[Mistral75]

PhotoKina 2017 may be too early for a full K-1 replacement to be announced (...)

There will be no Photokina in 2017: Photokina takes place in even years.

As for K-1, it's on a 4-year cycle so one will have to wait until 2020 for its successor.

[clackers]

The Pentax execs have said in the PF interview: "The K-1 will be sold for a longer period (than other models). Current sales are as good as expected. The K-1 was targeted at experienced PENTAX customers and was designed based on an outdoor field shooting concept. We have received lots of customer testimonials for its high performance and unique features."

[fsge]

K3 ii replacement should be hottest topic, not K1...

[G.E.Zekai]

What's the benefit of a 24mp sensor when the K-1 has a 36? Why would the successor have less pixels?

Not a successor but an entry level + faster FF camera. If you look FF line ups they usually have: 1 Entry, 1 Pro/sports/speciality oriented, 1 high MP.

[beachgardener]

K3 ii replacement should be hottest topic, not K1...

yes absolutely

[monochrome]

Not a successor but an entry level + faster FF camera. If you look FF line ups they usually have: 1 Entry, 1 Pro/sports/speciality oriented, 1 high MP.

That lineup is offered by much larger companies.

• K-1 is and will be our one FF camera. $1,795 - pro field, studio, wedding
• K-3ll is the APSc flagship. $899 - near pro / pro field/wildlife
• KP is the enthusiast small camera. $1,099 enthusiast/specialty
• K-70 is the mid-range. $599 - entry
• 645z is the MF entry. $6,996 - pro field/studio
• Q-S1 is arguably still current in Japan.

There is no action entry.

That's 5+ current cameras for Pentax covering 4 formats; in many ways a broader range than Nikon. I expect the eventual K-3 replacement to be $1,299 - $1,399.

D810 is $1,000 more than K-1 street; D750 is $1,796 (same as K-1), so where would Pentax price a 24Mp FF so it neither competes with the APSc flagship nor K-1 (or fails as a product)?

[normhead]

The 645s are on a 5 year cycle, my guess is K-1s will be at least 3, maybe 4. But Pentax moved up the 645z (pushing back the K-1) when a new sensor became available for it. Pentax has been opportunistic with product cycles, often waiting for new tech. to become avaialbe.

[sbh]

Photokina 2020 would be my guess.

I'd guess 2021 for the actual release (after reading the interview).

[ffking]

There's nothing in any of the other Pentax products that the K-1 is lacking - a replacement wouldn't have any head of steam at all until there was a 'lesser' model that was better in some way, like 4k video or better motion compensation in pixel shift - even better AF and faster frame rate (already existing) wouldn't be compelling, as they are arguably more useful in APS-C anyway. When some new and useful technology starts appearing in lower specced cameras is when the K-1 starts looking in need of an update.

[G.E.Zekai]

That lineup is offered by much larger companies.

• K-1 is and will be our one FF camera. $1,795 - pro field, studio, wedding
• K-3ll is the APSc flagship. $899 - near pro / pro field/wildlife
• KP is the enthusiast small camera. $1,099 enthusiast/specialty
• K-70 is the mid-range. $599 - entry
• 645z is the MF entry. $6,996 - pro field/studio
• Q-S1 is arguably still current in Japan.

There is no action entry.

That's 5+ current cameras for Pentax covering 4 formats; in many ways a broader range than Nikon. I expect the eventual K-3 replacement to be $1,299 - $1,399.

D810 is $1,000 more than K-1 street; D750 is $1,796 (same as K-1), so where would Pentax price a 24Mp FF so it neither competes with the APSc flagship nor K-1 (or fails as a product)?

I honestly believe a different FF Pentax camera will bring a good amount of attention or sales. It won't be a higher model than K-1 as it is the flagship.

Also, you did mention K-1 being a Studio and Wedding camera. From what i gathered between reviewers and forums K-1 has a horrendous buffer ( i know it's decent for 36mp but if we shooting weddings it is a big deal). Also, slow FPS and burst rates is what keeps me away from getting one.

As much as i love my K-3 and wouldn't trade it to competitors, as a "flagship aps-c" it has the worst AF system compared to 7D mk2 and D500. Most people gets these cameras for Wildlife, Action or Sports. And i rather have 24mp FF sensor, with K-1 AF and K-3ish fps/buffer.

