[Tesla]

Nikon has economies of scale and a huge market share. The D600 is a product with wide appeal. A Pentax digital FF with no features has a very narrow appeal, and Pentax has no market share...Nikon is also able to sell low margin cameras because they can sell high margin items like lenses...

If a student has to learn on a fully manual camera, there are already millions of fully manual FF cameras available, I own half a dozen myself...

So because others make one Pentax shouldn't? I think it would be popular just like the K1000.

[TomB_tx]

So because others make one Pentax shouldn't? I think it would be popular just like the K1000.

"Honeywell" Pentax was an extremely popular camera in the 1960s with classy advertising and huge user base. Look at their sales figures then! Even the Beatles were shown using them, so they had recognition that drove the K1000 sales boom, and a reputation that maintained sales of this model while newer models proliferated. Automatic focus was unreliable (and we all knew it), and program mode exposure was still suspect. Today's generation doesn't know the brand.
While my heart is still clinging to that era, all the automatic features are now mainstreamed and expected, so I have to agree a camera without them would be only a niche product. It could still be a profitable niche, but not as attractive to Pentax as a mainstream product.

[Beaugrand]

Something like this, cosmetically based on the Kalimar K-90 (Pentax K1000 copy), otherwise known as the "K-9D."

[Tesla]

Black is cool, but I'm a fan of retro silver. (nickle like finish, not flat silver paint)

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Last edited by Tesla; 02-13-2014 at 10:17 PM.

[Beaugrand]

I kinda like highly polished stainless steel myself. One of my favorite cameras is a "Traveler," made by Medion (or subcontracted) and sold by Aldi; satin metal finish with a brushed metal front:

[rrstuff]

If Pentax got into FF, it would be very cool if they made a student version that is fully manual. Just like the K1000 or ZX-M, but digital and lcd display.. very basic. Perfect for students as there are tons of high quality manual k-mount lenses out there and very cheap. Could call it the K1000D.

Fully Manual (No AF, or SR)
Full Frame sensor and LCD display
High quality body, glass prism, metal mount
Split-image focus screen
Pop-up flash
Cost less than $1000.

It could look something like the Pentax ZX-M:

That's kind of a cool idea. It would be cool if they could simply incorporate electronics into one of those old bodies.

[Beaugrand]

It's called "DigiPod." Featured in an August 16 2013 article on PetaPixel: "convert-your-old-film-slr-into-a-digital-camera-with-the-digipod."

Attached Images

 

[Tesla]

I kinda like highly polished stainless steel myself. One of my favorite cameras is a "Traveler," made by Medion (or subcontracted) and sold by Aldi; satin metal finish with a brushed metal front:

Oh yeah!! I do like! The brushed look is very cool! I like the DigiPod idea.. it will be interesting to see if it comes to market.

[Beaugrand]

The inventor tried "crowd funding," but was unable to raise enough in pledges; he needed 1,000 backers to put up about $370 each to bring it to market: "If successful, Jackson hopes to sell the device for $370 at retail."

It might be interesting to see how many potential customers there would be at the quoted price.

[jogiba]

The inventor tried "crowd funding," but was unable to raise enough in pledges; he needed 1,000 backers to put up about $370 each to bring it to market: "If successful, Jackson hopes to sell the device for $370 at retail."

It might be interesting to see how many potential customers there would be at the quoted price.

$370 for what exactly ?

[GibbyTheMole]

$370 for what exactly ?

That's the magic question... It could well be a cheap 1 MP p&s sensor, and only take 1 or maybe a few photos before you have to remove the thing & upload them off to your computer. I'd be skeptical of IQ until someone else test drives the final product. Besides, you'd still be missing at least one big crucial plus when it comes to digital cameras, and that's the instant-review capability of an LCD. For $370, I can buy an excellent used DSLR that would likely perform circles around that thing.

Weighing in on the issue of making an all-manual FF digital camera, I think it would be a big mistake. I'm a guy that shot for almost 30 years with all-manual 35mm cameras (including a few K1000s) but I must say some automation comes in very handy. They could make it retro-styled, sure... But to deliberately leave modern features off of a new camera to appeal to a very miniscule segment of camera buyers, would be a big blunder. It takes a lot of money and resources to develop a new camera. If Pentax wants to do a FF, they need to do it right, or it could spell disaster for the company.

[Beaugrand]

Google "digipod."

[oxidized]

1. Why not buy an actual ff camera as a 5d ($450), shave the mirror. You will have a ton more functionality than some gadget that costs 370 and honestly just doesn't compete in iq...
2. Student ff is not going to be profitable. Students by definion are poor. That is what makes k1000 so attractive. It costs 30 bucks. I can hardly imagine students forking 1000+(if even possible)on an item they are going to outgrow in 3 months. Besides 99 percent of general consumers wouldn't pay that much money for such a limited functionality camera. Lastly, the ergonomics of it are just terrible. Have you tried a k1000 w a lens 100mm+?

[Tony Belding]

To me it would make more sense to start with the Q system and add an EVF and perhaps a retro-styled body, rather than start with the cheapest FF sensor and then try to build a cheap, stripped-down camera around it. I know this is the FF forum, and we all love big sensors, but... I do think Q has a bright future, and many nifty things can be done with it.

[Tesla]

1. Why not buy an actual ff camera as a 5d ($450), shave the mirror. You will have a ton more functionality than some gadget that costs 370 and honestly just doesn't compete in iq...
2. Student ff is not going to be profitable. Students by definion are poor. That is what makes k1000 so attractive. It costs 30 bucks. I can hardly imagine students forking 1000+(if even possible)on an item they are going to outgrow in 3 months. Besides 99 percent of general consumers wouldn't pay that much money for such a limited functionality camera. Lastly, the ergonomics of it are just terrible. Have you tried a k1000 w a lens 100mm+?

A basic manual FF can easily be made to sell under a $1000. Students have to fork out thousand for tuition and supplies like books, and computers; a camera isn't going to make much difference in their budget.