[UserAccessDenied]

Only 72 days until Black Friday 2015!!

Anyone have predictions of Pentax gear and prices we expect to see?

I personally would love to see the K-3ii drop in price, paired with some package options.
I doubt it will ever sell with a DA* 300 in a (kit), but we can all dream a little, can't we?!

Feel free to share your desirable deals, whether realistic or not.
Also feel free to share any inside info you may be holding on to!

CHEERS!

[Vantage-Point]

Well according to Adam, the camera bodies (K-s1, K-s2. K-3, K-3II) will probably be on sale and whatever lenses they choose. A lot of lenses have already been on sale for a while in the U.S. so I don't know if their prices will get any cheaper.

[pathdoc]

Too much depends on the release of the full-frame or official information regarding it to make any reliable predictions. Particularly pertinent will be:

1) Price of body only.
2) Price of body with kit lens (and if it's the D-FA 24-70 2.8 everyone's guessing at, that will be one hell of a kit lens).
3) Behaviour with crop lenses.

I foresee the deluxe option (for those with more or less unlimited finances) being the FF plus the projected DFA* 24-70/2.8, and for the more cash-strapped, the FF body with a DA lens (for those coming into Pentax for the first time) and then body-only for those who already have DA or film-era lenses to put on it.

If it works seamlessly with DA lenses, they could just about send everything out the door at massive discount, knowing they will make their $$$$ with volume rather than high profit-per-unit. However, my guess for the DA kit lens option will be the 18-135, offering the most bang-for-buck for people who can't afford the D-FA* option, therefore this lens will be outrageously cheap compared to what it's been in the past. A similar thing will probably happen to the FF-compatible DA primes and the venerable FA-50.

More interesting (and possibly more grim) will be what happens to the forum marketplace - if the lenses are going out the shop doors ruinously cheap, that will force marketplace prices down too.

[UncleVanya]

NOTE: This is NOT A SERIOUS PREDICTION...

Trade in Friday - trade any Pentax working camera body and get up to $1000 off the new FF, up to $500 off the new K3II, up to $250 off on the K3 or KS2. Trade any working DA* zoom lens in and get up to $1000 off the new D FA 150-450 or 70-200. etc...

Also note the "up to".

[UserAccessDenied]

NOTE: This is NOT A SERIOUS PREDICTION...

Trade in Friday - trade any Pentax working camera body and get up to $1000 off the new FF, up to $500 off the new K3II, up to $250 off on the K3 or KS2. Trade any working DA* zoom lens in and get up to $1000 off the new D FA 150-450 or 70-200. etc...

Also note the "up to".

haha that would be remarkable!
Though I'd have a hard time trading in my K-30... It was my first DSLR and we have this sort of bond now; through the thousands of overexposed, out of focus, and decomposed shots I've taken...

[UncleVanya]

haha that would be remarkable!
Though I'd have a hard time trading in my K-30... It was my first DSLR and we have this sort of bond now; through the thousands of overexposed, out of focus, and decomposed shots I've taken...

I'm the same about my PZ-1 Film camera (first Pentax) and my K100D Super (First DSLR). And my Nikkormat FT3 (First Nikon)...

[mee]

I'm expecting K-3 (classic) to be in the 500-600 dollar range with the 18-135 kits to be around 800 dollars, the K-3 II to be around the 700-750 range, and lens discounts between 5 and 65% with the majority around 25-30% off. Oh, and probably some inflated bundles with the K-3 II ... grip, 50mm, or something..

*IF* the FF system is out by that time I would ***NOT*** expect any sort of pricing discounts on it. Way too fresh..

[goldenarrow]

Well according to Adam, the camera bodies (K-s1, K-s2. K-3, K-3II) will probably be on sale and whatever lenses they choose. A lot of lenses have already been on sale for a while in the U.S. so I don't know if their prices will get any cheaper.

