[Caat]

Pentax cannot launch a FF camera with no FF compatible zooms. It just won't fly.

Primes are great, the FA Ltds are awesome lenses, but zooms sell - and quite frankly can be pretty damn good themselves.

Even if Pentax announced a FF body and re-styled FA Ltds with aero-bright, SP coatings, maybe some kind of sealing and possibly SDM (assuming you can fit these into such small lenses) they'd need at least the following zooms:

24/28-70mm f/2.8 or f/4 at the very least

80-200mm f/2.8

and some kind of wide zoom, say, a FF covering 12-24mm

As this will be a bloody expensive camera you'll need SDM and weathersealing on all these lenses and a * designation most likely.

Sure there a plenty of FF AF Pentax zooms on the used market but how many of these will be a decent match to a high MP FF sensor? I would suggest only the FA*s would be worth using. One doesn't spend £2K on a camera to use an FA-J lens on it!

[Nass]

I think a mid-range DSLR which combines the K-X sensor with K-7 functionality without video mode might sell. About as likely as a chocolate teapot though.

[ogl]

Pentax cannot launch a FF camera with no FF compatible zooms. It just won't fly.

leica can...

[ogl]

These posts will answer that question:

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-news-rumors/63034-samsung-gx-30-very-soon.html

(he predicted a GX-30 which never happened)

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-news-rumors/75228-hoya-pentax-2010...eculation.html

(he has predicted, in addition to this thread, that there will be announcements in 2010 of an 8-9fps K-7 successor, a full frame camera, five full frame lenses, AND a Micro APS camera).

In other words, he's throwing darts in the dark and hoping something sticks.

No any predict. it's just guess and speculations. But EVIL is in work. FF too. K-7's successor could be changed to FF camera. GX project is not dead too.

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Last edited by ogl; 04-21-2010 at 02:35 AM.

[gazonk]

I think a mid-range DSLR which combines the K-X sensor with K-7 functionality without video mode might sell. About as likely as a chocolate teapot though.

No, that won't sell: Dropping an already implemented video mode for the K-x sensor would be extremely stupid. It would be devastating to success in reviews, and even people only remotely interested in video on DSLR would just see one point missing on a compare chart.

Why do you think there are no Sony models in this list? The disastrous grip design of the new models? No, I'm sure it's mainly the lack of video.

[Caat]

leica can...

True, but Leica is Leica.

Pentax isn't a premium, deluxe, brand - neither are Canon and Nikon in this respect.

In order to try to emulate Leica and get away with it the camera would need to MX or LX sized with a similar design ethos. I'm not sure that's possible at the moment.

[Caat]

No any predict. it's just guess and speculations. But EVIL is in work. FF too. K-7's successor could be changed to FF camera. GX project is not dead too.

I'm almost more interested to see where Samsung goes the GX than a possible FF Pentax. If only because I think Samsung is in a better position - it could comission a line of FF lenses without having the legacy APS-C issue which Pentax will have.

[Caat]

No, that won't sell: Dropping an already implemented video mode for the K-x sensor would be extremely stupid. It would be devastating to success in reviews, and even people only remotely interested in video on DSLR would just see one point missing on a compare chart.

Why do you think there are no Sony models in this list? The disastrous grip design of the new models? No, I'm sure it's mainly the lack of video.

I agree. Video is far more popular among 'ordinary' users.

The people that frequent these forums are probably more prosumer than most and I think that's why Sony's struggled a bit. You could almost still get away without video on FF cameras, like Sony has, because the people buying those machines do so for the high-res FF sensor. Consumer models however NEED video now.

[Supernaut]

Why do you think there are no Sony models in this list? The disastrous grip design of the new models? No, I'm sure it's mainly the lack of video.

The lack of video has saved many potential buyers from being disappointed with the grip.

[gazonk]

The lack of video has saved many potential buyers from being disappointed with the grip.

Good one!

[Inspector 17]

I need FF (well really realy WANT it), and have 2 FA Limiteds, 1 K135/2.5, Kiron 100/2.8 macro, and Voigtlander 58/1.4 all waiting. I have tried to only purchase FF compatibles since first buying Pentax in January 2008

The Tamron 28-75 is a perfect FF and the 28mm end becomes much nicer on FF

There are various 3rd party choices for FF longer zooms and Sigma 12-24 is there until Pentax dazzles with FF zooms

Of course they could dazzle with a co-introduction of a couple of nice zooms along with a K1 FF priced between Sony A850 and Nikon D700, the latter of which I intend to own if it becomes obvious Pentax will not be going there by mid 2011

[gazonk]

Just noticed that Pentax still sells the FA 28-105 3.2-4.5 in Japan. Maybe they could just do a slight "makeover" of that lens and the 24-90, and already have the choice of two FF standard zooms?

[knoxploration]

No any predict. it's just guess and speculations. But EVIL is in work. FF too. K-7's successor could be changed to FF camera. GX project is not dead too.

Come now, it's one or other. Either you're just guessing and speculating (in which case you should label it as such, so that you don't get people's hopes up), or you actually have inside knowledge (in which case it's not guesses and speculation).

You can't say things are "in work" when you know you're only guessing or speculating.

[wolfier]

I think a mid-range DSLR which combines the K-X sensor with K-7 functionality without video mode might sell. About as likely as a chocolate teapot though.

I still don't understand what's the big fuss of "without video mode". I mean, is there something about the existence of a video mode that annoys you?

If you don't like video, simply don't use it.

[Angevinn]

OGL has been right before on more than one occasion. It was rumored on more than one board that Samsung was prepping the GX-30 for launch. It just never happened. Samsung mothballed the GX line to focus on the NX line.

The most recent case where OGL was right was the D-FA WR Macro 100mm lens. There have been other cases but I don't have the time to go through old posts.

Business plans are not written in stone. The market is always changing so manufacturers try their best to design, build and market an item. All three steps take time and can change at any moment. How many times did Pentax waiver on releasing digital Medium Format? Pentax had the good sense to avoid releasing a FF camera a few years ago using the heavily flawed Philips sensor. Contax did not. Perhaps this is why Pentax is still around and Contax is nothing more than a marketing name on cheap electronics.

All aside, I hope that Pentax goes FF though, I would prefer a FF K Mount DSLR. I wonder what size of sensor will be used by a Pentax EVIL camera. Samsung and Sony went APS-C, Nikon is keeping quiet. Some rumors have said that Canon in working on a FF EVIL camera. All pretty neat stuff. The whole 4/3 format never did anything for me. I have a lot of legacy glass and couldn't imagine multiplying everything by 2X. 1.5 was bad enough for APS-C!

Come now, it's one or other. Either you're just guessing and speculating (in which case you should label it as such, so that you don't get people's hopes up), or you actually have inside knowledge (in which case it's not guesses and speculation).

You can't say things are "in work" when you know you're only guessing or speculating.