Originally posted by MadMathMind The K-3 was a departure from the recent norm of biannual flagship releases. The K-5 came out in 2010 and the K-5 II/s in 2012. One could argue that the K-3 was very necessary because the K-5 II was an incremental upgrade over the original K-5, featuring the same sensor with the major feature being the upgraded autofocus module. As wonderful as the K-5 II/s is, it was based on 3+ year old technology and was in much need of a refresh.
If Pentax is to update the K-3, what will they put in it? It's basically a K-3 II situation. There's no higher MP APS-C sensor out there, so it's just a matter of improving performance and autofocus technology. Given that the FF camera is coming this year, there's little reason to release a K-3 II when it would be such a marginal upgrade. I'd expect the AF technology to be overhauled for the FF camera and then put into a new APS-C body along with the inevitable processor upgrade that the higher MP count of the FF camera will require.
I don't think there will be an
entirely new "APS-C flagship" model in the near future, in the way that the K-3 was entirely new compared with the K-5/K-5II/K-5IIs series. I agree with the reasoning against this identified by you and others.
But I'm sure Ricoh expect to sell
far more APS-C cameras and lenses than FF ones for years. I doubt if they want to position the APS-C range just as something you use until you upgrade to FF. It could remain a viable range, even for people wanting very high quality, with size and weight advantages over FF.
I see a possibility that Ricoh might do minor changes to the K-3 like the K-5II(s) did for the K-5. For example, add an articulated LCD and/or WiFi, etc, copied as much as possible from the K-S2. But not doing such massive changes as changing the sensor or processing engines.