Kit combos will need an SKU and barcode, so nothing new in kits except for a 18-135 replacement since that lens is supposedly discontinued. They will have to have a kit to fill that hole. Maybe the superior 16-85??? That would be a sweet kit lens! Perhaps just an HD refresh of the 18-135!
��

[UncleVanya]

Why do you think the 18-135 is discontinued? Amazon? That is just bad data that some sellers put out there.

[Urnamaster13]

I was thinking of buying the 18-135, that is discontinued ? should i look for it's alternative ? I have a k-500 body.

[WPRESTO]

BLACK FRIDAY: Ricoh announces they are selling the Pentax division to Kodak.

[UncleVanya]

Black Friday: Ricoh today announced that their much anticipated Full Frame camera uses a novel product called FILM. In a stunning move the camera comes with free film for life along with processing. Canon, Olympus and Nikon quickly responded with their own FILM offers while Sony, Fujifilm and Samsung all sat dumbfounded and made no comment.

UPDATE: Leica announced that their new FILM camera will cost 10x the Pentax and have their logo on it.

[pathdoc]

a novel product called FILM. In a stunning move the camera comes with free film for life along with processing.

I don't know about that. I could go through a lot of FILM in a year, if what I do with my DSLR is anything to go by.

UPDATE: Leica announced that their new FILM camera will cost 10x the Pentax and have their logo on it.

LOLOLOL Yes, it would turn out that way, wouldn't it?

while Sony, Fujifilm and Samsung all sat dumbfounded and made no comment.

...because their seppuku swords were already embedded in their abdomens?

[UncleVanya]

I don't know about that. I could go through a lot of FILM in a year, if what I do with my DSLR is anything to go by.

Cost TBD... without chimping everyone would bracket...

LOLOLOL Yes, it would turn out that way, wouldn't it?

That makes the TBD pricing even funnier - 10x TBD!

...because their seppuku swords were already embedded in their abdomens?

Of course. But this announcement would also have to come with one that announced a new super resolution film that had ISO 100-6400 which would be alterable at the time of the shot by electrical impulses sent to the film and a super high speed in home processing rig that came with the camera and offered fully digital output from the film as well as high res prints.

Or better yet - RICOH announces new DIGITAL FILM! Fits into any existing 35mm camera and transforms it to a fully working digital FF camera. By removing the film pressure plate to add room and by using NFC/Wifi to send the output to a cell phone RICOH has made the impossible possible!

Sigh... if only.
It would use MicroSD cards, have a brackets designed to screw into tripod sockets to hold an optional touch screen etc.

Don't get me wrong I like my DSLR's and this wouldn't replace it. But it would be a nice way to bring people into the fold and also to repurpose some old gear while making money for Ricoh. I see a 6x7 and 645 sized sensor option...

[pathdoc]

Or better yet - RICOH announces new DIGITAL FILM! Fits into any existing 35mm camera and transforms it to a fully working digital FF camera. By removing the film pressure plate to add room and by using NFC/Wifi to send the output to a cell phone RICOH has made the impossible possible!

I would buy that in a heartbeat. I would even accept (hell, prefer) a non-wifi version and having to take the micro SD card out manually and plug it into something to see the pics. This would keep things simple, and while it would be a backward step from the ability to preview instantly, it would still be more convenient than film. There are things available to allow smartphones to read a microSD without having to peel the back off, so you wouldn't even need a laptop with you - though you might want a tablet, to have a larger screen to view and edit things on.

One would have to find a way to set the DX coding for cameras that didn't have manual override (P3, P30, etc), but if the digital film cartridge abuts the DX sensor there's no reason why it couldn't ground or charge the appropriate pins, either with a hardware slider on the digi-film cartridge or by setting it in software when you plug the SD card in to offload the previous set of images. Tethering could wait until miniaturisation improved. Certainly, by not having to power a screen or the mirror, your power requirements ought to drop markedly, and a stack of LR44s or a small rechargeable might just be enough.

And unlike the small kickstarters, RICOH have the engineering and manufacturing capability to do this and make it work. If the independent entrepreneurs can come as close as they have in the past, RICOH should bolt it in without problems.