[BigMackCam]

I think you can just place it somewhere else. Saw on the recent Fuji 100mp teardown at lensrentals that they have the wifi in the grip. There's certainly no need for the whole top plate to be plastic. The pointy bit at the prism is also geometrically sensitive so should really be metal. I know because mine cracked...

"Just" placing it somewhere else sounds simple, doesn't it, but it would require a significant redesign of the internals. As the exploded view Mark provided indicates, the K-1 and K-1II are very tightly packed... and let's not forget, this is a DSLR body with an image-stabilised sensor, not a mirrorless camera without, as in the Fuji example. There needs to be room for different modules and components in different places. I'm sure Ricoh Imaging thought long and hard about all sorts of placement and materials options during the design phase. The cost of manufacturing the synthetic top plate won't have been much less than a metallic one; it was undoubtedly a practical consideration and compromise rather than a financial one, given the attention to overall quality of the camera. Still, I don't disagree that it would be nice for at least some, if not all, of the top section to be alloy rather than synthetic...

[Lord Lucan]

I never wanted GPS, I know where I am and where I took photos. Maybe if I was in the Arizona Desert or the Australian Outback .... but then I don't think I would just rely on the camera.

Other manufacturer's full frame offerings are quite a bit larger than the K-1. Heck, some of their APS-C cameras are larger too!

Even the Micro 4/3 Olympus OM-D E-M1X is bigger. But It sounds like the OP wants a mirrorless, but with a mirror added :

[pres589]

Nikon's Df is supposed to be their smallest DSLR and it's overall smaller than the K-1 but not by a lot.

It would be nice if Fuji was doing a full-frame camera in the style of their higher end X-mount cameras but they've made it clear that they don't have interest in that sort of product and I can't fault them at all.


Sigma fp might be of interest but I completely understand if it isn't. There was talk of Sigma working on a stills oriented variant of the fp but that's been shelved. I wouldn't hold my breath that it comes back out as a real effort. An fp with the controls (and mount?) and viewfinder of a Fuji X-T4 or similar would be very interesting indeed.

[kypfer]

These size discussions always interest me ... my *ist 35mm film camera is physically smaller and lighter than my K-5 "flagship" camera, which is physically smaller, if not lighter, than my KP, which is touted for it's compactness!
Obviously there are factors I'm not considering, but could not there be a basic-specification full-frame DSLR somehow "squeezed" into a *ist film body without having to make it expand almost exponentially in all directions?


Just my tuppence worth while waiting for supper to cook

[MarkJerling]

Agreed. Interestingly, my Hasselblad HV (Sony SLT-A99) has an all-magnesium-alloy inner frame and top plate. The GPS unit is located on one side of the camera where there's a big cut-out - covered by the synthetic outer casing - to allow the signal to pass. Obviously it's an SLT camera rather than a DSLR, so the internal layout is considerably different... but I do wonder if Pentax could do something similar, moving the GPS antenna somewhere other than under the top plate or prism housing. I understand why it's positioned there, but given the number of vintage cameras with dinged prism housings, it seems precariously located

Is your K-1II back in your posession now, Mark?

I think the top of the prism is not a bad location, but I feel the way that part is made could be improved. They could, for instance, have a magnesium alloy top plate with a recess area, with a plastic cover over that covers nothing but the GPS antennae. That way, if that part got damaged it could be a simple repair without having to disassemble the rest of the camera.

The K-1II is back Mike. In all, it took just under 4 months to get it sorted. Part of the reason for the delay was due to Covid-19 and lockdown, both here and in Japan.
You can read about the saga here: K-1II hotshoe mount broken - Page 3 - PentaxForums.com

I might add that it came back looking like new. There was not a speck of dust in the mirror box so I'm guessing the did a thorough clean of the whole thing.

[MarkJerling]

Nikon's Df is supposed to be their smallest DSLR and it's overall smaller than the K-1 but not by a lot.

The Df is a lovely camera and yes, a very compact one at that. It's wider than the K-1 but it feels smaller because it's so shallow, from front to back.

[pres589]

The Df seems lovely from a long distance. If Ricoh were to do a Pentax "below the K-1" I would hope it would be more like that and less like, uh, the KP.

[MarkJerling]

The Df seems lovely from a long distance. If Ricoh were to do a Pentax "below the K-1" I would hope it would be more like that and less like, uh, the KP.

It's lovely from up close and personal too!

[yucafrita]

These size discussions always interest me ... my *ist 35mm film camera is physically smaller and lighter than my K-5 "flagship" camera, which is physically smaller, if not lighter, than my KP, which is touted for it's compactness!
Obviously there are factors I'm not considering, but could not there be a basic-specification full-frame DSLR somehow "squeezed" into a *ist film body without having to make it expand almost exponentially in all directions?


Just my tuppence worth while waiting for supper to cook

That's what I was thinking too. Not necessarily into a *ist film body, but a K-5 body would do.

Edit 1: However, I dont think it will happen in this way. I think Ricoh has made a clear cut regarding the design of camera bodies. They abandoned the Hoya design pathway and injected a big dose of pre-Hoya Pentax DNA into the body design. Think of the MZ-1. Traces are visible in the K-1, KP, KNewwhateveritwillbecalled, but not in the K-70, which more is an amalgam of K-50 and K-S2. Dont get me wrong, I love my K-1, I think the new philosophy is great. Nevertheless, I dont expect that a smaller form factor FF will make it to this shrinking market where Ricoh has mini share of. Since the prices are going north, a smaller FF body could not be easily placed price-wise either. The K-1 is already a steal. But who knows how things evolve in the next years.

Edit 2: if a FF sensor and mirror would fit the K-new, it would make a nice package.