[Dr_who]

I'll probably be getting the K1 later in the year when funds present itself, but I wouldn't call it a straight up upgrade, but buying another tool like buying a new lens. I certainly won't be throwing away my K3 for when I want to add the tele converter and the 300mm lens on it for reach. I am looking forward to using the 77mm on full frame, I certainly like how it looks when I take pictures with it on my Pentax ME Super.

[Rupert]

I was leaning toward a K1, but without any good and sensible reason. Then the accident with my K5IIs called for a decision and the K1 made a lot more sense than anything else. The crop factor, the 5 stop SR, the Pixel Shift....all very good reasons on top of the other welcome benefits the K1 offers.

Should work for me for a long time......if I can avoid any future accidents.

Mrs Rupert had the best advice..."You seldom regret buying the best." Of course her paying for it was a big factor too!

Regards!

[Theov39]

Lets admit that reason only plays a small part here; there is something well and truly compelling about that K-1 that has nothing to do with 'needing it'...

[clackers]

Lets admit that reason only plays a small part here; there is something well and truly compelling about that K-1 that has nothing to do with 'needing it'...

You can see in the advertising that Ricoh are really targeting the long pent-up emotions of the fans. Existing Canikon owners are not the sales demographic.

[jatrax]

Existing Canikon owners are not the sales demographic.

Initially. I suspect there are more than enough sales in the "old Pentax user" demographic to keep them busy for the first 6 months. After that we may see them targeting a slightly different market segment.
But the initial surge of sales will come from pent up demand. What a wonderful marketing situation to be in, 1,000's of users jumping up and down with money in hand yelling "take my money, I need it".
After the initial surge though they will have to make sure the camera stands on it's own. That will be the real test. Almost any FF with "Pentax" on it would have received a welcome by those waiting for years. But to gain real market share the camera needs to be competitive. I think it is and especially with the price point I think it is going to do very well.

[gtis]

I will stick with the K3 and the K5 for the time being
Neil

[an3ony]

K1, yes, will do. But I'll wait until next year when the major bugs (whichever they will be) will be sorted.

[monochrome]

Initially. I suspect there are more than enough sales in the "old Pentax user" demographic to keep them busy for the first 6 months. After that we may see them targeting a slightly different market segment.
But the initial surge of sales will come from pent up demand. What a wonderful marketing situation to be in, 1,000's of users jumping up and down with money in hand yelling "take my money, I need it".
After the initial surge though they will have to make sure the camera stands on it's own. That will be the real test. Almost any FF with "Pentax" on it would have received a welcome by those waiting for years. But to gain real market share the camera needs to be competitive. I think it is and especially with the price point I think it is going to do very well.

I'd love to have been a fly on the wall when they agreed on the planned production number.

[jatrax]

I'd love to have been a fly on the wall when they agreed on the planned production number.

+1. I am sure they did a lot of research and had lots of numbers, but ultimately a leap of faith into the unknown. There is a lot riding on this launch. "Future of Pentax as a brand" is not really a big reach, this is a pivotal moment in the companies history.

[Rupert]

I have a niece that is into photography, and after a few short years is already a dedicated Canon user. Looking at the K1 specs she might have gone Pentax if there had been a FF like this a couple of years ago. So....future beginners now have choices they didn't with Pentax. That can't be a bad thing.
A few will come back to Pentax, but most are involved with C or N now and will stay put. We have to look ahead at the benefits of having a FF available. This makes the APS-C entry line even more important, I would think?

Regards!

[jatrax]

A few will come back to Pentax, but most are involved with C or N now and will stay put.

Yes, sort of... People who gravitate to online forums tend be gear centric and more loyal to a brand. (funny spell check tried to make centric = eccentric. hmmm). Anyway, I suspect you are correct for people who have invested a lot of money in one brand or another. However, IMHO, the vast majority of camera users are not as brand-centric as we might think because they are not well represented on various forums. They do not waste time online arguing that a half stop improvement in this particular whatsit will make a difference, instead they are out taking pictures and the picture is more important than the gear.

