[stihlmania]

Here is what I use for low, nature or overhead shots. A flippy right angle finder, never any sun glare....

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[Lord Lucan]

I do wonder how many more months of flippy screen talk there will be.

Until the actual launch of the camera, and then some. The discussion so far has mainly been within the Pentax user base : wait until the mainstream commentators and reviewers get hold of it

[MarkJerling]

Until the actual launch of the camera, and then some. The discussion so far has mainly been within the Pentax user base : wait until the mainstream commentators and reviewers get hold of it

I can hardly wait.

[SSGGeezer]

Depending on whether the non-flippy screen is OLED, VA , or an IPS screen, as long as it is not a TN screen, you will have more of a viewing angle than on an inexpensive, older LCD monitor that you may have bought for your computer years ago. perhaps not as brilliant a solution as the "War of The Worlds" lander legs on a K-1, but better than old technology. Screen technology makes a difference as long as the control software is up to the task.

[Rondec]

Depending on whether the non-flippy screen is OLED, VA , or an IPS screen, as long as it is not a TN screen, you will have more of a viewing angle than on an inexpensive, older LCD monitor that you may have bought for your computer years ago. perhaps not as brilliant a solution as the "War of The Worlds" lander legs on a K-1, but better than old technology. Screen technology makes a difference as long as the control software is up to the task.

I am really hopeful that they bring back vacuum tubes for this camera. Seems like a technology whose time has come and gone and now maybe could come again...

[texandrews]

I am really hopeful that they bring back vacuum tubes for this camera. Seems like a technology whose time has come and gone and now maybe could come again...

Agreed. Far more resistant to electromagnetic pulses.

[Serkevan]

I am really hopeful that they bring back vacuum tubes for this camera. Seems like a technology whose time has come and gone and now maybe could come again...

Someone at Sony is going livid at the thought of making the cameras even as thick as it would be needed for that

[mikesbike]

I am really hopeful that they bring back vacuum tubes for this camera. Seems like a technology whose time has come and gone and now maybe could come again...

Ha Ha- that's a good one!

[cometguy]

If you read all four "volumes" of the design postings at the Ricoh/Pentax website cited above, by Shigeru Wakashiro (who is "in charge of the planning and development of new PENTAX digital SLR camera products"), you'll see that there is a great emphasis on the newly designed viewfinder with "high-refraction glass material, in order to develop a new viewfinder with improved viewing performance" (Vol. 1) that also has an eye sensor to turn off the LCD screen automatically when you get near the eyepiece (Vol. 2). Volume 2 also makes big mention of moving the eyepiece 3 mm further outward (compared to the K-3 II) so that the nose isn't pressed so much into the back of the camera -- again emphasizing use of the viewfinder and not the LCD screen with LiveView. In the installment titled "Volume 3", Wakashiro writes "We believe in boosting the excitement and pleasure of capturing images through the use of an optical viewfinder — we want you to directly observe, experience and feel the actual light streaming through the viewfinder". This is in addition to what was discussed about this article above in this forum thread (namely, the bit about saving space in the camera body), and it is all about continuing the theme that the Pentax DSLR philosophy (at least in this particular camera, but really in general) is different from its competitors in this regard -- as I see it very clearly spelled out by Wakashiro on behalf of his company. Volume 4 is about ergonomics of the new camera, and he writes "The joystick positioned on the camera’s back panel is the focus point lever", though he's rather vague about this "joystick"; yet, the idea is about the "joy" of photography, and a video screen is clearly seen in the Pentax design philosophy as not contributing to the "joy" of taking photographs, whereas looking through the viewfinder does give the emotional element of "joy", in their thinking of what photographers like about their cameras (over Sony or Canon or Nikon or Fuji, etc.). They design buttons and dials so that you don't have to use the LCD screen if you don't want to; you can keep your eye looking through the viewfinder and make changes on the fly by the well-designed layout of buttons/dials around the camera body. I like my Pentax cameras to function well without needing to resort to the large rear LCD screen very often. I tend to turn off my rear LCD screen and leave it off all the time, as I really don't need it except to review photos that I've just taken, or the more rare times when I need to access/change a menu option that isn't already set the way that I want it in one of my user modes.

