Originally posted by GaryM Interesting post but I have a few issues:
1. There is not 'technology wall' for APS-C, just as with CPUs, memory chips, storage or any other modern technology. Although Canon seems to have dropped the ball slightly with the 50D, we have yet to see the best quality from APS-C. And that camera still can yield superb enlarged prints, as I have seen myself, with more resolution than the 40D. 100% pixel view reviews are becoming more and more irrelevant, IMO. Also Samsumg has publically stated that they think they can get better quality from APS-C.
Unfortunately, there is. Lens resolution possibilities are finite, and the sensor in the K20 is very close to surpassing lens resolution for all but the very best lenses.
When that point is reached, then the improvement path available is bigger sensors to allow a larger image circle lens.
Signal to noise ratios in sensors will always favour larger sensor sites over smaller ones, and as sensor sites get smaller, potential noise levels increase exponentially.
Noise reduction can only take you so far before it is discerning fine detail as noise and removing it.
I'm certain that there are improvements to be made in sensor technology, the question is, will the improvements be small evolutionary ones or larger, revolutionary ones.
If the improvements are evolutionary, then I would put forward the idea that a performance wall is fairly close.
If nothing else, there is little to be gained from increasing pixel counts beyond what they are in the Pentax DSLR format.
Quote: 2. I'm tired of hearing APS-C described as a 'cropped' sensor. It's only cropped if you're using legacy 35mm glass. Since Pentax has a pretty damn good lineup of DA lenses now (and getting better), the APS-C sensor in Pentax DSLRs is not cropped at all, and is perfectly matched to the lenses being offered in their system.
Think of it as a terminology shortcut in the same league as "multiplication factor", which is a term that irks me to no end.
Quote: 3. I have yet to see that FF cameras are more than a niche market. Yes, it's a valuable niche, since advanced users have a *percieved* upgrade path. But Pentax is already a niche player, so what do you have when you make a niche from a niche? A tiny market, that's what. How many $3k bodies do you think they can sell outside of this forum?
Pentax WAS a niche player. They are now just another midrange to low end quality camera maker.
If they want to be a niche market player, then they need to develop a niche market, not just keep making increasingly cheaper cameras to compete with the increasingly cheaper cameras coming out from the other manufacturers. Remember that they are competing with a couple of Goliaths in the camera market, companies that could potentially undercut the pricing of anything Pentax makes without batting an eye or annoying a single shareholder.
As an example, it doesn't matter how good the K-m turns out to be for it's price if Canon drops the price of a Rebel to a hundred bucks cheaper.
I've worked for companies that have tried to be the Davids in the marketplace, and at some point, Goliath notices you and squashes you like a bug.
The cheap DSLR market is not a niche, it's corporate suicide for a small player.
The 3k camera you mentioned would put them solidly in a niche market though. If they want to be a niche player, then that is the market they need to pursue, not the bottom feeder market.
A 3K camera would be a great quality complement to the very excellent Limited lenses.
It's too competitive at the bottom for a niche player to survive.
Quote: 4. As has been pointed out *too many times*, Pentax does not have a current FF lens lineup. Given how long it's taken just to roll out the DA60-250, why does anyone think they're capable of launching another entire lens lineup to go alongside the DAs?
Personally, I don't think they are capable of launching a FF lens line-up (BTW, FF is as meaningless a term as "cropped sensor", but if you are going to use one, then you should probably accept the other).
This does concern me, because one way or another, the trend in DSLR cameras is heading towards FF sensors, and companies that don't want to play in that sandbox are going to find that there aren't a lot of other sandboxes to play in.