Originally posted by nostatic With all the fanfare over FF, and the somewhat incessant calls for Pentax to "step up", I figured maybe it was time to ponder the reasons *not* to build or buy FF.
In no particular order, and of course needs/wants vary depending on shooting style, budget, etc.
1. huge files
My hard drives are already moaning in agony, and I often have to toss stuff on my laptop just so I can download a shooting session. While hard drives are cheap and big, it still is a pita wrt archiving, organizing libraries, etc.
2. size/weight
If you carry your setup around a lot, and especially if you're a "street shooter" (loosely defined), a FF setup can be a little brutal. For instance, a K20d is 798g, an a900 is 939g. A Zeiss 24-70 is 995g vs. 565g for a 16-50*. And if you like to shoot ltd primes, it is a massive difference. All of the FF setups are also larger and more obtrusive.
3. cost
One issue that is starting to pop up with FF is deficiencies in the glass. Lenses optimized for APS of course vignette like mad, but even proper FF glass can look less-than-stellar with the higher resolution. Of course there is no free lunch, but if you want to look good, you'll have to pay $$$.
Even with just those three, there is a pretty strong argument for continuing to build and develop the APS platform. It isn't clear how much economies of scale are going to come into play, or at least how long it will take for them to kick in.
Feel free to add or disagree. Like anyone needs permission...
Of course everything you say is true, but that wont stop half the people on this forum insisting they need one anyway so that they dont lose posing rights in the camera club car park.
If I was a wedding photographer I would probably get a D700 too. The flash system would make it a no-brainer and the low light ISO is just icing. What made me laugh though were all the D300 owners who traded up (Nikon competing with themselves) and then complained that the IQ wasnt any better. Doh!
But the main issue with Pentax is unlike Nikon and Canon and Sony they dont have enough engineers to build the top end FF camera AND enough APS models to satisfy the meat of the market. The D300 still sells 3X as many as the D700, and the D90 several times more. The D60 and D40 between them account for 20% of the whole market and the 450D about 30%!
95% of the market is non-FF, even at current pricing, and is likely to remain so in the current economic downturn. If you only have enough staff to develop a three model range, then the $400, $700 and $1000 price range is where the meat of the market is. By focusing exclusively on this range, and building lenses specifically designed to maximise the performance at this price range and format, Pentax are actually providing better bang for the $ than anyone else for the largest potential user base.
OK. But what about the argument that Pentax need a professional flagship. Well actually, thats not exactly true. What Pentax actually needs is professional
endorsement. So, do they do that by building an FF camera?
Well who would buy it (apart from Ben?) There a not enough new FF lenses or rental support to satisfy pros or news agencies even if they give them away, so no help there.
The 645 may help. This would appeal to a more rarified class of pro, who are currently shooting MF film or using a Mamiya or Hassy. Pentax do know this market and there is a niche there, but its a high risk game even if they only commit to a limited production run. Still, its likely to cost less and use less resources than an all new FF SLR (MF cameras dont need lightening fast tracking AF and 6FPS) but they will only do it if they can sell them all at a profit or the embarassment would be too great.
But there is another way. Many pro's I know use more than one system. They dont take their Mamiyas or D3s on holiday or to their kids parties, but they do take a camera. A compact but full featured, sealed camera with compact prime or sealed zoom lenses would have a lot of appeal. They could easily supply a few pros (without asking for exclusive use in their professional capacity) to endorse the cameras appeal as a street or travel camera good ENOUGH for discerning pro's on holiday doing what most amateur camera buyers ACTUALLY do every day.