This is all about a DSLR not being overly computerized and video-ized -- about it not being so focused on a video screen (and, by default, a touchscreen). The clear Pentax design philosophy in place now and in place for a hundred years is on the use of the viewfinder first and foremost, and there is a clear refrain from emphasizing the digital LCD screen -- like it or not (and I do like it). I have not seen any Pentax mention that the APS-C K-new will have a touchscreen; I'd like to be pointed to such news if it has been announced. I, for one, do not want a touchscreen in my DSLR and will not use it if there; I don't need another digital screen in my life to smudge up and be dependent upon (though I can understand that people with bad eyes might be aided by that). I abhor the touchscreens in cars, and vastly prefer buttons and dials that I can access and turn without looking (i.e., handling controls by feel where I don't have to take my eyes off the road). The only place that I really like touchscreens is on my iPhones, simply because they are small and it's more logical there than anywhere else in the world. I don't yet have a camera with a tilt screen, but I know that it might come in handy when I'm doing tripod work (and only then, really). I do understand the rationale for people thinking that touchscreens and tilt screens are important to bring in (especially younger) non-Pentax people to buying Pentax cameras for the first time in today's world, but clearly Ricoh/Pentax feels that this is not so important, and I, for one, and quite happy with what they have produced in the last 10-15 years in DSLRs.

[surfar]

as long as it is not a TN screen,

Is Toneh Northrup selling screens these days? He must have sold all his books!

[Lord Lucan]

a video screen is clearly seen in the Pentax design philosophy as not contributing to the "joy" of taking photographs, whereas looking through the viewfinder does give the emotional element of "joy"

I think you are barking up the wrong tree.

The contest/discussion, and Pentax's own point, is not about screen versus viewfinder. It is about optical viewfinders versus electronic viewfinders, ie between DSLRs and mirrorless, and about the way Sonikanon are going versus the way Pentax is going. I don't think many users of either OVF or EVF cameras use the screen for composing in general stills photography - what someone described as "zombie" mode, with arms outstretched; that is for smartphone users and video. I compose through the viewfinder except in some special circumstances, like macro photos on a tripod, and I expect most users here, and most Sonikanon mirrorless EVF users, do the same.

Like you, I use the screen for checking after a shot, for setting things in the menus, want it off otherwise, and don't want a touch screen. But these points are nothing to do with viewfinder versus screen, OVF versus EVF, or how excellent the K-new pentaprism will be.

[Serkevan]

I like my Pentax cameras to function well without needing to resort to the large rear LCD screen very often. I tend to turn off my rear LCD screen and leave it off all the time, as I really don't need it except to review photos that I've just taken, or the more rare times when I need to access/change a menu option that isn't already set the way that I want it in one of my user modes.

My K-1's LCD is off most of the time, but I still use it a lot for shooting whenever I'm not on the optical axis - without a tripod, in general.

The thing with Pentax's philosophy for the K-New is that they emphasize viewfinder shooting while increasing the size of the LCD and adding an eye sensor under the OVF, which screams touch screen because there is literally no point otherwise, the "the LCD distracts the user if it's on while their eye is on the finder" argument is nonsense - my cheekbones aren't transparent.

If I were a betting man, I would put my money on the K-New having enough AF points to warrant using the joystick or touch-screen focusing like a virtual joystick (dragging your thumb on the screen, which works well enough on phones*). Increasing the area and resolution of the screen would aid there.

*Although it isn't really my cup of tea - I'd prefer using the joystick simply because of the less awkward placement.

[Wiltshireborn]

I have both a K7 and a KP and to describe the KP as a lesser model is a insult and a ridiculous statement. The KP is just as robust as any of the K range, it is just a more modern design. I also had a K3 in the past which was an amazing camera but very heavy compared to the KP. A top display is very handy but I don't really miss or need it and also a dual card slot is handy but not essential but I can see how some people would like those features. I must admit that the only thing I prefer from the K7 and K3 is the built in grip. I have the largest of the three interchangeable grips fitted on my KP and whilst it is adequate in use, it is not as comfortable as the built in grip.

[SSGGeezer]

The thing with Pentax's philosophy for the K-New is that they emphasize viewfinder shooting while increasing the size of the LCD and adding an eye sensor under the OVF, which screams touch screen because there is literally no point otherwise, the "the LCD distracts the user if it's on while their eye is on the finder" argument is nonsense - my cheekbones aren't transparent.

It is most definitely not nonsense if you are shooting in very low light as in astro, and even more applicable if you wear glasses! Auto shut off when looking through the OVF is a must for those of us wearing glasses while shooting.

[Serkevan]

It is most definitely not nonsense if you are shooting in very low light as in astro, and even more applicable if you wear glasses! Auto shut off when looking through the OVF is a must for those of us wearing glasses while shooting.

I wear glasses! I have never really noticed the LCD's light when I have my eye to the OVF. I have the screen set to off only because, as I find it easier to look at the settings in the finder, I might as well save battery.
For astro, the LCD is either off as usual or in LV - and in LV I want the screen on