[ChristianRock]

The only thing a “green” mode would contribute is a continually varying ISO value.

No... green mode is for processing. If it detects a person as the main subject, it uses the Portrait profile. If it thinks it's a landscape, the Landscape profile. And so on.
This is just to attempt to get the best result possible in a JPEG file without user input. Just like sending your film to the developer and hoping for the best.

In over seven years of using Pentax digital cameras, I have never used “auto” mode even once, but my results are still instantly available.

Nothing wrong with not using something, you're a better photographer for it.
But the fact that you don't use these modes, is the reason why you don't know what they do

[Sir Nameless]

Every once in a while, it's fun to let the mind wander and dream.

Well now you've asked for it!

Eliminate:
- Screen (the most power-hungry thing I'd think)
- On board flash. Hot shoe can stay.
- All the autofocus stuff including the screw drive motor
- All the SR stuff
- Weather sealing (don't need it since all the lenses with A rings are non-WR anyway. I think.)

With all that stuff gone, your weight and power requirements are reduced. Now you can have a smaller, lighter battery too. What are you left with? Something to fire the shutter, the frampitz to close the aperture, a light meter, AD converter, and the processing magic.

Sensor:
- Full frame, but can't imagine you'd need more than 16MP. Nice big pixels for better noise performance. Maybe you could reduce the NR load on the processor that way. But...to keep costs down, buy whatever is available off the shelf (no idea what that would be).
- ISO dial goes up to 1600. That's all you get. OK, maybe 3200.

Processing:
- Replace the winder with a mode dial. Settings: Color 1, Color 2, Mono 1, Mono 2, Raw
- You get 2 color and 2 B&W JPEG options, which are built in
- Advanced users can put up to four 3D LUT files on the memory card to replace the four inbuilt JPEG settings. To revert to default, delete the LUT files.
- Noise reduction: Camera will process away chroma noise only. So with increasing ISO you get increasing luma noise, like film grain.
- Of course, you always have the RAW setting, which will also give you the Color 1 JPEG for good measure.

I have no idea how you'd calculate the power or volume requirements for all that but I imagine you're punching way below the KP at this point.

Sell a black and silver edition. And a monochrome only edition.

With low sales volume, we're talking what, maybe $1200 a copy? For a machine with vastly less utility than a K-3 III. It would be cool though.

[reh321]

No... green mode is for processing. If it detects a person as the main subject, it uses the Portrait profile. If it thinks it's a landscape, the Landscape profile. And so on.
This is just to attempt to get the best result possible in a JPEG file without user input. Just like sending your film to the developer and hoping for the best.

Nothing wrong with not using something, you're a better photographer for it.
But the fact that you don't use these modes, is the reason why you don't know what they do

I’ve never heard of “green mode” used the way you are using the term; I don’t remember ever seeing it on the menu of my KP,
but it has been 2-1/2 years since I set up my KP. The only terms I remember are the word “natural” and numbers 0 and 1.
I would set up this mythical camera permanently the same way.

If I want to use a “vintage system”, I’ll run a roll of film through my “Super Program” anyway, so this is just an ‘intellectual exercise’ for me in any case.

[c.a.m]

Well now you've asked for it!

Hehe.

Sort of reminds me of the Leica M-D Typ 262.

To add to your lists:

- Minimize battery capacity (and battery size) requirement by limiting the shots-per-charge to, say, 100 (or 36? LOL).
- Maybe stretch the high-ISO limit by trading off processing and acceptable noise.
- Small mono LCD display for basic menu operation and indications such as exposure, shots remaining, etc.
- Only one e-dial.
- No shutter-burst capability. Only single shot.
- Self-timer: 10 seconds only (front button actuation?)

- Craig

[robgski]

Make users wait between several hours and one week to see the images.
Seriously, I really enjoyed using all 3 of the K-1000s I owned more than the Canon AE-1 I owned back in the 1990’s, but I purchased a Pentax DSLR because I could get full manual control.

[Sir Nameless]

If I want to use a “vintage system”, I’ll run a roll of film through my “Super Program” anyway, so this is just an ‘intellectual exercise’ for me in any case.

Yah. The price of a K-1000D would buy a lot of rolls of film.

[leekil]

I’ve never heard of “green mode” used the way you are using the term; I don’t remember ever seeing it on the menu of my KP,

"Green mode" corresponds to the "AUTO" setting on the KP's mode dial. On other Pentax cameras, instead of saying "AUTO" it has a green square there. And in the cases where it says AUTO, like yours, it is written with green letters.

[pentaxus]

The needle in the viewfinder will never happen because nobody makes meter needles anymore.

[reh321]

"Green mode" corresponds to the "AUTO" setting on the KP's mode dial. On other Pentax cameras, instead of saying "AUTO" it has a green square there. And in the cases where it says AUTO, like yours, it is written with green letters.

