[rrstuff]

You could get a used sony A7, Sony A850, or Canon 5D MK i, Canon 1Ds and have enough money to buy a couple of inexpensive primers or a decent zoom (more so with canons). This would be my cheaper alternative if you needed a fullframe, could sacrifice some performance and only had a $1000. You could get a 5D Mk i for some $350 and perhaps even a basic non-is L-lens (24-105 F4?), or a 35F2+85F1.8 for the remainder.

If you have a $1000 for the body and could buy some lenses for the rest (i.e. switch systems), then a used D610 is less than $1000, but NIkon lenses are pricey. I think I would go with a 5DMkii in that case, which is around $700-800, but has generally cheaper lenses in my experience, especially second hand.

[jonlg]

The K1 is already one of the cheapest full frame DSLR's on the market and to offer anything lower price would probably not result in much profit for Pentax. As for its benefits compared to my previous K3/K5 I have to say the pictures to me at least look very different:

It has a way of rendering light and shade that I have previously only seen in the 645Z from the marque which gives a very natural and lifelike look to pictures
The low light high ISO shooting blows my K3 and K5 utterly into the weeds, I was incredulous the first time I shot a gig with it at up to ISO 3200 and didn't even need to bother with lightroom noise reduction - it's pin sharp, zero noise at ISO 3200 on a 4k monitor.
The wider field of view has enabled me to shoot full length standing models in my cramped studio far more easily without resorting to wider than desirable lenses. The effect was a bit like when you go to the cinema and they show the commercials in 4x3 perspective and then when the film starts the curtains draw back and you're in panovision 16x9 - incredible...
The body is much nicer to use without a grip (even though I tend to shoot with the grip). Every Pentax APSC DSLR is so small in my hands that a grip is mandatory for comfort (in my hands at least), whereas with the K1 it's really optional.

Quite honestly I'd never spent anything like this amount of money on a camera before (K1/24-70 f2.8) but I'm so very very glad I did. It's an expensive purchase - indeed it's the price of a very decent secondhand car but I have never for one second regretted the purchase and 8 months down the line I still pick it up and play with it at home gazing lovingly at its build quality and its respect for Pentax heritage. I'm still in love with how much thought went into it. Pentax really did put everything they had and everything they had learned in 70 years of photography into it down to the nod to the Pentax 6x7 in the Pentaprism shape, the swinging mirror for compactness, the legacy K lens mount, the rugged all weather sealing, the revolutionary ergonomics, the articulating screen and the LED night lighting. It is to Pentax what the E-type was to Jaguar - their landmark creation.

More thoughts here: Jonathan Gorse Photography | Pentax K1 - the 35mm legend returns...

jonlg

[mee]

I think I would go with a 5DMkii in that case, which is around $700-800, but has generally cheaper lenses in my experience, especially second hand.

I don't think there is a crop mode with the Canon FF bodies.. so that may be a consideration for your situation. The Nikon bodies do, of course, have crop modes available. Even the D600 has crop mode.

Interesting that the 5d mkii has dropped that much in price. The upgraded AF system came in the 5d iii though.

Still interesting to have rather decent digital FF options out there for under 1k.. albeit used...

K-1 is essentially a D810 for half the price. For what it is, it is priced rather nicely (compared to Nikon's bloated pricing).

[rrstuff]

I don't think there is a crop mode with the Canon FF bodies.. so that may be a consideration for your situation. The Nikon bodies do, of course, have crop modes available. Even the D600 has crop mode.

Interesting that the 5d mkii has dropped that much in price. The upgraded AF system came in the 5d iii though.

Still interesting to have rather decent digital FF options out there for under 1k.. albeit used...

K-1 is essentially a D810 for half the price. For what it is, it is priced rather nicely (compared to Nikon's bloated pricing).

5D Mk II can be bought quite cheaply, but this is another cool option for $550: USED CANON EOS 1DS II

[mee]

5D Mk II can be bought quite cheaply, but this is another cool option for $550: USED CANON EOS 1DS II

haha a 1DS mk ii for around 550 dollars. It only took 12 years for those to depreciate by around 93% (originally 8000 USD).

In 12 years K-1's should be going for 125 USD if it takes the same path.

[kiwi_jono]

It probably won't help but I was wishing for the same but in the end I just could not resist the huge temptation and recently got a K-1. Had to save really hard too!

Pleased to report, I don't regret it!

[clackers]

It would seem to be in defiance of the Photokina interview where the executive signalled "Premium' branding.

The companies like Canon and Nikon that drove DSLR prices downwards in 2012-14 now wish they didn5.