Some examples:
1) When my dad needed (wanted) a new camera he went to Ritz or Best Buy and told the person there what he wanted. Whatever they sold him is what he got. Not once, but every time. And thus he has used Konica, Minolta, Sony, Nikon and Canon that I remember and probably some I forget. Bought the camera and lens and never bought anything else. I suspect there are many, many people like him.

2) I have a friend who is a very, very good landscape photographer. As in he could be professional if he wanted to. He has as long as I've known him been a solid Canon users. 5dmk whatever at the time. When the D800 came out he dumped his Canon gear and bought the D800 without a backward glance. Because he was positive it would give him better results for what he did.

3) I have an online friend who is a very good photographer / artist. Her work is more digital art than photography but she does both. When someone asked what camera she used she had no idea. She had to go and check. Someone asked her what lens she was using, she had no idea. Seemed even confused that "what lens" was a question. To her the image and concept is everything, whatever tool is used is really immaterial and not worthy of notice.

So, when I see comments that Canon or Nikon or Sony shooters will not change brands, I have serious doubts about those comments. Provide a compelling reason for them to change and many will. Brand loyalty or even investment loyalty is not as common with the mass of photographers as it with the subset of photographers who hang out online and argue about which f/1.2 lens is better.

[IgorZ]

Yes, sort of... People who gravitate to online forums tend be gear centric and more loyal to a brand. (funny spell check tried to make centric = eccentric. hmmm). Anyway, I suspect you are correct for people who have invested a lot of money in one brand or another. However, IMHO, the vast majority of camera users are not as brand-centric as we might think because they are not well represented on various forums. They do not waste time online arguing that a half stop improvement in this particular whatsit will make a difference, instead they are out taking pictures and the picture is more important than the gear.

Some examples:
1) When my dad needed (wanted) a new camera he went to Ritz or Best Buy and told the person there what he wanted. Whatever they sold him is what he got. Not once, but every time. And thus he has used Konica, Minolta, Sony, Nikon and Canon that I remember and probably some I forget. Bought the camera and lens and never bought anything else. I suspect there are many, many people like him.

2) I have a friend who is a very, very good landscape photographer. As in he could be professional if he wanted to. He has as long as I've known him been a solid Canon users. 5dmk whatever at the time. When the D800 came out he dumped his Canon gear and bought the D800 without a backward glance. Because he was positive it would give him better results for what he did.

3) I have an online friend who is a very good photographer / artist. Her work is more digital art than photography but she does both. When someone asked what camera she used she had no idea. She had to go and check. Someone asked her what lens she was using, she had no idea. Seemed even confused that "what lens" was a question. To her the image and concept is everything, whatever tool is used is really immaterial and not worthy of notice.

So, when I see comments that Canon or Nikon or Sony shooters will not change brands, I have serious doubts about those comments. Provide a compelling reason for them to change and many will. Brand loyalty or even investment loyalty is not as common with the mass of photographers as it with the subset of photographers who hang out online and argue about which f/1.2 lens is better.

I agree with 1), but both Nikon and Canon have the "cool" factor. A friend of mine is thinking of getting into photography, and his first thought is N or C. I argue that Pentax has better value for money, and that shook his faith a bit, but still - a person who knows nothing about photography thinks he needs a N or C. I think this review - pretty funny - makes this point nicely:

You Tube

You Tube

[lesmore49]

I have a niece that is into photography, and after a few short years is already a dedicated Canon user. Looking at the K1 specs she might have gone Pentax if there had been a FF like this a couple of years ago. So....future beginners now have choices they didn't with Pentax. That can't be a bad thing.
A few will come back to Pentax, but most are involved with C or N now and will stay put. We have to look ahead at the benefits of having a FF available. This makes the APS-C entry line even more important, I would think?

Regards!

It will be interesting to see what Canon and/or Nikon full frame users, think of the K1, once they have tried them out.

[monochrome]

It will be interesting to see what Canon and/or Nikon full frame users, think of the K1, once they have tried them out.

IF they try it out.

[pathdoc]

IF they try it out.

"I wanna go full-frame but the D810 costs so much! Hey, what's this?"