Originally posted by MMVIII It's tradition
I came to Pentax with my Mz-5n and at a time, when they struggled to keep their costumers who compared the z1-p to the equivalent Nikon F5 and Canon EOS flagships. The Z1-p was not a bad camera at all, but it did not have the slightest chance in the market. Pentax took a turn and showed cojones in trying a different approach, which was best complimented by the release of the Mz-3 and the FA-limited lenses, and that was what made me look a second time and brought them a costumer.
And since the early time of internet when discussion groups as the PDML where active one thing is a standard in Pentax world: when will the real flagship come
The long awaited and desiderated Mz-1 was always just a second away and would bring Pentax all the glory they would have deserved - but it never showed up
Instead they produced the Mz-s, in my eyes a fine camera, bringing some nice innovative and very professional things, like the illumination of "EXIF"-data between the frames on the film! A dream for everybody, who was using this camera in research, science, or generally everybody interested in serious archiving. This was the heritage of the LX, a robust, versatile, long lasting camera for outdoors, made by photographers for photographers, that was the message (the LX was the main system used f.e. by archaeologists worldwide, for aerial reconnaisance, in the desert, the jungle).
I see history repeating. Maybe a FF-flagship will appear on the horizon, maybe not. I don't care, as long as they keep their good tradition of bringing the best COMBINATION and are not trying to play the numbers game, be it mm, MP or fps... K-5D and 645D seem to be proof that at the moment they do.
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Unfortunately each and any of the "flagship" Pentaxes failed in the market. The PZ-1p was big, heavy and had a slow AF. The hand grip was big, bulky, expensive and empty - no battieries in there. The MZ-S was beautiful, but at 4 fps, slower than any pro-modell since the 1960s. At least during those AF film days, Pentax had a very decent lens line-up. Since the LX Pentax hadn't brought a single professional 35mm camera onto the market. Seriously I think, the K10 and K20 were much more pro, than any 35mm camera Pentax made since the LX and the K5 certainly points into the right direction.
All in all I find the APS-C camera concept quite convincing. The current Pentaxes are fantastic value and deliver very good image quality. Any camera fornat has its own merrits and shortcomings, whether it be LF, MF, 35mm, APS-C or smaller. I very much prefer Pentax to develop the current modells further and add more lenses, then investing heavily in a 35mm DSLR, which swallows up ressources and will not add to the company's bottom line.
Pentax has not been in the position of Canon and Nikon, who had been able to produce flagship modells for their own sake, without the need to produce real revenue. And I doubt, Ricoh will invest millions into full-frame cameras, that are hardly saleable, as they come with a price tag, which most amateurs are not prepared to pay. And to win over the pro market, Pentax needs a pro-system, not only a single pro-camera.
Ben