Originally posted by kooks I imagine thats why the K3 cost now $730 and the K50 $395 ... i dont know but if what you say is correct, the K3 should cost ( at this time ) almost the same as the D7100, something around $1000. Looks like good prices are still a way that Pentax do things in order to get more costumers. Im not sure if having a FF camera will change that, what we are sure is that having the FF camera is a way to tell actual and new clients that Pentax have a path.. all the way from entry level to FF and even MF something that many people complained in the past and that was a reason for new clients to buy other systems.
One group of people that Ricoh must surely want to quickly influence with a new FF camera are the "independent commentators". People at Imaging Resource, Luminous Landscape, many technical media resources, experienced reviewers, etc. These people will help create a view about whether or not Pentax has a future in FF, whether they have a forward path from APS-C cameras, etc.
If Ricoh only bring out one FF camera initially, the way to get the best from these commentators is to
first bring out a high-specification camera, perhaps with the occasional novel feature. These people will then have little doubt that Ricoh can later develop lower-specification, models,
if they choose. Everyone knows that Pentax is capable of developing attractive entry-level and affordable cameras.
But if the first Pentax FF dSLR is a lower-specification model, there will remain doubt about whether Ricoh is capable of developing a convincing high-specification model, or willing to do so. Moving down the range is easier and more likely than moving up the range. So the most convincing case will be made by starting at the top.
I think this will apply to the existing user base too. If the first model is lower-specification, those users who are prepared to spend money to get a high-specification FF camera may defect, because there may mot be a Pentax model on the way. If the first one is high-specification and too expensive for many existing K-mount users, they are likely to wait. There is less risk of defection, because if they are not willing to buy an expensive Pentax FF camera, they are unlikely to want to pay all the price of defecting, including all the extra lenses, etc.