[ZombieArmy]

People talking like the 645 and K-1 didn't make splashes. Pentax is talked about by reviewers and big named tech enthusiasts in passing now, something that hasn't been the case in years. Maybe Ricoh isn't moving as fast as you'd like but Ricoh is a slow and deliberate company that isn't gonna blow the company on some stupid risks.

Remember Pentax on the tail end of Hoya with the release of the K-01, and how much of a *expletive deleted* show that was, and then look at them now.

Cameras aren't instantly dropping to bargain bin prices anymore, we're getting some of the best lenses in the industry. I don't know how people can still sit and say Pentax is going nowhere and don't compete with the giants of the industry.

[BruceBanner]

I'm going to add my own general views here, without addressing each point you've raised individually.

Pentax is pretty much a niche brand, with nothing like the financial and manpower resources that Nikon, Canon and Sony (for example) have. As a result, it develops at its own pace. The cameras, lenses and accessories it releases are generally of excellent quality, very-well-featured and competitively-priced, so for those of us whose needs are met or exceeded by the specifications, Pentax is a very good choice indeed.

It's no secret that the larger brands are more advanced in certain areas of functionality (AF.C performance and video, for instance), and if that functionality is important to you, or lens availability doesn't match your requirements, Pentax probably isn't the right choice. I like to shoot a lot of adapted lenses from systems with a variety of different flange focal distances. I have a Sony A7 MkII for that. But Pentax is ahead of other manufacturers in some areas too... in-body image stabilisation and pixel shift, for instance, not to mention the high ISO capability of the KP. So whether you consider Pentax to be behind or ahead of the market (or merely keeping up) depends on your personal priorities and viewpoint.

In closing, don't expect Pentax to catch up with the biggest brands. As I already mentioned, it will continue to develop at its own pace. If your needs aren't being met by the brand, just switch - or fill the gaps by using a combination of brands.

And no... I don't believe Ricoh Imaging will kill off Pentax. It's not beyond the realms of possibility that it might sell Pentax one day, but I've no doubt the brand will be around for many years to come

Incidentally, you might want to view the results of a recent survey conducted on this site, HERE. I think you'll be interested to see which features the majority of respondents are (and aren't) most interest in...

Well said.

[BruceBanner]

I might be a minority here but I am actually quite excited at the prospects of a touch screen down the line for a up and coming Pentax camera. With the announcement of the new GRIII having one I'm actually thinking this would be a really cool feature.
Now... don't get me wrong, I'm actually not a massive touch screen fanboi, I adore tactile buttons, in fact when I used to write reviews about mp3 players way back I used to shudder when many of them were coming out with itty bitty tiny touch screens, more hassle than they were worth! But how I see touch screens on a camera useful is, for example on LV mode, possibly using manual focus glass and you have composed the image but want to zoom on a persons face quickly to adjust the focus for the eyes etc, rather than using the painfully annoying and slow directional pad to get there, it would be awesome to just touch the head, and then rotate the aperture dial to zoom in etc. Note I'm not saying pinch and zoom, or do away with the physical controls, I wouldn't even need pinch and zoom so much, just the ability to quickly touch an area and zoom in with a dial rotation, I think I would find that amazingly handy feature to have. The screen could even probably be resistive in that nature (as long as the quality and resolution of the screen was high end, I mean it wouldn't need to be uber expensive multi touch. Resistive might be in line better with their WR image (use the screen with gloves on etc). Eh... are high end resistive screens even a thing any more? Is that tech completely dead (showing my age here...) hehe.

[Lord Lucan]

I might be a minority here but I am actually quite excited at the prospects of a touch screen ...... I'm not saying .... do away with the physical controls ...

Well there is a problem. Once a manufacturer has implemented a touch screen they can't resist doing away with physical controls, because physical controls are more expensive to make than adding the touch-screen related software to replace them. Hence physical buttons have all but disappeared from many gadgets which have touch screens.

[Andrea K]

Sorry I stopped to read at "way behind"

[gofour3]

That's very true and I hope Henry's maintains their presence here.

Henry's just opened their first store in Vancouver a few weeks ago. (Broadway near Cambie)

Have not been it yet...

Phil.

[lesmore49]

Henry's just opened their first store in Vancouver a few weeks ago. (Broadway near Cambie)

Have not been it yet...

Phil.

Glad to hear that Henry's is opening new stores. Unusual in this modern day for camera stores to expand. When you check it out, I think you'll like it. My experience with Henry's has been very good.

[BruceBanner]

Well there is a problem. Once a manufacturer has implemented a touch screen they can't resist doing away with physical controls, because physical controls are more expensive to make than adding the touch-screen related software to replace them. Hence physical buttons have all but disappeared from many gadgets which have touch screens.

You're probably right. I mean I do know of many DAPs (Digital Audio Players) that incorporate touch screens and still keep the physical buttons (play/pause volume etc), but it's a bit of a niche device. I only hope camera manufacturers stay true to form and include a touch screen as an addition and not a replacement (I honestly have no idea how other camera brands approach this but I gather they have implemented touch screens on their devices...).

I think in the case of the GRIII, the prototype still seemed to have all the important physical buttons??

[gofour3]

Glad to hear that Henry's is opening new stores. Unusual in this modern day for camera stores to expand. When you check it out, I think you'll like it. My experience with Henry's has been very good.

