[eddie1960]

In my experience people under 30 don't wear a watch, except as a fashion accessory (and they have a lot of them for fashion).

They keep time with their phones.

I, OTOH, have two watches - one for business and another for outdoors. They're both more than 10 years old. And 9 OVF's and 3 LCD's.

Times eventually change.

it's not just younger people who don't wear one anymore (and I'm 52) .i have several different watches at home but rarely wear one. I always have my phone with me so i don't need it for timekeeping. as an accessory i will wear a nice watch when i'm dressing up for something though.

[monochrome]

I guess I want to maintain the option to surreptitiously pull up my left cuff while glancing down . . . without everyone knowing how bored I am. :ugh:

[eddie1960]

I guess I want to maintain the option to surreptitiously pull up my left cuff while glancing down . . . without everyone knowing how bored I am. :ugh:

I'm no longer that polite I just walk away or yawn

[RioRico]

In my experience people under 30 don't wear a watch, except as a fashion accessory (and they have a lot of them for fashion).

They keep time with their phones.

I'm rather over 30, but I use no watch either, and often my TracFone (which doesn't show the date) is switched off. So I tell time (and elevation) with a camera, an Oly 770-SW with a pressure gauge / manometer. It's good from 10m under sea level to about 1.5km above. I had used a wristwatch-altimeter but the battery is hard to replace.

I recall various Sci-Fi predictions of future timekeeping. A display built into a fingernail, or crawling across one's skin, or flickering in a corner of our vision. These external devices are so 20th-century. And so are cameras, which will go extinct soon.

ObTopic: Consider big cameras as tech dinosaurs, highly-evolved but fragile due to infrastructure|support requirements, with agile little mammals nibbling at their eggs, as it were. Does it make sense for Pentax-Ricoh to compete head-on with Canikony's T-Rexes? Are FF'ers too small a market to be bothered with? Shouldn't Pentax-Ricoh produce T-Rex-eaters instead?

[ElJamoquio]

I'm rather over 30, but I use no watch either, and often my TracFone (which doesn't show the date) is switched off. So I tell time (and elevation) with a camera, an Oly 770-SW with a pressure gauge / manometer. It's good from 10m under sea level to about 1.5km above. I had used a wristwatch-altimeter but the battery is hard to replace.

I recall various Sci-Fi predictions of future timekeeping. A display built into a fingernail, or crawling across one's skin, or flickering in a corner of our vision. These external devices are so 20th-century. And so are cameras, which will go extinct soon.

ObTopic: Consider big cameras as tech dinosaurs, highly-evolved but fragile due to infrastructure|support requirements, with agile little mammals nibbling at their eggs, as it were. Does it make sense for Pentax-Ricoh to compete head-on with Canikony's T-Rexes? Are FF'ers too small a market to be bothered with? Shouldn't Pentax-Ricoh produce T-Rex-eaters instead?

Two years ago, Pentax didn't have the resources to compete on all fronts.

Now it appears as if Pentax/Ricoh does have those resources and is willing to apply them.

So in a nutshell - why can't they do both?

[monochrome]

From a shareholder's point of view, why allocate capital to gain market share of a product that then diminishes? Long term, isn't that a bad risk?

Far better (but riskier at the outset) to allocate capital toward a developing product than a dying one.

Doesn't mean I don't think FF will happen.

[eddie1960]

From a shareholder's point of view, why allocate capital to gain market share of a product that then diminishes? Long term, isn't that a bad risk?

Far better (but riskier at the outset) to allocate capital toward a developing product than a dying one.

Doesn't mean I don't think FF will happen.

I think the portion of the DSLR market that will end up shrinking the most is the apsc end so allocating to FF actually is allocating towards a developing market. with the advance in smartphone cameras and the rapidly shifting market getting out of all but the very specialist P&S is the only option (and eventually i can see someone doing a waterproof phone so even that will become more limited)

[monochrome]

I was ccommenting on Rico's dino/mammal thought but you knew that

[kenyee]

eventually i can see someone doing a waterproof phone so even that will become more limited)

They already have had them in Japan for a year. We've had a few come over (like the Casio android phone that looks like a rugged brick), but we should have more later this year.

