[kooks]

Lets not forget that in the past years Pentax was going throug a company change from Hoya to Ricoh and it wasnt until 2013 when we saw with the release of the K3 something more "strong" and new.. Ricoh is recovering what Hoya left behind, so in the past to say "yes we are working on a FF" was more like something that could be happen but the company it self wasnt even sure what was going... now the feeling is that Ricoh is giving some stability so IMO rumors could be treated some how more "credible" .. Ofcourse, rumours are rumours, never are 100% confirmed but at least I feel that a rumour now ( 2014 ) is more credible than a rumour back in 2009 - 2012, because of the company stability..

[zoolander]

Pentax Full Frame confirmed at Salon de photo (Paris)
Last weekend I went to Salon de photo (a pseudo-Photokina in France) and talked to some Ricoh staffs, they confirmed that Pentax (Ricoh) full frame will be release in 2015. I asked them if it's just some news or it's official and they reply without hesitation that it's now OFFICIAL !
So one more time Ricoh confirms their full frame release. It's just a matter of months. Prepare your full frame glass and wait for the beloved camera of all time
About the price, Ricoh says that it'll be more expensive than the K3 because of the sensor size (of course) but will be very competitive over other brands
Good news ^^

PS : photo of the Ricoh stand, nice and shine ^^

Thats nice to hear that its "Official" from the Ricoh stand. Though like one poster commented - its not "Officical" until head office or there are previews on the review sites. But those whining about a Pentax 35mm DSLR can possibly start to un-clench their lower bowel, and finally return to having regular movements ! lol

I remember positive reviewers of the K-5 saying: "its a pity its not a FF". My feeling was that Pentax should just jam in a 35mm sensor into a K-3 - and budda-bing-budda-boom, whoomp-there-it-is ! .............

I mean thats all they really need to do, and most folks will be happy !

Look at Nikon, they just jam in any old junk into their cameras, they don't care if its spraying oil all over the place ! Who cares, people gonna buy it anyhow ! I mean how many models do they have with an oil leak ! Nobody cares, Nikon sales are roaring.

Yeah Canon 6D, its got one AF point thats cross type - who cares ! People gonna buy it anyhow !

Yeah the K-3, its a great platform now - just jam that 35mm sucker in there ! People gonna buy it ! including me !

The real issue is establishing a better lens lineup, creating Mark II versions of lenses with improved SDM and no more purple fringing. Hopefully they give the full lineup the HD treatment - but this is a whole other topic.

[LensBeginner]

*snip*
I remember positive reviewers of the K-5 saying: "its a pity its not a FF". My feeling was that Pentax should just jam in a 35mm sensor into a K-3 - and budda-bing-budda-boom, whoomp-there-it-is ! .............

I mean thats all they really need to do, and most folks will be happy !

*snip*
Yeah the K-3, its a great platform now - just jam that 35mm sucker in there ! People gonna buy it ! including me !

The real issue is establishing a better lens lineup, creating Mark II versions of lenses with improved SDM and no more purple fringing. Hopefully they give the full lineup the HD treatment - but this is a whole other topic.

You underestimate the tendency people have to complain and blame equipment for their personal shortcomings...
Besides, it's not that you can just upscale some elements... for instance, SR has to be redesigned completely because it has to move a larger and heavier sensor.
And if they keep SR out, people will just say "see? they had years to develop a proper FF but just got greedy and tried to make us fork money for some beta unfinished stuff"...

[kooks]

But Sony already released a FF body with IBIS so... what is Pentax excuse for not doing it?? ( in case that IBIS was the problem ) .. At this point Pentax doesnt have any excuse for not releasing a FF DSLR or perhaps even better a FF mirrorless with K mount... i actually think is smarter to release a Mirrorless FF than a DSLR FF.. because DSLR is a shirinking market already captured mostly by Canikons.. insted.. FF mirrorless is a new market that is growing and Sony is the only competitor at this time.

[FantasticMrFox]

The real issue is establishing a better lens lineup, creating Mark II versions of lenses with improved SDM and no more purple fringing. Hopefully they give the full lineup the HD treatment - but this is a whole other topic.

Exactly, including a new kit lens. The current one was released in 2008 alongside a camera line-up that went up to a maximum o 14 Mpix. We've got cameras with 24 Mpix now and as basic as kit lenses are supposed to be, the current one is just not up to scratch any more. Make it a bit better, give it the HD coating, maybe even DC focussing and done.

[zoolander]

You underestimate the tendency people have to complain and blame equipment for their personal shortcomings...
Besides, it's not that you can just upscale some elements... for instance, SR has to be redesigned completely because it has to move a larger and heavier sensor.

Yeah I know, plus a larger mirror box - but its not on the scale of space shuttle engineering ! lol

I would presume that the SR was designed from its inception to accommodate a 35mm sensor - judging by the sheer size of the SR structure. The SR would need to be sped up.

---------- Post added 11-22-14 at 10:59 PM ----------

But Sony already released a FF body with IBIS so... what is Pentax excuse for not doing it?? ( in case that IBIS was the problem ) .. At this point Pentax doesnt have any excuse for not releasing a FF DSLR or perhaps even better a FF mirrorless with K mount... i actually think is smarter to release a Mirrorless FF than a DSLR FF.. because DSLR is a shirinking market already captured mostly by Canikons.. insted.. FF mirrorless is a new market that is growing and Sony is the only competitor at this time.

