[lesmore49]

I have a K-5, along with a K10D and a K-m. All work, all produce fine photos.

My issue is that I have a whole passel of Pentax digital lenses.

I have a 55-300, 10-17 fish eye, 16-45, 50 F 1.4 normal, 50 Macro F 2.8, 70 Limited, 12-24.

If Pentax brings out a full frame DSLR I think I can only use my two ' 50's...the normal and the macro.

The rest are good for ASP-C only...I believe, please correct me if I am wrong.

I have bought all these lenses since 2007 and have a fair investment in them.

Can I use them in a full frame camera and if so will the resulting photo result negate the purpose of full frame...re; high quality photo's ?

I'm sure there are others with this issue.

[Adam]

I do hope that the Pentax full-frame will also be able to use APS-C lenses in cropped mode, just like Nikon DSLRs allow. On the Nikon D3x, for instance, if you mount a DX (APS-C) format lens, the viewfinder becomes smaller and only half the sensor (corresponding to the smaller format) gets used.

If they don't implement such a feature, then many current Pentax users certainly won't want to upgrade to the full-frame...

[maxfield_photo]

As you have conjectured, you'd be S.O.L. for "forward compatibility"...unless they bring out a 36MP full frame like the D800 with a ~16MP crop mode. If that's the case, you could use your current lenses with no hit to IQ vs. a K-5., and then slowly pick and choose which focal lengths that you want to upgrade.

However, I've been shooting Pentax for almost 30 years, so I naturally have a lot of full frame compatible glass, and if it makes you feel any better, I'm not at all convinced that you won't have the last laugh.

[Ash]

The sensor technology is available for 36Mp with 16Mp crop mode. It wouldn't be inconceivable for Pentax to offer such a feature for a FF camera. However, that wouldn't make much of an advantage for a Pentaxian heavily invested in DA lenses as opposed to FA lenses. There are only two DFA designated lenses and whilst this could easily change, it'll be quite a work in progress to have enough FF lenses available for a FF camera to be widely appreciated by FF hopefuls, let alone the existing Pentax userbase.

[i83N]

Crop mode is alsow avaibel on 24mp FF gets aproxemetly 10mp shots D600 has that.

[Douglas_of_Sweden]

Its not like your APS-C DSLR(s) would stop working all of a sudden just because there is a FF?

[lesmore49]

Its not like your APS-C DSLR(s) would stop working all of a sudden just because there is a FF?

What I mean Douglas is if Pentax were to bring out a full frame and if I were to buy a Pentax FF, I would have a number of lenses that were of limited use.

[redrockcoulee]

I use my wife's 16-45 on my film camera from 21mm onwards with no problems.

[rawr]

I would have a number of lenses that were of limited use.

Basically yes. It's the same story in Nikon or Canon land. They both have lots of lenses that are designed to fit their APS-C bodies but not their FF bodies.

All your existing lenses will mount on a Pentax FF, some will work 100% fine, others will just probably vignette to varying degrees (the precise amount of which will vary by focal length and aperture). There is a thread in the Lens section that shows how many APS-C Pentax lenses will likely perform on FF.

FWIW a lot of FF shooters keep a crop body around as a backup, and to take advantage of the strengths of crop - eg the 1.5 crop factor is handy for telephoto, crop bodies and lenses are generally lighter etc. It's no disaster to have both types of bodies and lenses around in your kit.

[Kerrowdown]

I just want a FF body sometime in my working lifetime.

I'll worry about lenses then (all mine are actually OK for FF), except they're old school now and make lack the ability to resolve in a way to do the new sensors justice. Again I'll worry about that when the day comes.

[Blue]

As you have conjectured, you'd be S.O.L. for "forward compatibility"...unless they bring out a 36MP full frame like the D800 with a ~16MP crop mode. If that's the case, you could use your current lenses with no hit to IQ vs. a K-5., and then slowly pick and choose which focal lengths that you want to upgrade.

However, I've been shooting Pentax for almost 30 years, so I naturally have a lot of full frame compatible glass, and if it makes you feel any better, I'm not at all convinced that you won't have the last laugh.

The D700 also has a crop mode!

[Ex Finn.]

I would be more than willing to crop the 10-17 and 12-24 in PP. I put them on my Super-Program, just to have a look through the VF and they are wicked, even with the vignetting.

[Laurentiu Cristofor]

Let's worry about crossing that bridge when we get to it.