[Cambo]

MZ-D was nice but this is why I want an LX - I have CBA and LBA next I can have VFBA

and you could probably have the ability to hook it directly to a larger screen/projector.

Always loved the interchangeable finders...that's an idea that need to come back (but probably won't).

Bet they'd sell a billion of them. But the bean counters won't let them do it.

Cheers,
Cameron

[Aristophanes]

I don't think SR would be essential in a digital LX. The film LX never had it, and was a great low-light camera. Leica's M9 has no SR, is limited on max ISO, and yet is used most often in low light situations where rangefinder focusing has the advantage. With good technique, which is assumed in the pro market such an offering would address, SR is a bonus, not an essential. If they made an LX equivalent of an M9, I'd buy it!

SR in the body is what makes Pentax NOT Canikon.

Mirrorless = NOT K-mount.

[eddie1960]

I agree, apart from the basic FA-1 viewfinder the additional ones you could get with the FB viewfinder for the LX were very good I liked the FC-1 viewfinder the most - it would also be one way of making a rotating LCD somewhat obsolete. The FE1 was also particularly useful for macro work.

the FF-1 would be a great tool for shooting from the hip for street photography. I do it occasionally with my Bronica 645 but it's hardly unobtrusive when it comes to shutter sound (KERSLAAAP)

[Aristophanes]

In the case of a new LX, though, I still suspect that K-mount support would be a big selling point for a significant number of potential customers. At least a significant enough number that it would be worth the trouble/cost of making a K-mount adapter.

Such an adapter would make the camera larger than the average DSLR, and look kludgy:



That's the Sony adapter for APS-C. FF would be larger. They look positively silly on the NEX line:



They add to power issues, warranty costs, and inhibit weather resistance. From a design and structural standpoint, they have 2 joints, so with larger glass like long zooms, they need to be bulky to offer the required structural integrity.

There are simply no easy answers here. And if you've held a Leica M9, you'd know this is not a small camera. So any size advantage one gets over a K-5 via mirrorless is not that great. Add in an adapter and you've made the DSLR design substantially more compelling without having to re-engineer a new lens mount.

[monochrome]

Up-thread somebogy mentioned a camera that looks like a camera. One of the reasons given by military procurement that Boeing did not win the Joint Strike Fighter competition is - their design didn't look like a figfhter plane. Linky from Naval Intelligence:





Lockheed's is plaqued by technical problems iwth the V/STOL thrusters, cost over-runs and delays, but it "looks like an airplane." It won the competition.

There are problems with the implementation of an LX-D - but the idea has merit, if Ricoh/Pentax has any marketing savvy.

[wlachan]

I think the Boeing lost because they didn't make the deadline for stable vertical take-off & landing. Anyway, Boeing was blessed by losing the contract as the US is cutting back the budget. Life is full of surprises.

[Digitalis]

the FF-1 would be a great tool for shooting from the hip for street photography. I do it occasionally with my Bronica 645 but it's hardly unobtrusive when it comes to shutter sound (KERSLAAAP)

though if you use mirror lock-up which unlike many current digital camera is able to be activated by a single switch on the camera body the shutter becomes much quieter.

[eddie1960]

though if you use mirror lock-up which unlike many current digital camera is able to be activated by a single switch on the camera body the shutter becomes much quieter.

it is but if i use mirror lockup i can't look down and frame the shot , it really wasn't built for streets but it's fun to try. REalistically there are lots of quiet MF rangefinders out there if I wanted to get serious about MF street shooting

[Digitalis]

it is but if i use mirror lockup i can't look down and frame the shot

stick the camera on a tripod and wait for something interesting to happen. That's how I used to do street photography with my pentax with the pentax 67 55mm f/4. - with a negative that big and a sharp lens you can get away with some cropping.

[eddie1960]

There are areas I've shot that would work well, foot traffic in toronto is slow enough i have to go hunt them down sometimes though

I'll try it though next nice day

[chaza01]

Up-thread somebogy mentioned a camera that looks like a camera. One of the reasons given by military procurement that Boeing did not win the Joint Strike Fighter competition is - their design didn't look like a figfhter plane. Linky from Naval Intelligence:





Lockheed's is plaqued by technical problems iwth the V/STOL thrusters, cost over-runs and delays, but it "looks like an airplane." It won the competition.

There are problems with the implementation of an LX-D - but the idea has merit, if Ricoh/Pentax has any marketing savvy.

Wasn't the X-32 plagued with development issues anyway? As a Brit, I don't mind too much about the F35B variant as we are going for the A and CATOBAR variant instead .

[chaza01]

Up-thread somebogy mentioned a camera that looks like a camera. One of the reasons given by military procurement that Boeing did not win the Joint Strike Fighter competition is - their design didn't look like a figfhter plane. Linky from Naval Intelligence:





Lockheed's is plaqued by technical problems iwth the V/STOL thrusters, cost over-runs and delays, but it "looks like an airplane." It won the competition.

There are problems with the implementation of an LX-D - but the idea has merit, if Ricoh/Pentax has any marketing savvy.

wat about the yf23-that was a thing of beauty- over budget i think though

[Eyewanders]

Try telling Fuji to wake up and move on.

There's certainly a market for compact, well-built, high-quality cameras with manual controls, as they demonstrated. Current DSLRs are big, bulky, have small optical viewfinders and are nowhere as rewarding to operate compared to earlier SLRs. People have just got used to it because digital is much more convenient, but DSLRs are real frankensteins from a product design perspective.

Was just re-reading through this thread that came up in a google search for i-don't-remember-what (Ricoh GR successor I think)... at any rate, I thought some of these comments deserved a bump, 2 years later, and with attention given to the crazy enthusiasm over the Fuji X-T1... Let's do this Ricoh. Get in the game.

---------- Post added 04-01-14 at 03:10 AM ----------

For Pentax to come back to compact bodies (compared to DSLR) with lots of manual controls like a LX (or like the new Fujis), it cannot be a reflex. Since rangefinder is not Pentax market, it would have to be some really clever mirroless with good electronic viewfinder.

Guess what? That's almost like a Ricoh GXR, but with K-mount and SR.

Given the fact Ricoh didn't released a K-mount yet, and Pentax haven't announced any new pro/semi-pro bodies, I have a hunch that we can be seeing something like this coming from Ricoh.

One thing I know for sure: SLR is a dead end. We are at an inflection point, and the next 1-2 year window will start seeing pro-grade, compact mirroless bodies. Some manufacturers will innovate and surprise (Fuji, Sony), and the ones too slow to adapt will die. That would also imply the current Pentax DSLR lineup is probably one of the last of its generation. Their lack of a roadmap and the Ricoh acquisition hint me that.

hacarvalhoalves deals in nothing but prophecy.

[mikemike]

MZ-D was nice but this is why I want an LX - I have CBA and LBA next I can have VFBA

DSLRs should have a mirrorless mode where the mirror locks up and it behaves exactly how a mirrorless camera behaves, no mirror slap every time you take a picture. This is common sense and it minimizes the competitive points that a mirrorless manufacturer can market on because a DSLR manufacturer can say "Everything you can do, I can do better."

An interchangeable viewfinder would bring it to a whole new level. One OVF, one EVF, and one Flush mount to reduce size would be a great start.

[Airman123]

That would be awesome.