I'd expect the K-5-next to have the same sensor as the Nikon D400 that's expected later this year...probably a tweaked version of the A77's...hope they can borrow some of Sony's cross-point sensor expertise though and at least add a few extra for better AF-C

[zekewhipper]

Where is the confidence that Pentax (or Olympus or Sony) can make a DSLR better than the best that Canon or Nikon can make?

[RioRico]

Where is the confidence that Pentax (or Olympus or Sony) can make a DSLR better than the best that Canon or Nikon can make?

A 'better' FF dSLR is not enough. Canon and Nikon have pro support networks too, and vast marketing budgets. I'll partially blame Sony's failure to penetrate the FF market on their lack of pro support. Such support can be bypassed if a camera is cheap enough for non-pros. But even Sony's US$2k A850 couldn't grab enough buyers. Sales dynamics change when mucho dinero is at stake.

[kenyee]

Where is the confidence that Pentax (or Olympus or Sony) can make a DSLR better than the best that Canon or Nikon can make?

It's far different than when the K10D was first released. It was a solid value and had a lot of pro features that were slotted between the Canikon mid-range and high-end APS-C bodies.

At the FF body level, Canikon and Sony have been going at each other so much that, as I mentioned earlier, their bodies are "everything but the kitchen sink" now. They have the features Pentax added first...virtual horizon, HDR, weathersealing, 100% viewfinder....and they have stronger AF and flash systems and marketing and more lenses which Pentax doesn't have.

So at this point, I'd say Pentax has to be more unique/niche to be "better" whereas before they were obviously better...

[Freak]

I think the D800 & D800e is the end of Pentax's chance to increase market share and become a bigger name, especially with a FF.

If they had of used the Sony 36Mp sensor before Nikon, (like the K-5) Pentax would be making a huge splash against Canikon at the moment, a lot or more than even the K-5 managed.
Pentax have given all of the glory to Nikon, and won't be able to get it back, regardless of what they do. Even if they use the same sensor it won't have the impact the D800 already has made.

To ignore the Pentax users for the last few years over a FF has just cost Pentax dearly in the long run IMO. In order to make a splash now, they would need to make the first mirrorless full frame in the industry, and honestly who cares about a FF camera without the larger OVF?

In built SR and possibly a slightly cheaper price and Pentax FA LTDs would be about the only advantages over the D800 otherwise.

Having said that, I'm hoping the upcoming K-3 will give the D800 a run for its money(like the K-5 did). That is... if it can enter the FF DR, color and resolution performance then I think Pentax would be well placed to take the lead as best APS-C again this year.

An update to the K-5 won't really have the legs beat the current Sony fullframe sensor this time around, it would have to use the 24Mp Sony, which simply won't compete against the FF 36Mp sensor. It will take at least 2 years for APS-C to have any advantage over the current 36Mp sensor IMO. Thus as I said above missing the window of opportunity to release a fullframe with the 36Mp sensor is a costly mistake for Pentax, because the K-3 won't make the impact the K-5 already did.

It's not a real good time to be a Pentaxian unfortunately.

[Laurentiu Cristofor]

I think the D800 & D800e is the end of Pentax's chance to increase market share and become a bigger name, especially with a FF.

They can still stir some waves, but they need to go somewhere where they can make a difference. They cannot take Canon or Nikon heads on. I bet that a FF mirrorless camera, perhaps with a new mount, would draw attention from users of other systems.

[Nuff]

I can recharge my AAs in the bush using a solar setup I put together. I am experimenting with a way to recharge my K-5 batteries, but so far, lots of time wasted, no results. The batteries are $90 each and I'm thinking for a 13 day trip I probably will need 4. If i use the K-x as my primary shooting camera, I need 8 double A's and I can recharge on the fly (a solar panel set up on the packs in my canoe.) This is the kind of thing that drives me crazy. A day already spent with my meter that measures voltage and power draw and various possible charging configurations, and so far nothing. As well the K-5 batteries don't seem to be lasting as long as the batteries in my K20D, so I might even need 5 or 6 if I can't recharge.

That's probably because you do not own balancing charger. Even if you look at K5s exif, it tells you there are 4 cells in the battery and their charges. If you want to figure out how to charge it go to RC forums, you will need a special charger. Also don't overcharge a LiIon batteries since it's going to explode...