[Kunzite]

In april 2015 I've heard that will be two full frame bodies, flagship and cheaper one.
That was information from the same guy who told me about Pentax full frame in january 2015.
First time I didn't beleive him but now I'm not so sure that two FF bodies is just a plain rumor.
I won't be suprised to hear something about that later this year at Photokina.

I would be very surprised to see any other FF product being announced at Photokina.

[JimmyDranox]

If they were to make a change they'd have two potential crowds to cater to: low-light shooters or high-speed shooters.

In both cases the solution is a lower resolution sensor.

And also, for a video K-FF, a lower resolution will be recommended.

In the past I was sure that an FF Pentax will come, even when a lot of people said contrary. This time, I could not say that a 24 Mp FF will be made, but for Pentax sake, I hope. And not latter than 12 month.

First, the hard work is already done. Second, a lower resolution FF camera will be on the trend with all others major manufacturers, and a big help for some customers to decide for a step to FF. Will also be a sign of Pentax determination to be in the first line, with Canon, Nikon, and Sony.

[Not a Number]

I would be very surprised to see any other FF product being announced at Photokina.

As I recall Ricoh said in one of the interviews further FF development would depend on the reception (sales) of the K-1.

Resolution a 24 mpx sensor in crop mode would be what - 10.7 mpx? About the same as the K10D?

[grahame]

further FF development would depend on the reception (sales) of the K-1

It looks like K1 sells pretty well, in Japan and in elsewhere. The question is, is pentax going to stick with K1 since it sells well, or the the good selling would give them $$ to develop newer body?

BTW, I have big problem with this statement from pentax: does it mean Pentax is going to stop developing new model if K1 does not sell well enough? How well to keep them moving forward? I remember them said on K1s box: "we promise.... always be with you".

[Kunzite]

As I recall Ricoh said in one of the interviews further FF development would depend on the reception (sales) of the K-1.

And that supports my point of view. Reacting to product sales takes time, and not a mere 6 months.

[Adam]

And "24mp enough" shooters

K1's low light performance is great, but who don't like a camera that you do have to worry about noise at all even at ISO 3200, 6400? I shoot indoor a lot, moving objectives or group photos in dim light...
Plus better dynamic range from a low pixel sensor...

That wouldn't happen, though, because the 36 Mp sensor in the K-1 has more color depth and dynamic range than Sony's current 24 Mp offering, and nearly identical high ISO performance. You'd need a bigger increase in pixel pitch before you'd really see that noise clear up without PP.

[jatrax]

BTW, I have big problem with this statement from pentax: does it mean Pentax is going to stop developing new model if K1 does not sell well enough?

Theoretically it could mean Ricoh closes down Pentax completely if it does not perform. That is just business. So yeah, that's exactly what it means.

I think you have to go back to the time that statement was made. I suspect it took a lot of convincing from the engineers to get approval to go ahead with the K-1 project. Read the articles on the K-1 website and that comes through clearly. Ricoh considered the FF project a big risk, and maybe not one that was needed. They kept on saying "no full frame", I do not think that was BS, I think that was the decision. Someone worked hard to get that changed. And I suspect they were told they got one shot. If sales do not meet projections then FF project is done.

What they need sales to be to make corporate happy I have no idea. Running the plant full out and not keeping up so far would seem to be a good start anyway.

[Simen1]

Would K-1 be the only FF Pentax camera the next few years? - Very unlikely
Would Ricoh only have one FF camera at any time, at one price level? - Very unlikely

So, what would be the most obvious future FF strategy? In my opinion first a higher end FF camera, then a lower end variety. All three sold at once. I guess the lower end camera might get the same sensor as Nikon D610 or D750 and the higher end camera the same sensor as Nikon D4s or D5. All modified and done the Pentaxian way.

[jatrax]

Would K-1 be the only FF Pentax camera the next few years? - Very unlikely Would Ricoh only have one FF camera at any time, at one price level? - Very unlikely

Actually I'm thinking yes. Only one FF model at a time. I don't see the market as large enough to support more. And the feature / price of the K-1 seems more to be spot in the middle, not leaving much room for other models. But it will be fun to see what happens.

[Aristophanes]

I think the current 36 Mp offering will satisfy most users. If they were to make a change they'd have two potential crowds to cater to: low-light shooters or high-speed shooters.

And video.

[Winder]

First, to clarify, it is NOT even a rumor :-). in dead, I am asking for rumors :-)

OK. Just around the time K1 was officially announced, I read something like a possible 24mp FF sensor camera. Pentax wanted to catch up the pixel MP battle first by releasing the 36mp K1, but a next FF camera would be a 24mp one, to increase the speed and high ISO performance, or just to be different.

