[agp1337]

In this week's Amateur Photographer magazine there is an article about the increasing popularity of mirrorless. I can't remember the exact phrase, but in essence the 'big two' are developing into that area, and Pentax were dismissed as irrelevant. The feeling was that mirrorless will be dominant, quite soon.

I have been a dedicated Pentax user for nearly four years, current kit K1 and KP bodies and six lenses, including the heavy 15-30. Fed up of tired arms, I have now bought a Fuji xe-3 and three lenses, giving a range of 12-200mm (apsc, 18-300, 35mm equivalent). That is now my outfit of choice, and I have carried it, literally, miles, in a small shoulder bag and with no ill effects. My carry-around one will be this camera with the 10-24mm, when I can afford it (see below).

This morning I replaced my desktop picture (large-screen Apple) with a similar one taken with the Fuji. Both look fantastic, the Fuji is possibly more 'lively,' has more presence. So I did what I don't normally do, and pixel-peeped several pictures of similar subjects! The quality is at least as good as the KP and not far off the K1. in fact for all my purposes (up to A3 prints) the Fuji is indistinguishable. The Fuji video is great too, and you can actually use the viewfinder to shoot, I hate using the screen.

There are some snags, of course. No weatherproofing on the Fuji, a limited range of third-party lenses (similar to Pentax), and no tilting screen. One quirk which struck me when i got the Samyang 12mm was the it stops down manually, so when you set f8 the lens focuses at f8. The viewfinder remains just as bright, and I realised that is because it actually gets brighter to compensate. Focusing is fine, though I remember to open up to F2 to focus, not that it matters much with 12mm anyway!

You might guess my conclusion - all of the Pentax gear will be sold! If I was sticking with DSLR I'd stay with Pentax, but i no longer see any great value in the extra weight.

[Adam]

We certainly live in a transitional period for camera tech. While I don't think the mirror itself is a problem, soon we'll see what sells and what doesn't. Things could go in one of many ways, whether it be compactness, performance, or both. Since phones are an inherently compact photo solution, I feel that there will always be a market for larger cameras for users who are willing to trade size for performance. But that doesn't mean that Pentax shouldn't try to apply its historical emphasis on small size to its own lineup.

[photoptimist]

Has the dominance of zooms meant the end of primes?

Has the dominance of color photography meant the end of black-and-white?

Has the dominance of 35mm FF meant the end of APS-C, M4/3, 645, etc.?

The popularity of one thing rarely means the end of everything else.

[jpzk]

Weird that I have just read this thread, particularly Post No. 2156

K3ii replacement - Page 144 - PentaxForums.com

Now you are the second member here, to my knowledge (and perhaps there are more) claiming the imminent death of DSLR's.
Maybe you're right, maybe not.
Indeed there is an increasing interest in the mirrorless world and two "big" are joining into the bandwagon.
I see your point, having just acquired a Fuji XE-3 (I own an XE-2 ... great little companion to my K3), but I would imagine that before DLSR's go away for good, years will pass.

BTW, I am looking forward to see your K1 and KP on the Marketplace.

[Not a Number]

"The report of my death was an exaggeration."

[Zygonyx]

F a k e N e w s

[reh321]

In this week's Amateur Photographer magazine there is an article about the increasing popularity of mirrorless. I can't remember the exact phrase, but in essence the 'big two' are developing into that area, and Pentax were dismissed as irrelevant. The feeling was that mirrorless will be dominant, quite soon.

Is this the U.K. magazine that earlier predicted that the K-1ii would be the last camera released by Pentax??
Amateur Photographers (UK) Predicts End for Pentax - PentaxForums.com

[Pioneer]

Enjoy your new camera. Fuji has done a really good job of developing and building some extremely nice digital cameras. Lots of people move to smaller and lighter cameras. Perhaps you should consider moving entirely to a cell phone since that is even smaller and lighter.

I seriously doubt that the dSLR will be going anywhere soon. Digital camera sales are dropping off of a cliff for everyone.The only thing that seems to be growing is Fuji's Instax camera brand. The internet talking heads certainly did not see that coming and a very large majority of them still don't seem to know what to make of it. They love to speculate but they rarely, if ever, see any of the major trends coming, let alone predict them in advance so I don't pay too much attention to their babbling. They can be entertaining though.

I know even less than the internet babblers but I think that Canon and Nikon are just hedging their bets in an effort to continue to maintain their historical dominance in the camera market. Sony has been pretty successful lately and it has gotten hard for them to ignore that some of their customers have been moving over to Sony. It is entirely possible that their new cameras (which by the way are no way near as small or as light even as the Pentax K-1) will begin to cannibalize the sales of their current slr camera lines while failing to attract any new customers. No one really knows how this is going to work out for them.

Heck, with Fuji moving into medium format in a big way you might be able to prognosticate that larger than full frame will the new wave of the future as sensors get better and larger. It is even possible that both Nikon and Canon are eyeing this new market as well considering that their new lens flanges will very easily cover medium format sensors.

Internet talking heads have declared Pentax dead before and have turned out wrong. Ricoh is making some extremely nice cameras, and IMHO is doing a very good job of keeping the Pentax brand alive and vibrant, particularly in this current market. Sometimes being a copycat and following all the latest fads is not the best way to run a business. They already dabbled with mirrorless and it didn't seem to work out very well for them.

One thing I think we can certainly say for sure, the immediate future of the digital camera industry is going to be very interesting to watch!

[jpzk]

Is this the U.K. magazine that earlier predicted that the K-1ii would be the last camera released by Pentax??
Amateur Photographers (UK) Predicts End for Pentax - PentaxForums.com

We have known for years that Pentax is "Doomed" (courtesy of Pentax forums members ) now it shall be known that the DSLR is also Doomed!

[UncleVanya]

Which 3 lenses? I'd guess the Samyang 12mm and the 18-55 and 55-200?

That's not much smaller than the KP with a similar complement of lenses. It is vastly smaller than the K-1 with f/2.8 glass. Personally I have my K-3 and some nice glass and I have my m43 Panasonic GX-1 and some nice primes and a few sharp but slow zooms. I can see the appeal of slimming down the carry weight but I don't see much savings in size for the X-E3 over the KP unless maybe in a jacket pocket? In any case if it works for you that's cool.

Compact Camera Meter

[normhead]

I have some Q images that are just as good as my K-1 images even pixel peeping. If the Q sensor resolves all the detail that's essential to the image, then there's nothing to be gained going larger format.

But having a Q and a K-3 doesn't mean there aren't times I reach for my K-1.

As for Amateur Photographer, it's published by and for Amateurs. There's nothing but sensational click bait there. They are to photgraphy what national Enquirer is to news papers. I have no doubt they use the National Enquirers research style. Sit down, 8 guys in a room, take a real news story, drink a lot of beer, come up with the most sensational headline you can with an outrageous story to go with it. All fictional. Pay 10 scientists to use their names "10 Scientists say the bubbles in beer cause cancer." But just pay for their names, not any science. Put it out where the suckers who buy that kind of thing can pick up a copy. National Enquirer has proved, you can make good money that way.

I love reading the headlines just for the creativity displayed.

There's real money to be made pandering to people's biases. Just tell them what they want to here. The truth is irrelevant.

[Docrwm]

Enjoy your lighter camera bag. I had one 5 years ago. It lasted about 6 months before I sold it. I don't do video and that was the only thing it did better.

[reh321]

Enjoy your lighter camera bag. I had one 5 years ago. It lasted about 6 months before I sold it. I don't do video and that was the only thing it did better.

You had what 5 years ago??

[Alex645]

In this week's Amateur Photographer magazine there is an article about the increasing popularity of mirrorless.

You might guess my conclusion - all of the Pentax gear will be sold! If I was sticking with DSLR I'd stay with Pentax, but i no longer see any great value in the extra weight.

End of the DSLR? No.
End of the DSLR for Amateur Photographer Mag and you? Yes.

To me, convenience or ease of use has always been secondary to the tools themselves. Whenever I think my medium format 645 is too heavy, I think about Ansel Adams with his heavy duty tripods and large format hikes. On Adams' lightweight days, he did revert to a medium format Hasselblad. And to think, B&H currently sells 48 different large format camera options made by five brands, but only three 35mm cameras made by two brands.

[reh321]

End of the DSLR? No.
End of the DSLR for Amateur Photographer Mag and you? Yes.

To me, convenience or ease of use has always been secondary to the tools themselves. Whenever I think my medium format 645 is too heavy, I think about Ansel Adams with his heavy duty tripods and large format hikes. On Adams' lightweight days, he did revert to a medium format Hasselblad. And to think, B&H currently sells 48 different large format camera options made by five brands, but only three 35mm cameras made by two brands.

How is sales of film cameras relevant to this discussion??

How many large format digital cameras??
How many FF digital cameras??