Yep I will have to check out the new Henry's. I have been to one in Toronto and it was good.

The new one in Vancouver is in "camera row", so Henry's will have some competition. There are two other brick & mortar camera stores within 10 blocks, as well as a London Drugs on the same block that also has a big camera department.

Phil.

[automorphism]

Well there is a problem. Once a manufacturer has implemented a touch screen they can't resist doing away with physical controls, because physical controls are more expensive to make than adding the touch-screen related software to replace them. Hence physical buttons have all but disappeared from many gadgets which have touch screens.

I don't think this will be a problem for cameras. Composing with a viewfinder is just so much better than using an LCD most of the time. And when you do that, you need physical controls so you can change the aperture, shutter speed, and other things like AE-lock quickly. Physical controls have never been eliminated from the more advanced cameras, and I doubt they ever will be as long as there are still settings to change.

One day things might be different if we ever get a neural interface to our gadgets, but I'm not getting that stuff implanted in my brain.

[lesmore49]

Well there is a problem. Once a manufacturer has implemented a touch screen they can't resist doing away with physical controls, because physical controls are more expensive to make than adding the touch-screen related software to replace them. Hence physical buttons have all but disappeared from many gadgets which have touch screens.

Quite right.

I prefer physical controls like my K1, K5,K10D have. I don't want a touch screen.

[BruceBanner]

Quite right.

I prefer physical controls like my K1, K5,K10D have. I don't want a touch screen.

The correct answer is "I don't want to use a touchscreen" and if it's implemented properly then it becomes a feature that you don't need to use if you don't want to, but it's there if you like.

There's a few options in the K-1/KP I never use but that doesn't mean I'm not grateful that they're there. As long as a touchscreen is a feature and not a replacement, a feature that can be toggled on/off, then I can only see it being a welcome addition for those that see it's merit.

I think the problem with the concept of touchscreens is that it replaces and does away with tactile buttons! But if my understanding is correct, those brands that have that tech currently, it doesn't work like that. It's definitely an addition not a subtraction affair. It's all about the implementation and how it's handled. You might think you don't need or want it but many people have said similar only to come around to the other way of thinking once they are introduced to the benefits properly. I mean... are you telling me that even on a review playback screen, to check focus that a quick pinch and zoom would not be a welcome addition vs the current zoom in with dials and navigation with direction pad? Then when you go back to shooting the screen is disabled (no accidental cheek presses on the screen ). I sure see merit in that.

[Rondec]

The correct answer is "I don't want to use a touchscreen" and if it's implemented properly then it becomes a feature that you don't need to use if you don't want to, but it's there if you like.

There's a few options in the K-1/KP I never use but that doesn't mean I'm not grateful that they're there. As long as a touchscreen is a feature and not a replacement, a feature that can be toggled on/off, then I can only see it being a welcome addition for those that see it's merit.

I think the problem with the concept of touchscreens is that it replaces and does away with tactile buttons! But if my understanding is correct, those brands that have that tech currently, it doesn't work like that. It's definitely an addition not a subtraction affair. It's all about the implementation and how it's handled. You might think you don't need or want it but many people have said similar only to come around to the other way of thinking once they are introduced to the benefits properly. I mean... are you telling me that even on a review playback screen, to check focus that a quick pinch and zoom would not be a welcome addition vs the current zoom in with dials and navigation with direction pad? Then when you go back to shooting the screen is disabled (no accidental cheek presses on the screen ). I sure see merit in that.

I'm not a big fan of touch screens. I often seem to have trouble answering my smart phone on a warm day from tiny bits of moisture (sweat) on my fingers.

I do think you are a bit wrong. Currently, I can change all settings I use consistently using physical buttons on K3 and K-1. Most companies, when they introduce a touch screen do reduce the number of physical buttons available to the user as unnecessary. Of course, Pentax could be different, but that is certainly the tendency.

[savoche]

The correct answer is "I don't want to use a touchscreen" and if it's implemented properly then it becomes a feature that you don't need to use if you don't want to, but it's there if you like.

Sure, no problem at all as long as it's in addition to, and not instead of, physical controls. Just let there be a way to disable the thing without losing other functionality and I'm perfectly happy

[Dartmoor Dave]

I confess I haven't read all 25 pages of this thread, but I had a conversation with a neighbour last night that might be relevant to the original post.

My neighbour is a professional wildlife photographer, shooting Canon, and in our chat last night he was quite vehement in his dissatisfaction with that brand. It was nothing to do with autofocus speed, or megapixel counts, or touchscreen controls, or any of those other modern day fripperies that the OP was so concerned about. What my neighbour was feeling angry about was problems with build quality that were making him start to feel that he couldn't trust his Canons under the conditions he often shoots in. And a standard of customer service that has made it quite clear that Canon doesn't consider him to be high enough up the professional food chain to be worth worrying about.

So of course I said my bit about Pentax weather resistance and build quality, which are exactly the things that he really needs and cares about. And there was a definite glimmer of interest in his reaction. So who cares if Pentax doesn't have all the latest gimmicks that are mostly just more stuff that you don't really need that will eventually go wrong? At least we know that we can trust our cameras to keep working when the weather turns against us.