[redbirdpete]

I sincerely hope so... don't think my "Ladies" would take to kindly to shortened life expectancy.

If Pentax was to 'non-survive' the current crisis, there will still be people using Pentax gear in 50 years time. Apart from the distressing unreliability of the MZ series, most of their cameras border on the indestructible. My MEF is still working having been my only camera from 1984 to 1998 and still trotted out regularly. I have an Electro Spotmatic I bought on a whim that works perfectly. That is a Electro Spotmatic, not an ES. I have an SV which would probably survive an atom bomb strike.

[Kerrowdown]

If Pentax was to 'non-survive' the current crisis, there will still be people using Pentax gear in 50 years time. Apart from the distressing unreliability of the MZ series, most of their cameras border on the indestructible. My MEF is still working having been my only camera from 1984 to 1998 and still trotted out regularly. I have an Electro Spotmatic I bought on a whim that works perfectly. That is a Electro Spotmatic, not an ES. I have an SV which would probably survive an atom bomb strike.

I like your sound logic and reasoning... so I'll let you explain to the "Ladies" should that day ever come.

[redbirdpete]

I like your sound logic and reasoning... so I'll let you explain to the "Ladies" should that day ever come.

I should perhaps invest in developing and enlarging gear and several vats of chemicals in case of total breakdown :-)

What a conundrum. In the dystopia I might not be able to buy film, but the digitals will still record pictures and I can charge the batteries as long as I can buy petrol. We need a real survivalist to advise :-)

[Kerrowdown]

We need a real survivalist to advise

Give Bear Grylls a shout... he'll keep you right.

[Lord Lucan]

Pentax urgently need to bring out mirrorless FF and APS-C interchangeable lens cameras. It is the trend.

To be clear, I'm not a fan of mirrorless. They are a bit lighter and smaller, and should be significantly cheaper to manufacture. The last of those is why Scanoniky are pushing them so hard - while they are not passing the savings to the buyer. And then Sony over-cooked (if that's the right phrase) the smallness and caused over-heating. Mirrorless and pentprism are just two different ways of pre-viewing the picture and make no difference whatever to the final result, although you would never think so from the way that the mirrorless fans go on about it. Having lugged a 6x7 around in the past I'm not much bothered about a slight size difference in a flagship APS or FF camera, and the weight of modern zoom lenses dominate anyway.

It would not take much for Pentax to produce mirrorless FF and APS-C cameras. New body designs would be required with reduced depth, or there would be no point, but the EVF display could be bought in - Pentax have had them before (eg X-70). The lenses, at least for the time being, could be existing designs with longer barrels at the body end; it would simply be a matter of different tooling for that part of the lens barrel. Adaptors could be available for existing DSLR lenses with no loss of function.

Of course, with lengthened lens barrels the overalll length of body + lens would be just the same as a DSLR with a mirror, but I'm sure the marketing people could side-step that detail. The main thing is they would be able to signal that Pentax had joined the headlong charge to mirrorless top-end cameras.

[Pål Jensen]

A new mirrorless system will be the sure death of Pentax.....

[Wasp]

I agree that Pentax is missing out by not playing in the mirrorless market. Perhaps the K-01 put them off the idea. In hindsight, that one was ahead of its time. Surely the time is right for a K-01 II? Development costs should not break the bank for what will be a K1 or KP without a mirror. If the selling price is right, the bulky form factor can be overlooked - especially by the faithful. Just give it an EVF this time round.

[ThorSanchez]

Pentax urgently need to bring out mirrorless FF and APS-C interchangeable lens cameras. It is the trend.

To be clear, I'm not a fan of mirrorless. They are a bit lighter and smaller, and should be significantly cheaper to manufacture. The last of those is why Scanoniky are pushing them so hard - while they are not passing the savings to the buyer. And then Sony over-cooked (if that's the right phrase) the smallness and caused over-heating. Mirrorless and pentprism are just two different ways of pre-viewing the picture and make no difference whatever to the final result, although you would never think so from the way that the mirrorless fans go on about it. Having lugged a 6x7 around in the past I'm not much bothered about a slight size difference in a flagship APS or FF camera, and the weight of modern zoom lenses dominate anyway.

It would not take much for Pentax to produce mirrorless FF and APS-C cameras. New body designs would be required with reduced depth, or there would be no point, but the EVF display could be bought in - Pentax have had them before (eg X-70). The lenses, at least for the time being, could be existing designs with longer barrels at the body end; it would simply be a matter of different tooling for that part of the lens barrel. Adaptors could be available for existing DSLR lenses with no loss of function.

Of course, with lengthened lens barrels the overalll length of body + lens would be just the same as a DSLR with a mirror, but I'm sure the marketing people could side-step that detail. The main thing is they would be able to signal that Pentax had joined the headlong charge to mirrorless top-end cameras.

I have some interest in mirrorless. I like smaller gear, I like some of the advancements in on-sensor autofocus and other features that are only available in either mirrorless, or mirror-up DSLRs. I'm intrigued by some of the computational advances that are much better suited for mirrorless than DSLRs.

But it's pretty hard to imagine a situation where Pentax launches a new system with a new mount in this climate. They've released only a small handful of new cameras in the last five years. They release lenses at a pace of one or two a year. It would be a paradigm shift in how the company has been doing business. It would take them a decade to build out a new system. And they would be jumping into a very crowded market. I think the only way it happens is if Pentax is spun off from Ricoh and the new owners aggressively put money into the brand. And I'm not sure why anyone would do that in 2020.

I think the most likely way Pentax survives is as a niche manufacturer of rugged DSLRs. The car analogy gets a little worn, but Pentax is Volvo. Still making solid, well-built wagons/estates for the US market when everyone else "knows" that the only way to survive is by almost exclusively selling SUVs.

[Serkevan]

What about a K-02 with a modified K-mount that takes the standard ones plus specific "rangefinder-style" lenses (like that prototype back then) with a protruding rear element? It would be as simple as making these K-whatever lenses unable to mount on the DSLR K-mount (the way Canon doesn't allow mounting EF-S lenses on EF cameras because of mirror hits, only exaggerated). Kinda best of both worlds with low mount development costs?