Originally posted by Bert J Tony Northrup has posted a video on Mirrorless cameras and his thoughts on the future. And he doesn’t hold much hope for Pentax...
No doubt this will raise a chorus of abuse and bullying comments from the regulars, but I didn’t post it for you. I can almost write your replies for you. It’s for those who, like me, are a little concerned and want to have a civil, educated discussion about the direction of Pentax.
MIRRORLESS WARS: Life & death for camera makers - YouTube I'm not going to make what you call "bullying comments" but I am going to say this:
Since when has "Tony Northrup" become the go-to authority for all things camera related? Tony Northrup posts what he does because it suits his agenda, namely more views of "Tony Northrup". Nothing more, nothing less. As far as I'm concerned, he's noise. Noise dressed up as fact. He's never been a Pentax fan, so why should that change now?
So, as to the direction of Pentax: Ricoh has pretty deep pockets. But, in the end, they are answerable to their shareholders. Cameras is a miniscule part of their business. But, that tiny part has some pretty good engineers and staff who are passionate about Pentax. In interviews senior staff have stated that DSLR's with optical viewfinders are their focus. I, for one, am very happy with that. I have yet to pick up a mirrorless camera (i.e. a camera with an electronic viewfinder (EVF)) that I have found as nice to use as a camera with a nice, clear optical viewfinder. Maybe, one day, someone will make an EVF that neither hurts my eyes, nor displays a diminished dynamic range, nor shows lag, nor assaults my eyeballs with a bright pixelated display. But chances are, that camera won't be a Pentax.
Every now and then, the forum suffers yet another "mirrorless vs DSLR" discussion. It's not new. If you long for a mirrorless camera,
Pentax may not be for you. There will, long from now, be people who want a DSLR. With luck, Pentax will be around to provide products to satisfy that need.
Northrup can't predict the future - No one can. If there's one thing I've learnt, that is this: We can't predict what the future will hold. We don't know what new technology is about to be released that will make current technology obsolete. We humans are not particularly good at predicting the future. I have a stack of Popular Mechanics and Popular Science magazines, from about 1937 through to 1960. Not every edition, but a pretty big selection anyway. And, every so often, they posted an article about "50 years from now". And here's the thing: Of all the predictions they made, not one single one has come true. Not one. We cannot conceive of that not yet invented. Mirrorless may be that thing, or it may not.
I, for one, will keep buying good quality Pentax gear as long as it's made or until I die. Whichever comes first.
Oh - Welcome to the Forum! There are plenty other mirrorless fans here. Enjoy! (As you may have picked up, I'm not one of them - yet!)
Enjoy your camera(s) whichever make or model they may be. Ultimately, it's not about the appliance, but what you do with it. It's about the picture.
I hope I've been civil and educated enough for you.