Originally posted by SuperSyx Here are my own opinions,
1 - AA batteries, low importance, do not waste time on this application.
For you, but don't discard the needs of others. I came to Pentax because of the AA batteries first, and built-in SR second. IMO Pentax would be foolish to completely abandon AAs, as they have done recently in the K-S1 / K-S2 .
Quote: 2 - 30 minutes is enough for the majority. Making a different version could reduce the effort put on other parts.
There is no technical reason for the 30 minute limit - it's strictly there for tax reason in Europe. Same reason why all cell phones have this limit.
It makes no sense to me that you can buy a $300 camcorder without this length limit, but with pisspoor video quality, but a $2000 - $3000 full-frame DSLR with high quality video has to have this limit.
FYI, at least one company is paying attention to this :
Panasonic's GH4R Finally Kills the 30-Minute Video Limit - Reviewed.com Cameras
I hope Pentax follows through with this, even if it's through a separate firmware update.
FYI, I bought a $1000 Sony FDR-AX33 camcorder last year which does 4K / 30 fps continuous video recording. The video quality just wasn't good enough due to the sensor size. Indoor, it was not an improvement over my 8 year old HD camcorder. I returned it. I think the camera had some autofocusing issues indoor.
I want something better than that, and I need continuous recording for music . Especially because the Pentax DSLRs have a mirror slap noise at the end of the 30 mins - so even if you have a second video camera to take over, just having the Pentax present will ruin the audio.
Quote: 3 - Small flash somewhere is a good idea. Even fixed would be better than none.
Exactly.
Quote: 4 - Definitely the problem here. I do not want to buy a Canon with Magic Lantern to be able to do good video on the cheap. We have the processing power (I think), sealed bodies, the lenses, the batteries, the will to use it... most improvement should be in this section. For all current cameras via firmware... I am dreaming on that last part. I would rather have high bitrate 1080 than crappy 4K for marketing purposes.
I don't think we really have the processing power yet in current cameras, as much as I would love to see it come through a firmware update.
There are very few cameras on the market that do 4K / 60fps video recording. I don't know if there is any in the < $3000 range . I think this will need new chipsets. This is the main reason why I don't think we will see this feature in the first gen Pentax FF . All my other feature requests could be implemented easily, if Pentax chose to do so.
Quote: 5 - As stated, if need for previous point.
The UHS-II support might actually be in the first gen FF, though. Who knows.
The following is a pretty old list - from 2014 - and there are 3 cameras on it that support UHS-II - Panasonic GH4, Fujifilm XT-1, Samsung NX-1 .
https://www.pretzellogix.net/2014/10/24/a-list-of-all-uhs-ii-sd-cards-readers-and-cameras/
UHS-II wouldn't just benefit high-bitrate video, but may allow higher FPS for stills too.
---------- Post added 01-27-16 at 06:12 PM ----------
Originally posted by hangman43 You will never see a FF with AA batteries or for that matter any DSLR beyond entry level with them no matter how hard you wish it to be
Do you work for Pentax to be able to say this so categorically ? I doubt even their marketing department knows what will be in all their future cameras. Never is a pretty long time.
AA has been a differentiating point on Pentax cameras, just like in-body SR, and weather sealing. It doesn't cost much to implement.
The main argument against having AA support is the volume it adds to the camera. This is actually more of an issue on a lower-end small body like the K-S1 / K-S2 where volume is an issue, and Pentax took it out.
An FF camera is larger than APS-C by definition, so the argument for not having AA support is less compelling on an FF body. Frankly, I think the K-r / K-30 / K-50 have the best of both worlds, since they support both LiOn and K-30 which makes everyone happy. But they could do even better - have a larger size LiON battery in the FF body - one as large as 4 AAs - or allow 4 AAs in a rectangular pattern (not angled like the K-r/K-30/K-50). And do away with the AA adapter requirement too. That, or allow for two smaller Li-on batteries in body, without a grip, or 4 AAs. There are plenty of things they can do, if they want to innovate, and this sort of innovation doesn't cost much.