The argument for why Pentax hasn't released a 35mm DSLR (FF is medium format in digital), is the same reason why Fujifilm, Olympus, Panasonic, Hasselblad, Mamiya do not. Canon and Nikon have that market cornered. Plus a 35mm might not have been financially viable under Hoya's ownership. Plus the AF system needed to be upgraded to match canikon. Plus the 645D/Z also requires funding and establishing.

Sony threw its hat in the ring, but didn't make much progress. So Sony has gone mirrorless 35mm, and they're having some good success.

Pentax focused on crop camera bodies, thats why its got such a large APS-C lens line up.

Fujifilm took a leaf out of Pentax's book and focused on APS-C mirrorless.

Olympus went micro 2/3's.

When Pentax releases its 35mm DSLR, it will be the only manufacturer with APS-C, 35mm and medium format ranges - thats a pretty mean feat for a company really struggling for market share.

I would like to see Pentax do a 35mm mirrorless, but that might entail a new lens mount and lens range. Judging by Sony's FE lens range, entirely new lenses materialize in slow motion. What could happen is Ricoh takes the GR and turns it into an APS-C or even 35mm interchangeable lens camera.

Who knows, but the global economy is going down the toilet, so you've also got to factor that into sales too (and smart phones).

[rawr]

I would like to see Pentax do a 35mm mirrorless,

I'd like to see that - eventually. In the meantime, they should roll out a normal DSLR, maybe with a flippy screen. A 'normal' FF DSLR is a logical and relatively easy/cost effective evolution for Pentax (and their users).

Mirrorless can get too complicated and messy, especially if you start talking about a new mount. Pentax already has Q, K, 645 and 6x7 mounts. Do they need another?

[hooverfocus]

Yeah the K-3, its a great platform now - just jam that 35mm sucker in there ! People gonna buy it ! including me !

According to one of those "rumours" I've heard myself, this might not be too far from the truth. It will be somewhat based around that.

I want to be a believer this time

[kooks]

Mirrorless can get too complicated and messy, especially if you start talking about a new mount.

IMO if they release a mirrorless FF this should be with K mount, not a new one.. if they do it with a new mount the company will lose the advantage of an already consolidated mount, the use of legacy lenses and all that.. It will be like starting a another new system wich wont be that smart if the company is aiming high in this (FF mirrorless) market.

---------- Post added 11-22-14 at 10:05 PM ----------

According to one of those "rumours" I've heard myself, this might not be too far from the truth. It will be somewhat based around that.

I want to be a believer this time

I can live with this.. K3 is great.. just put a FF sensor, IBIS, tethering and we are ready to rock.. for ME its all i need

[Fl_Gulfer]

If it can equal or better the new Nikon D750 ($2297.00 body only) I may have to check one out, but they have the lenses to back up a good FF camera.

[normhead]

IMO if they release a mirrorless FF this should be with K mount, not a new one.. if they do it with a new mount the company will lose the advantage of an already consolidated mount, the use of legacy lenses and all that.. It will be like starting a another new system wich wont be that smart if the company is aiming high in this (FF mirrorless) market.

---------- Post added 11-22-14 at 10:05 PM ----------



I can live with this.. K3 is great.. just put a FF sensor, IBIS, tethering and we are ready to rock.. for ME its all i need

How about a new mount but with a fully functional K-mount adapter, with metering , AF, the whole deal?

[rawr]

How about a new mount but with a fully functional K-mount adapter, with metering , AF, the whole deal?

I seriously hope Ricoh steer clear of any new mount.

- A new mount means a new body (or two) at launch. That's a lot of design and engineering work.
- New bodies mean a whole new lens family will need to be developed, starting with a kit lens and branching out from there ...
- A compatible way for existing lenses to be mounted on the new mount, like an adapter, will need to be developed.

So you have three 'pipelines' of activity that need to initiated. That's a huge project and very risky. And energy and investments put into these 'pipelines' will likely come at the expense of any new work in K-mount.

And speaking of adapters, while it's easy to say Pentax should develop one for a new mount, on a practical level it's worth noting that it took Pentax years between announcement and introduction just to roll out something as simple as the new HD DA 1.4 teleconverter. If Ricoh do develop a new mount, be prepared to wait a long time for any sophisticated new mount adapter with full-auto functions (AF, exposure etc etc ) to appear.

[MarkJerling]

Lets not forget that K-mount was always a FF mount. There's no reason to change the mount for a return to FF.

[Mikesul]

Lets not forget that K-mount was always a FF mount. There's no reason to change the mount for a return to FF.

Agree. Sony tried the adapter route with the A mount on E mount cameras but it was very disappointing. The second generation adapter worked well but it turned tiny, compact NEX cameras into bulky, poorly balanced kludges. I like the way my Pentax cameras feel and an extra adapter in front will spoil that.

[rawr]

bulky, poorly balanced kludges

Pic related, from dpreview: