Originally posted by Rondec Why would the K3 be last of the line?
As long as there is money to be made the crop market, why wouldn't Pentax be there? And as far as I can tell, there are at least 7 or 8 crop sensor cameras sold for every full frame sensor camera that is sold. Lots of 7D Mk II and D7100 cameras being sold right now.
Yes, exactly.
At $2500 to $3500 (???), the full frame is for a rarified audience who can afford that much for a camera. Either very serious and well-off hobbyists, or professionals who earn money from photography. By its price-point alone, the audience is very restricted in nature. Unless prices drop drastically, FF will never be an "everyman" type camera.
APS-C cameras are available to a much wider audience who can afford that price range. As prices go up, eligible buyers drop dramatically. In the hundreds of dollars, millions more people can afford the cameras.
As point-and-shoot cameras are cannibalized by phone cameras, the DSLR will remain as the only step up for more serious photography. Within that already limited step-up range, those who will spend over $2500 for a body will remain a (relative to total population) very few. Many more will want the step-up, but at a more budget-friendly price.
645 will remain the tip of the pyramid with FF likely to become a new cone just beneath the tip and the broader base spread over a two or three levels of APS-C bodies. The APS-C bodies will be the volume sellers.
Edit: What Ricoh/Pentax really needs to do within the USA is begin to act like a serious retailer. Advertise. Get a decent online webstore. Arrange for fast and reliable warranty service. Advertise. Correct the Email addresses on their website. Advertise. Correct everything else which is dated and invalid on their website. Advertise. Create retail relationships in major population centers. Advertise.
Ricoh/Pentax has really great products. They sell themselves short (and short their own profits) by not spending the minimum necessary to create a marketplace presence (and provide the service which people expect). Sales could increase noticeably from the small marketshare they hold now, just with a little attention and effort.