[philbaum]

I think if Pentax issues two new bodies a year, thats enough for them to keep up with the competition.

So their 645D is the first camera body of the year, to be followed, IMHO, by an upgrade to the K7. I read more people wanting a higher ISO sensor for the K7 than those that want to keep the existing sensor DR and resolution.

So thats my prediction, Pentax's second camera body this year will be a K7 upgrade with a new sensor, but not FF until 2011/2012.

Kx came out the most recently, is doing quite well, no reason to mess with success here when K7 is starting to age, witness the declining prices.

I've very tempted to buy the Kx to go with my K20. Either that or i'll wait for the K7 upgrade to age a bit so i can afford it which puts me out 18 months. Nope, i think a Kx is in my near future.

[Daedbird]

Clearly, ever since the Km, Pentax runs three bodies, with the x00 series always in the middle, some of the functions of the single digit series that were omitted in the letter series.

I fathom to guess that sensor choice and not wanting to canibalize Kx sales has led to this ommission.

With the Kx well underway in sales, I suppose that the Kz will be coming. I am sure that it will be built off the Km body, with illuminated AF selector, more weather protection, elimination of ugly blue power light, and the addition of second control wheel. These things will add things people like myself have wanted, but should not take away from K7 sales, since it has features like dedicated audio port, etc, and would hope they would add in the firmware a choice between 30fps or 27 fps.....

[vize]

I really don't feel that Pentax needs a body cheaper than the K-x. The reason Canon can have Rebels at every $50 price point is their huge volume of sales. With Pentax's smaller volume I think they need to be more selective in the products they offer. Also the super-low end bodies are pretty junky and you've got to think about what kind of long-term impression you are making on customers.

Well, the lower end rebels sre not bad for a beginner. A similar camera from Pentax might appeal to a wider audience just getting into photography, so I would welcome a lower end body. Then maybe Pentax can make huge profits and invest that money to make a better autofocus system.

[Gooshin]

KX chip in K7 body

forget video functionality (or atleast, dont bother upgrading it)

market it at 1300-1500

i'll be a happy man.

cuz right now i'm stuck with a K20, i wont bother with the K7 cuz the sensor is the same crap, and i dont want the KX cuz i'm too used to the pentaprisim + extra features.

[gazonk]

I found K-x a very good and nice camera but it IMHO is too small for people who has normal hand, this camera is perfect for women but not for man.

I guess YMMV. I haven't really used the K-x, but it feels good to hold (and I have very big hands).

At least its grip's ergonomics is lightyears above the low end Sonys

[Supernaut]

My guess is a K-7 like camera body with less sophisticated finder equipped with K-x sensor (or the 14 Mpix sony sensor found in a550).
Later a K-7 mk2 with upcoming sony 16 Mpix (or whatever) that also will show up in the coming sony "a700 mk2". Adding a K-5 will to a great extent kill the K-7 sales so this camera can't be too far away too.

[nemesis101]

First off the noise issue is not the huge thing it once was, 4/3 format sensors have come a long way since the early E-300 - secondly, maybe because you can use some fantastic manual focus lenses on them, as the register distance is so shallow? I use a 4/3 and a micro 4/3 every day, as well as my Pentax SLR's and DSLR's.. but I cannot fit my Contax Planar 50mm 1.4 on the Pentax, nor the fantastic Leica glass I have inherited... Sure the Pentax is great as there are millions of K / KA / KAF / KAF2 lenses out there, but other folk made decent glass too!


Doug.


Took my first Pentax picture in 1959... :-)

Why waste the time with 4/3? I personally think it's a stupid format.

Yes sure you can get more compact cameras, lighter lenses but at the expense of quality, noise, DOF etc.

[aerodynamics]

I'd like to see a "very near pro" model - it would be the K-7's successor - w/ better ISO performance and faster FPS. Strictly from a marketing standpoint, I think FF might be too big a jump at this time.

Keep the K-x. They can upgrade to a 15mp sensor to compete w/ the T2i. Give it a shutter cable port and/or bottom connections for an optional grip.

Keep one of the existing lower end models or upgrade it slightly and call it the entry level. No video.

Introduce a 4/3.

That would round out the lineup very well, I think.

[Martin Schou]

Grouping wise, Pentax has done pretty well, despite only having two current models. And if we look at announcement dates, there seems to be a 9 to 15 month gap between replacement models:

K-x (Sep 09), 12 months, K-m (Sep 08), 9 months, K200D (Jan 08), 18 months K100D, (May 06)

K-7 (May 09), 15 months, K20D (Jan 08), 15 months, K10D (Sep 06)

It'd make little sense to replace the K-x at this point in time. Sure, Canon has just unleased the 550D, but you'd have to be a fool (or a 550D reviewer) to see the K-x as the natural competitor to that camera, as you can get the K-7 for pretty much the same money. Besides, Canon also has the 1000D in the K-x's price segment, AND they're keeping the 500D on the market.

