rumour mill is that great of a job :P asahiman left the forum for a reason...

Anyway, @lemono you put next 645 in "high credibility". Could you elaborate a bit on that?

[gazonk]

Yeah, let's show Ricoh has the bigger balls LOL

LOL indeed. But seriously, wouldn’t a full frame 645 be the logical next step - not only to trump Fuji, but to make it less of a K-1 competitor?

[ThorSanchez]

LOL indeed. But seriously, wouldn’t a full frame 645 be the logical next step - not only to trump Fuji, but to make it less of a K-1 competitor?

Do the current 645 lenses cover the larger image circle in a way that medium format customers and the company would find acceptable? I think a new line of lenses to support full frame medium format is a complete non-starter.


And how many units do they expect to sell of a very large DSLR body when Fuji's MF offerings are about the same size as a K-1?

[normhead]

Do the current 645 lenses cover the larger image circle in a way that medium format customers and the company would find acceptable? I think a new line of lenses to support full frame medium format is a complete non-starter.


And how many units do they expect to sell of a very large DSLR body when Fuji's MF offerings are about the same size as a K-1?

I expect Pentax to respond to the size of the Fuji's. Although whether it will be enough, or anywhere close to timely is another issue. I would expect a smaller registration distance and adapter for older glass, that functions just like using the camera without an adapter. But hey, I know nothing. I just think that because I have a couple of 645 MF film lenses just waiting for a body and Pentax to date has always been accommodating to previous customers. But, I also realize, Pentax has evolved, so it's probably just idle speculation.

I met a Japanese Pentax rep years ago at a trade show. He put a 645D in my hand, I said "This is too big for me." He put a DA 560 in my hand. I said "This is way too big for my use." I'm starting to think he didn't pass the message on to headquarters.

[biz-engineer]

And how many units do they expect to sell of a very large DSLR body when Fuji's MF offerings are about the same size as a K-1?

We could ask ourselves a similar question concerning how many units of the new caterpillar excavator model will be sold if it is larger than mass market cars, trucks and gardening tools from the DIY store.

---------- Post added 15-09-21 at 15:29 ----------

I met a Japanese Pentax rep years ago at a trade show. He put a 645D in my hand, I said "This is too big for me." He put a DA 560 in my hand. I said "This is way too big for my use." I'm starting to think he didn't pass the message on to headquarters.

Never heard a Phase One user complain about the size of the camera, especially not when it's fixed to a studio rig that's the size of what car mechanics use to lift cars in a garage.

---------- Post added 15-09-21 at 15:31 ----------

Given the price of a 645 FF sensor and subsequent price hike of a 645 FF using such sensor, I guess a lot of the hobby Pentaxians will be left out of the equation by Ricoh.

[ThorSanchez]

We could ask ourselves a similar question concerning how many units of the new caterpillar excavator model will be sold if it is larger than mass market cars, trucks and gardening tools from the DIY store.

So you're saying that the full frame medium format 645 Z would be a wildly expensive body/system aimed at a microscopic niche user community that doesn't care at all that they can get nearly the same image quality out of a much smaller, lighter, cheaper Fuji MF system. It'll be the camera equivalent of one of those 40 foot tall dump trucks that they hand-assemble and sell a few hundred of for $10M each. Right? I mean, I suppose that's plausible.

I'd prefer that Ricoh doesn't invest a lot of corporate resources into a system that's probably going to sell a few thousand very expensive copies. But it's not up to me.

---------- Post added 09-15-21 at 09:56 AM ----------

I expect Pentax to respond to the size of the Fuji's. Although whether it will be enough, or anywhere close to timely is another issue. I would expect a smaller registration distance and adapter for older glass, that functions just like using the camera without an adapter. But hey, I know nothing. I just think that because I have a couple of 645 MF film lenses just waiting for a body and Pentax to date has always been accommodating to previous customers. But, I also realize, Pentax has evolved, so it's probably just idle speculation.

I met a Japanese Pentax rep years ago at a trade show. He put a 645D in my hand, I said "This is too big for me." He put a DA 560 in my hand. I said "This is way too big for my use." I'm starting to think he didn't pass the message on to headquarters.

I don't think the adapter route is very likely, as it would imply eventually fleshing out a native lens lineup. At Ricoh/Pentax' pace that would take a decade. And wouldn't shorter registration distance kind of imply the M word?

[normhead]

Never heard a Phase One user complain about the size of the camera, especially not when it's fixed to a studio rig that's the size of what car mechanics use to lift cars in a garage.

My guess is , you could probably answer the question "Why would normhead use a Fuji 100s over a 645z or Phase One, better than I could.

---------- Post added 09-15-21 at 10:37 AM ----------

And wouldn't shorter registration distance kind of imply the M word?

It would, but, with a flip screen, that's more than acceptable, at least to me. Especially for larger formats. For action cameras, not so much. I would hate to think the only way I get to use my 645 lenses the way they were designed to work where I go and the way I shoot would be with a Fuji. So many Pentax users went that route, Sony and adapter or Canon and adapter for their FF lenses, only to have Pentax come out with competing products years later. If not Pentax, then maybe Ricoh.

Old guys like myself are used to inferior viewing options on larger format cameras. EVF fits right in.

[Wheatfield]

Do the current 645 lenses cover the larger image circle in a way that medium format customers and the company would find acceptable? I think a new line of lenses to support full frame medium format is a complete non-starter.


And how many units do they expect to sell of a very large DSLR body when Fuji's MF offerings are about the same size as a K-1?

The problem Pentax is going to have in the MF format world now is named Fuji. The lenses are as good if not better, their technology is better, and Fuji is doing a much better job of getting brand recognition out there.
Pentax is trying to pimp a digital update of a nearly 4 decades old camera against a brand new design from a much better known company.
I don't think this will end well for Pentax.

---------- Post added Sep 15th, 2021 at 09:32 AM ----------

Given the price of a 645 FF sensor and subsequent price hike of a 645 FF using such sensor, I guess a lot of the hobby Pentaxians will be left out of the equation by Ricoh.

Pentax has pretty much always been a hobby brand. They never broke into the pro market in a big way other than with the 6x7 and fashion photographers.

[repaap]

In terms of the development speed of Pentax in recent years, I think it is reasonable to give up one of its product lines. Pentax has been busy realizing wishes for fans of various product lines over the years, and its pace is getting slower and slower.
But I also marked "low credibility". Personally, I don't think the credibility is very high. Because there was a video focused APS-C camera plan, but it's hard to get more information about it now.
In addition, under the premise of low sales, it seems inevitable to improve the profit of single products to maintain revenue.It seems that the pricing level is strongly related to the sales expectation of the product by the marketing department —— according K3III

It would be logical that their goal is now set for the other things after so much has been done(K3-III is out as well as DA*16-50 PLM) no need for more developement with aps-c models, for now. I suppose that they will learn how these things will be received. I do also think that some things could still be further developed with K-3III, it could be that video will see some update. That Panasonic codec do sound interesting. Perhaps IS from Olympus has already been implemented?

But it is time for next models, like 645 and then FF. Ofcourse RG line too because it has big demand.
Lol

That is quite a bit of lines keep up with, as well as theta!