[Kunzite]

But can they keep this momentum thing going on for months, and still make an impact when announcing the product? Who on Earth could talk about the FF for half an year and still not reveal all its specs?
Let's be reasonable, they told us it will be done by the end of the year, now we know we have something to wait for.

And it's not like they're completely quiet - they're giving us two D FA lenses (for now ), the K-3II with Pixel Shift Resolution and a few more other things.

[rawr]

Let's be reasonable

I want weekly progress reports.

But seriously, Feb to June has been empty of FF news. The two D FA's were 'launched' CP+ Feb 12, as was the FF mockup. Since then, zip.

There are ways to 'kick the ball along' without revealing every single specification and every detail of their FF plans before the product release.

[Winder]

There are ways to 'kick the ball along' without revealing every single specification and every detail of their FF plans before the product release.

That would require an understanding of marketing.

[Kunzite]

I want weekly progress reports.

But seriously, Feb to June has been empty of FF news. The two D FA's were 'launched' CP+ Feb 12, as was the FF mockup. Since then, zip.

There are ways to 'kick the ball along' without revealing every single specification and every detail of their FF plans before the product release.

I want daily stand-ups with the Pentax R&D teams, but I know that's impossible. And even if it weren't, it would be in Japanese and I wouldn't understand anything.

I can't see any way to "kick the ball along" for so long. Except if we're talking about the kind of marketing which says nothing.

[rawr]

the kind of marketing which says nothing.

Which is most marketing. 'Where's the beef?', for example, was a purely theatrical marketing 'question', but it became iconic, and did a lot for the brand that initiated the campaign. Reminded consumers about the alleged distinctiveness of their product for a long time.

'Where's the beef' is also a question increasingly relevant to Pentax FF, as 2015 rolls on.

[Kunzite]

5 months of buzzwords like "cutting edge", "leverage", "innovative" and so on. What for? Besides, I though we were talking about information.

I had to google "where's the beef". What's "Wendy's"?

[mee]

Clock is ticking though. It's June now, half-way through 2015, and 2015 is supposed to be the year of Pentax FF. But still not a peep out of Ricoh.

I'm starting to wonder if the release isn't going to slip to early next year... I figured, by now, we'd have much more information on the body as well as other lenses. The 70-200 hasn't even been released.. and that was on mockup last year. So it has me wondering.. I know they like to play their cards close to their vests, but this is strange to me.. lots of fanare at CP+ then silence.. complete silence.

[Poit]

Clock is ticking though. It's June now, half-way through 2015, and 2015 is supposed to be the year of Pentax FF. But still not a peep out of Ricoh.

I assume Ricoh knows how many eyes are watching that space, they don't need to make a song and dance about it. It would only divert attention from other releases (eg K-3ii).

If there's one thing I've learned from observing the Ricoh way of doing things, they don't like to do things half-cocked, or look silly. If they said 'end 2015', it'll be 'end 2015'. I have faith

[Kunzite]

lots of fanare at CP+ then silence.. complete silence.

What fanfare? They only said:
- they will make a K-mount FF DSLR
- it will be launched by the end of this year
- it will support APS-C lenses via a crop function
And they had some placeholder mock-up so they wouldn't show only a paper with 3 lines of text on it.

If even this spartan announcement is 'fanfare'...

[Clavius]

I'm starting to wonder if the release isn't going to slip to early next year... I figured, by now, we'd have much more information on the body as well as other lenses. The 70-200 hasn't even been released.. and that was on mockup last year. So it has me wondering.. I know they like to play their cards close to their vests, but this is strange to me.. lots of fanare at CP+ then silence.. complete silence.

And miss the end of year sales boost? Black Friday? People getting their bonus or holiday salary? If they have something then they'll push it out before. Provided they have something, but the silence is making me have doubts also. I follow multiple brands and if I take into consideration what certain other brands did in the meantime...

[mecrox]

And miss the end of year sales boost? Black Friday? People getting their bonus or holiday salary? If they have something then they'll push it out before. Provided they have something, but the silence is making me have doubts also. I follow multiple brands and if I take into consideration what certain other brands did in the meantime...

Imho, Ricoh have one shot to get this right. A foobarred introduction, because too hasty, could be a disaster for them. They're launching an entire new platform, not just one camera body. It's a big, big thing. Looking back in five years' time, a few months either way won't make any difference. Given the way the camera market is changing, FF is likely to be a very important plank for Ricoh going forward so I hope they will do what it takes to get things right and not just out in any old way.

[Clavius]

Imho, Ricoh have one shot to get this right. A foobarred introduction, because too hasty, could be a disaster for them. They're launching an entire new platform, not just one camera body. It's a big, big thing. Looking back in five years' time, a few months either way won't make any difference. Given the way the camera market is changing, FF is likely to be a very important plank for Ricoh going forward so I hope they will do what it takes to get things right and not just out in any old way.

This launch however is just another K-mount DSLR but with an FF sensor. Saying it the way I did here is overly simplifying things, but regarding it as an entire new platform is the exact opposite.

Anyway, if you consider this: https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/76-non-pentax-cameras-canon-nikon-etc/296...ra-market.html we could argue that an FF DSLR at this stage would already be foobarred from the start.

[RobA_Oz]

The next major photo industry event is Photokina in Cologne, which is scheduled for September 2015. If Ricoh is expecting to have the new body in the shops by the end of the year, I'd expect they'd have something substantial to show then. That's seven months from the February showing of the design study at CP+, and by my calculation it's the time they'd have the first shipments entering warehouses ready for distribution in the main markets, in time for end of year sales.

I wouldn't get too fussed about the mirrorless movement leaving Pentax stranded just yet. This body is important to complete the existing K-mount range before anything else is needed. DSLRs have some legs yet, and a significant Pentax mirrorless model will probably follow in good time.

[Kunzite]

The next major photo industry event is CP+, which will take place in February, in Tokyo. Next Photokina is scheduled for September 2016.

[rawr]

The next major photo industry event is CP+, which will take place in February, in Tokyo. Next Photokina is scheduled for September 2016.

Shhhh. Don't tell Ricoh.

Maybe they are also working on the assumption that Photokina comes in September this year. Let's keep them working that way.