Originally posted by cateto Translation:
From very well informed sources, we could know that in Hoya-Pentax it is very seriously considered the, rather than convenience, necessity to enter "in the Micro Four Thirds"...
I followed the discussion for a while and slowly developped an opinion, an educated guess.
First, I think a better traslation would be:
From very well informed sources, we have been able to learn that within Hoya-Pentax one is very seriously considering not only the opportunity but the necessity to enter "into the Micro Four Thirds"...
I don't speak Spanish so please mention if my impression was wrong.
So, the sentence says that there could be the simple necessity to join the µFT camp and Hoya is checking if this is indeed the case. Fair enough and we could hear the same a year ago (more generally for EVIL though).
Second, Pentax, Olympus and Panasonic are all loosing ground with respect to Sony, Nikon and Canon. They aren't number threes anymore. So, it would make sense to meet in Tokyo and Osaka and seriously talk about the future. Hoya managers have stated in public that they seek out for possible ways of "joining forces".
Third, Pentax and Samsung cannot cooperate. I doubt any Korean and Japanese corporation could.
Fourth, an EVIL camera has a new mount. So, there is no need to keep an existing sensor format. APS-C EVIL developments (Samsung, Sony, Canon) are closed to Pentax. µFT is the only readily available option. EVIL cameras have to be small to succeed and therefore, a full frame EVIL is not an option.
Fifth, EVIL and FF are the only two innovations bringing new or keeping old customers. They cannot do both at the same time. I don't see who to join for a FF development. Obvious though for EVIL.
Sixth, if I put myself into the shoes of Hoya, I would spread out my tentacles to clarify options for a Hoya-Olympus venture. A Pentax-branded EVIL camera made (or at least, designed) by Olympus and a decent K-mount AF adapter made by Pentax and retrofitted DA40 and DA70 may be a good start.
Pentax already sells rebranded bridge cameras. And it does make sense for Olympus too. Pentax is big to strengthen the µFT camp and it may provide a credible upgrade path towards FF for FT users feeling the pain of the small sensor. Of course, this would imply Pentax does FF indeed...
Ok, all of this assumes that APS-C SLR and FT SLR will die eventually, with EVIL (APS-C/µFT) and FF SLR being the survivers. I do so. I won't be surprised if Hoya shares this assumption.