[Paul the Sunman]

I am very fond of the K-3, and could have kept shooting APS-C for years to come quite happily. However, some good deals pushed me over the edge into FF-land, and ... the K-1 continually astonishes me. I'm glad I bought it.

But I'm not sure what "frills" I would be willing to part with and which would significantly reduce the price. Perhaps wi-fi, astro-tracing, GPS. But nothing else really. A lower Mpx FF sensor? Perhaps.

[monochrome]

If the camera is $1,800 retail Ricoh probably sell it to the distributors for $900 or $1,000. The sensor costs them $300 I think (Mistral75 would know). The mirror box assembly and shutter (I guess either Copal or Seiko) cost is non-trivial - say $150.

If you want a $1,000 stripped FF camera at retail, Ricoh sells it at the factory door for $500 - $550. $550-$450 only leaves $100 cost for the rest of the parts, R&D recovery and profit. How could they possibly do that?

[D1N0]

This section is called news and rumors. Not fantasies.

[nbs2005]

Fair enough assessment. With their APS-C line, Pentax often offers very similar performing cameras (if you look at the sensor and basic AF/exposure tools) at two or 3 price points. I was hoping that they would do the same with FF but clearly the opinions here think otherwise.

Thanks

[Simen1]

Yes, the $1000 FF is coming...used K1....depreciation date estimated 2022-25.

2016: Launch price 1800 $
My guesses:
2017: A new higher end FF camera at 2800 $. Price of K-1 cut to 1650 $, reasonable used prices should be 1300-1400 $
2018: A K-1 replacement at 2000 $, K-1 still available for 1650 $, reasonable used prices for K-1 should be 1100-1200 $

I'm waiting for anything new FF so there will come some used K-1s up for sale at reasonable prices.

[Bophoto]

I have seen it before "make a cheap FF"
But they do not say what should be sacrificed.
No SR, mic, headphones, a mirror box instead of pentaprism, almost everything on the menu instead of buttons, a cheap screen and so on.
Can it goes for 1000$/€?
Can Pentax sell it?

[robthebloke]

I got mine the day they arrived in the uk, and I'm glad I did (what with all the price rises since then). It's stopped me lusting after camera gear, and it does everything I need it to. Even if a lower spec FF was released, it wouldn't be as good as the K-1, and wouldn't stop your lust for one. It would just be an expensive stop gap. The k-1 is good enough for me now, and will be good enough for me in ten years time. I miss the 8.4fps from the k-3, and that huge buffer; but neither of those things are important enough for me to feel the need to upgrade (yeah, that was that one time whale watching, but that's been the only time since May).

The k-1 is as close to a KM/KX as I've come across. I have three dials, one for aperture, one for exposure, and one for ISO. What more do you need? The AF is decent enough (personally I don't need much more, although slightly greater coverage would be a nice to have. It's still a step up from the k-3 though). The stabilisation works well most of the time, and it has a few features I never use (like gps/AA filter/pixel shift).

The KP and (arguably) the k-3ii have more bells and whistles than the K-1. The k-1 lacks the top LCD (yes it has one, but all you owners know what I'm talking about!), but I don't care. It's a camera that is perfectly in tune with how I like my cameras to be. Simple, but able to produce the goods.

The only features I'd be prepared to lose would be GPS, video, and well, nothing else. Pentax could artificially cripple it by disabling pixel shift and the AA filter, but then it would mark a noticable walk into canikon territory by deliberately crippling lower models. "Oh, but I'd be happy with 24mp". So what! Id probably be fine with that as well, but Pentax aren't a large brand. If they have r&d money available, I'd prefer them to invest that in AF improvements, rather than retro fitting a lower specced sensor into a lower end camera.

---------- Post added 02-02-17 at 11:47 AM ----------

The other thing I think people actually forget is this: would you like to spend more money on a camera than a k-3, but end up with an FF camera that has the build quality of a k-s1?

I picked up a k-s1 for next to no money, and it's great, as an entry level dslr camera (or as a cheap and cheerful second body that isn't too bad at all). I don't know if I'd want to spend five times that amount for an FF version. The AF from the k-5 won't cut it on an FF body. Hell. Even the k-3 AF would have issues.

So yeah, imho, if you want a really simple to use dslr camera, that harks back to the glory days of 35mm slr cameras, the k-1 is that camera. If the price point is too high, ask Pentax to invest in something even better, so it forces the k-1 into a lower price point. That may well encourage a few k-1 owners to upgrade theirs, which will add a few k-1s onto eBay.

The last thing you want to be doing is asking for the k-1 to be the preserve of us owners for as long as possible (fine by me, it's the only British investment I have that has gone up in value since brexit)

[farhagh]

it's the only British investment I have that has gone up in value since brexit)

and apparently the last thing you let go even for a profit