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I really hope I didn't give them an idea now. Because if they do that, this forum will get swamped by "how to hack K-x purist (tm) firmware to enable the video mode" posts

'We' may not want Pentax to make anything in particular. Wasn't the original question something like "What would YOU like to see in the new K300D to keep it pure as the K200D but with improvements?"?

Out of curiosity why no live view? My K-7 arrives today, and one of the features im most excided about is liveview. Taking extreme macro's will be so much easier

What would you like to see in the new K300D to keep it pure as the K200D but with improvements???

Speed, speed & speed. AF speed, shutter speed. That`s all.

You've got to face it, the hot thing in DSLR's right now is Video, after that it's probably sensor size.

Even the 1Dmk4 has video, and the 1D is sort of a niche pro cam. What more can they do to focus on photo guys? If Pentax made a Full Frame camera with video and all that, rivaling the 5Dmk2, that would be amazing. and since it's a Pentax it would sure as hell be cheaper 'probably' by a good margin.

Especially since getting an HDSLR is much cheaper than buying a full fledge 2/3 or even 1/3 videocamera. Most semi-pro video cameras are 3000+.

And it's likely that the future of camcorders is going to get even pricier since there were concept cams a NAB using 4/3 and full frame sensors.

So really what i'm trying to say in all this is that video isn't going to halt this camera, they wouldn't just put video in a k200d and market it as the k300d, they'd up almost everything else too.

(edit: i guess i should say that i would hope, as most new models do, that the would improve alot.)

The K-x sensor and the autofocusing technology from the K-7. Live view would also be nice, but video would be useless unless it came with an audio input jack.

I think the current boxes that are required for marketers are:

a) VIDEO,
b) Live View
c) Better Frame Rate (i.e. 1080p 24fps, vs. 30fps, vs. 60...etc) This is the new megapixle race

battery grip
video
k-x sensor
better frame rate
better AF

The original question had in view the idea of a continuation of K200d's concept, but many answers here seem to address entirely different questions, such as "What kind of camera is marketable nowadays?" and "What features should the next Pentax camera have ?" No crime in this, but it gives a false sense of disagreement.
I wonder how many K200D owners would really like to have video. (I know I would not use it--I'm simply not into making video clips.)

I have a feeling they will not make a k300d. And that will be my final statement since, as causey pretty much said, and its probably a lot of my doing, this thread has sort of wandered from its original purpose. I'm sorry for that and I will just sit back and watch.

Sadly, a "purist's camera" (no live view, no effects, etc, etc, etc)....would never sell, other than to a very tiny niche market. Pentax isn't about to release a body which only appeals to a minute number of Pentax lens owners.

If you don't want to use features in a Pentax body, don't use it, it's your choice, but don't expect Pentax to make a bare bones body with an incredible sensor and AF feature and aim that at an entry level or just above, demographic. Poor business decision. Maybe one day if Pentax has a dozen or so models already on the market at once, but I cant see that happening with this brand, ever.

Jason

Also...I highly doubt Pentax is going to roll out a new AF system on a lower end camera. I think when it does, it will be on the flagship model and the lower cost bodies will inherit that. Sure would be nice to see the same 77 segment metering from the K-7 in the next entry level body though.

Jason

But what is the point of discussing a feature set that would be a harakiri project for Pentax? It would be far more interesting to hear what realistic ideas K200D owners have for a new model (with features that would set it apart from the K-x and the K-7).

A K10D with a better sensor. That pretty much sums up my wishes.

The problem with 'purist' cameras is that no one can decide on what is really 'pure'. Is the weather sealing on the K200D really necessary? A real purist camera would have two dials for aperture and shutter speed, and a lightmeter, that's it.

Maybe the original question was meaningless (I don't believe so: I thought it was fun) and so the thread deserved to be re-directed towards other questions. But it' still meaningful to know who's talking what. I for one I am not really interested in anticipating the features of the next Pentax cameras: I have reasons to believe the successor of K-x will be a bit better than K-x and the successor of K-7 will have at least a new, better sensor. I suppose all future Pentax cameras will have more and better features than the previous ones... For the rest, que sera sera.