To be honest, I decided to wait for the 24mp at first, because I have A7's FF sensor already. But I could not resist the K1 for many reasons and soon ordered one, good price was the major reason.

Now my K1 was damaged, and re-ordered one is back-ordered...

Looking at the RAW files saved from K1, IQ are really great. But it is really overdone TO ME. I just upgraded my computer and hard drive, but still the huge files are big burden, both for processing and for storage. I deleted most RAWs. And, I like to frame the image carefully before click shutter (a habit form film time) and I don't crop the image too much in processing. High resolution did not help me too much. Yes, 100% view is striking, but only me do it on screen.

Anyone heard anything about lower pixel number FF camera in the future? I could not find the original post talking about it. If it will come out in coming 2 years, I might cancel the K1.

I don't see a 24MP coming unless it is stripped down.
1. 24MP FF needs an AA filter.
2. APS-C is too important right now with the limited number of FA lenses.
3. Adding the AA filter negates a lot of the advantages of Pixel Shift.
4. Sony is probably not going to continue to make a 24MP sensor after the A7II/A99 and the D750. Its a great sensor, but at the end of its life.
5. Pentax doesn't have a user base large enough for 2 FF bodies. The K-1 might change that, but I think they are a few years away from multiple FF bodies.
6. K-mount users are better off with one FF K-mount body that gets all of Ricoh's technology. I don't want to see them follow Canon and intentionally limit bodies to keep margins on higher spec bodies.

[bobmaxja]

Problem is Sony plant for sensor will not produce at full speed until sometime in 2017 because of the earthkwake. That could change the course of action for Pentax. Same is was change for Nikon. Remember Nikon produce in 1 month what Pentax produce in 1 year.

[willeisner]

My friend is a great shooter Pentax. using a K3 and 300mm f4,DA* beautiful photos, the face page pentax Brazil, I am the moderator page.

He would like to use their 300 mm DA* K-1, but their biggest complaint is the low FPS.

HE could change the system, but has a history in Pentax .

[Simen1]

Would K-1 be the only FF Pentax camera the next few years? - Very unlikely Would Ricoh only have one FF camera at any time, at one price level? - Very unlikely

Actually I'm thinking yes. Only one FF model at a time. I don't see the market as large enough to support more. And the feature / price of the K-1 seems more to be spot in the middle, not leaving much room for other models. But it will be fun to see what happens.

No doubut K-1 was a major piece of engineering, but they probably wont spent remotely close to that many engineering hours on follow up models. Think more like K-7 -> K-5 -> K-5 II. I think follow up models will have large similarities to K-1 like similar camera housing and electronics with a few distinct changes compared to K-1:

I guess the higher end model will get a fixed screen, new sensor, new AF sensor and bundled battery grip.
I guess the lower end model will get a fixed screen, new sensor, GPS exchanged for built in flash, one less control wheel, one less SD card slot and disabled pixel shift resolution.

If they launch one new FF camera each year they can have two models in 2017, three in 2018 and start the renew cycle in 2019.

[dafbp]

No doubut K-1 was a major piece of engineering, but they probably wont spent remotely close to that many engineering hours on follow up models. Think more like K-7 -> K-5 -> K-5 II. I think follow up models will have large similarities to K-1 like similar camera housing and electronics with a few distinct changes compared to K-1:

I guess the higher end model will get a fixed screen, new sensor, new AF sensor and bundled battery grip.
I guess the lower end model will get a fixed screen, new sensor, GPS exchanged for built in flash, one less control wheel, one less SD card slot and disabled pixel shift resolution.

If they launch one new FF camera each year they can have two models in 2017, three in 2018 and start the renew cycle in 2019.

Oh great. Just when the "Will Pentax make a FF?" threads are finished, you give them ideas for threads about the next Pentax FF. You're bad.


If they want to catch action photographers, they need an AF that can keep up with the FPS. Nobody needs "8 fps 8 frames in the garbage" because the AF:
1) didn't notice the focus distance had changed
2) didn't focus properly
3) was slow to re-focus (I must say I did notice some improvement on this one when I had to replace my K5 with a K5iis, using the same 150-450)
4) any combination of the previous


I was completely indifferent to the FF, due to the common misconception about crop factor and reach, but now that I know it only changes FOV and DOF, I'm very interested. If they launch a new FF with better AF (I've seen some discouraging comments here about it), WITHOUT removing features like the new button (a la Microsoft W10), I'm on it.
Better noise/DR would be very nice, but so is no AA filter...