^^^^These are only personal opinions^^^^

In addition to that, UK and EU price of a D810 is merely 100 pounds more expensive than K-1. I don't know about US prices but go and check Amazon UK Prices which is:

D810: £1,899.00
D750: £1,599.99

K-1: £1,799.00

[monochrome]

Another poster here recently wrote that Wedding is the only growing professional category. In the USA Ricoh makes a big play at the convention of WPPI, the leading wedding photographer association. A premium 70~200 and 24~70 are obligatory wedding lenses, here anyway. I've not heard anyone say the AF is unsuitable for wedding using those lenses. Sports/Action (where a 24Mp fast FF would be used) the AF is still sub-par.

Pricing here is taken from our largest online retailer for all models; US allows manufacturers to dictate retail prices and control discounts which Nikon, Canon, Sony and Pentax do - consequently the prices I quoted are the mandated manufacturer prices.

What are the prices of all the other Pentax cameras in the U.K., and where could Pentax price a 24Mp FF in the catalog without negatively affecting sales of everything else?

Lastly, what makes us believe Pentax would allocate scarce development resources to another FF rather than APSc flagship or lenses or MILC 645?

[mee]

That lineup is offered by much larger companies.

• K-1 is and will be our one FF camera. $1,795 - pro field, studio, wedding
• K-3ll is the APSc flagship. $899 - near pro / pro field/wildlife
• KP is the enthusiast small camera. $1,099 enthusiast/specialty
• K-70 is the mid-range. $599 - entry
• 645z is the MF entry. $6,996 - pro field/studio
• Q-S1 is arguably still current in Japan.

There is no action entry.

That's 5+ current cameras for Pentax covering 4 formats; in many ways a broader range than Nikon. I expect the eventual K-3 replacement to be $1,299 - $1,399.

D810 is $1,000 more than K-1 street; D750 is $1,796 (same as K-1), so where would Pentax price a 24Mp FF so it neither competes with the APSc flagship nor K-1 (or fails as a product)?

Buying a used/return from B&H or Adorama or a factory refurb via ebay would be the cheapest option for a K-1 at this time. These generally come with a 30 day return and a 90 day warranty for around 1500 USD as of this post.

I think it is tempting to look at grey market Nikon and think that is the going rate. Technically I suppose it is, but you don't have an official warranty with Nikon and Nikon may blacklist your camera from all repair services. So I wouldn't consider grey market a viable comparison as a result.

With that out of the way, the only thing we're left with are factory refurbs and the same used/return items we see for Pentax.. Which are in line or just above the going price of a K-1.

[G.E.Zekai]

In the USA Ricoh makes a big play at the convention of WPPI, the leading wedding photographer association. A premium 70~200 and 24~70 are obligatory wedding lenses, here anyway. I've not heard anyone say the AF is unsuitable for wedding using those lenses.

Pricing here is taken from our largest online retailer for all models; US allows manufacturers to dictate retail prices and control discounts which Nikon, Canon, Sony and Pentax do - consequently the prices I quoted are the mandated manufacturer prices.

What are the prices of all the other Pentax cameras in the U.K., and where could Pentax price a 24Mp FF in the catalog.

Haven't tried the new lenses but i have experience with Tamron 24-70 with 5d mk3 which was fairly good. Buffer and burst are more of my concert than AF during a wedding with a K-1 . Heck, as much as i hate K-5iis AF system i love the camera to my guts.

You guys can check UK pricing, even with ebay, gray imports best deal i come up with is 100 pounds cheaper. And buying from US is no-no due to taxes.


Considering K-1 is around 1800, K3ii is 900 and KP is 1000ish: I saw 1300 to 1500 pounds/dollars should be a good starting point. And after K-P pricing we should expect K-3iii to be around that level anyway.


Ps: Weddings at where i live are like bollywood action movies. So my understanding of ,most, "Weddings" are more like... wildlife photography mixed with random dancing and generally no lighting at late hours.

[monochrome]

^^ So a 24Mp FF would be the same price point as potential 24Mp APSc flagship . . . . I dunno - maybe you're right and there won't be an APSc flagship (but I thought the interview guidance suggested fall 2017 for K-3 replacement).

My bet - one or the other, not both - and I don't think another FF is in the plans.

[pathdoc]

If we can guarantee replacement of the K-1 not before 2020, then I won't be as hesitant to buy one now. My great fear was that as soon as I put down my north-of-$2500CDN, the K-1s would be announced with KP-like high ISO performance and custom functions on the menu dial.

The great thing about Ricoh keeping you waiting forever is that your newly released flagship camera has a long day in the sun before it is eclipsed and its sell-on value nosedives. The less great thing is that you're not quite sure exactly when that date will be. A reliable long-obsolescence cycle is a good thing, but when nobody expects the Ricoh inquisition it can be not so great.