A K-7 replacement makes more sense. Photokina 2010 (September) would fit nicely with a K-7 replacement. It'd make sense to upgrade their semi-pro body anyway.

There are rumours that Sony's new Exmor revision will be 1080p compatible, and with a bit of luck, it'll be 1080p@50/60. 14 to 18 Mpixels will be good. Unlike Nikon, I don't think Pentax has the clout to pull off a reduced number of pixels. They don't have the backing of sales people, meaning that it'll lose out in the stores, if they reuse the K-x's sensor. Obviously an improvement in dynamic range and high ISO performance will be a must as well for the same reasons.

It'd be nice if they could improve their JPEG engine, but that tends to be a very slow progression in the Pentax line-up.

They could keep the K-7 body easily enough. The 7D pretty much reused the 50D's body, and there are very few things to complain about the K-7 body. It has pretty much the best seals on the market as it is. Reusing the body means we get to keep the D-BG4. Adding support for SDXC is pretty much a must though.

Would be neat if they included the mirror upgrade from the K-7 Limited Silver, but that's hardly a requirement.

Doing it this way would make the replacement camera an evolution and not particularly expensive either. A lot of R&D has been sunk into the K-7 body, accessories and electronics, and if they're only upgrading the sensor and adding SDXC support, it'll make a lot of sense economically. If possible dump some more memory into the thing, so we can get longer bursts.

Timing-wise a September announcement would also fit nicely with a Christmas shopping release. They could probably introduce this kind of replacement at something like a hundred dollars more than the current K-7. Do that and they be going at the throat of Canon's 7D.

Something similar could be done for the K-x. Time-wise a replacement fits nicely with Photokina as well. Minor upgrades would make sense. Keep the sensor - it's a great hit. Add SDXC, battery grip, weather seals and better JPEG engine. More memory for this one as well, please. These are minor updates, and they could probably reintroduce this at the original cost of the K-x. Keep the colour selection, and possibly extend it to the DA-L lenses as well.

As it stands Pentax already has the best weather sealed camera on the market, and it'd make a lot of sense if they extended this to their entire line-up. They already have kit WR-lenses. And if they have a weather sealed entry-level camera as good at the K-x, they could probably sell even more of their WR and DA* lenses as well.

But ... who knows?

[rparmar]

I'd like to see a "very near pro" model - it would be the K-7's successor - w/ better ISO performance and faster FPS. Strictly from a marketing standpoint, I think FF might be too big a jump at this time.

I agree. I don't think Pentax is going to support more than two APS-C bodies at a time. And since the K-x is already a great starter camera that leaves the K-7 to be upgraded. There's not a lot they can do to improve it, but a lower noise sensor and better yet AF would be a start.

And please give us a soft button or two plus a configurable user menu. That way everyone gets the controls they need!

[sifun]

They are missing Full Frame-
I'm hoping for something like K7, but with a FF sensor
Pentax surely would know of the demand for something like this.
KX is such a success for them, they should follow the trend of giving what the market wants- Bang for buck. Surely they want to go into the pro market....

Meanwhile I am enjoying my K7. Its a fantastic camera-
I played with my friend's KX, I like the ISO performance, however it is missing the focus dots lighting up.

I'm wishing they would go full frame with a small body like K7, I love the size compared to the competition.

[Pentaxie]

IMO, Pentax dSLR can be grouped into 2 different groups. The medium format 645D and others.

For the others dSLR, I believe the following may happen :
1) Unknown model for Pro users, Full frame - maybe end 2011

2) K-7 upgrade for Prosumer user ,will be replaced in mid-2011

3) New model based on K7 or K-x to replace K5, for Photography Enthusiast, probably end 2010

4) K-x - Beginner/Entry level - will be upgraded/replaced in 2011

IMO the followings may be discontinued K10D, K20D, K200D and K-m can be discontinued (and some have already, like the K100D)

[Nomad]

I would love to see the k-7 upgraded with higher ISO capabilities but unfortunately it will probably keep the same little body
I really like the size of my k10d and dislike the feel of my wife's k-x although I would shoot one if the price was right which it often is when she lets me

[24X36NOW]

Pentax is due for a FF body soon - they can't afford more foot dragging at this point. Incremental APS-C upgrades are getting harder and harder to justify, while FF offers a lot of potential to entice people to buy new bodies (and later to entice them to buy new lenses).

[Samsungian]

Agreed, infact they just announced full frame k-mount on February 11th !!!


Pentax 6mp Digital SLR hands-on: Digital Photography Review


2001

Pentax is due for a FF body soon - they can't afford more foot dragging at this point. Incremental APS-C upgrades are getting harder and harder to justify, while FF offers a lot of potential to entice people to buy new bodies (and later to entice them to buy new lenses).