That simply makes all three legs of the ‘triangle’ variable. It is a matter of settings, not a matter of ‘processing’ {as said earlier}, and as I said then, the antithesis of vintage photography {a hallmark of vintage photography is using film, where the ISO/ASA is fixed for a given roll of film}. You could switch films in the middle of a roll, but it was a nontrivial operation.

The only thing a “green” mode would contribute is a continually varying ISO value.
In over seven years of using Pentax digital cameras, I have never used “auto” mode even once, but my results are still instantly available.
I personally don’t see any connection between “green” and speed, and I personally don’t see what how something that varies ISO could be viewed as “vintage”. You may have a “green” mode, but it would do zero for me. Personally, I shot slide film, mostly Kodachrome, so I typically use camera-created JPEG files, but I could easily make only ‘raw’ files, and use RawTherapy to generate JPEGs.

No... green mode is for processing. If it detects a person as the main subject, it uses the Portrait profile. If it thinks it's a landscape, the Landscape profile. And so on.
This is just to attempt to get the best result possible in a JPEG file without user input. Just like sending your film to the developer and hoping for the best.

[kypfer]

Sensor:
- Full frame, but can't imagine you'd need more than 16MP. Nice big pixels for better noise performance. Maybe you could reduce the NR load on the processor that way. But...to keep costs down, buy whatever is available off the shelf (no idea what that would be).
- ISO dial goes up to 1600. That's all you get. OK, maybe 3200.

I remember when film scanners for the consumer market first became available the figure quoted for film resolution equivalence was 20 Mpixels (4,000dpi) … seemed just about right for ultra-slow stuff like Kodachrome 25, which brings me to my second comment … have the ISO dial go down to 25 to save having to faff around with ND filters

[ChristianRock]

That simply makes all three legs of the ‘triangle’ variable. It is a matter of settings, not a matter of ‘processing’ {as said earlier},

With all respect, I don't know what the AUTO mode does on the KP as I've never had one, but the cameras that have a Green Mode, and I've had the K200D, K-r, K-50, K-S1 and K-S2, it's not just about exposure. It IS about processing. So your statement is not correct.

P mode is for all 3 aspects of the exposure triad, or triangle, to be set automatically - until you put it in hyperprogram mode by fixing one of the parameters. I think - trying to remember the K20D and K-3 that I had - that AUTO is also about the triad. But "Green Mode" is about processing as well.

This is from the PentaxForums review of the K-50:
"This mode is also known as Auto Picture and is a common feature on pretty much every non-pro digital SLR ever made. When the shutter is half-pressed the camera not only meters but it also analyzes the scene and selects the most appropriate scene mode from among Standard, Portrait, Landscape, Macro, Moving Object, Night Scene Portrait, Sunset, Blue Sky, and Forest. In our tests the camera did a great job of choosing the best scene mode, white balance, and exposure."
Source: https://www.pentaxforums.com/reviews/pentax-k-50-review/image-shooting-modes.html

[Sir Nameless]

I have a K-50 and a recently acquired K-5IIs. I assumed green mode was the same for both, but decided to look it up to see. So I appreciate you bringing this up, because I learned something important.

* K-50 (green "AUTO" setting) does indeed seem to be all about processing. The camera tries to automatically pick the best picture mode based on the scene, e.g., portrait, landscape, moving object. P. 83 of the manual.
* K-5II (green rectangle) is about processing to a lesser extent. It picks "Bright" in all cases. But it also locks you to P-Line Auto, JPEG, ISO auto, multi-segment metering, AF 11, auto WB, SR on, NR auto. P. 90 of the manual. I didn't see any of that fall back to full automation with the K-50; I could change ISO, white balance, exposure comp, probably more (admittedly didn't try to hard to poke at it).

Now this makes sense to me given the target audience. With the K-50, it tries to give me the best JPEG based on what it thinks I'm shooting. Makes sense for a casual user. For the K-5II, directed at more of a pro audience, it automates capture. Useful when you've customized a bunch of stuff but you need to hand it to someone who is not knowledgeable about your setup. Or when you quickly want to go full auto and fire away without having to think too hard.

So bottom line is Pentax has had (at least at this vintage) different executions of 'green' for different models.

[Lord Lucan]

If you want a digital revival of a chunky, all-manual, Pentax film camera, why choose the K1000? It was the least satisfactory of the K-series, the only plus point compared with its siblings being that it was the cheapest at the time. The magnitude of the cult nostalgia that surrounds the K1000 today is related simply to the numbers of users it had - budget models tend to sell in the greatest numbers, and it had a very long production run.

The very similar looking and handling KX would be a far better choice, if only because it displayed the shutter speed and aperture in the finder. At least a shutter speed indication is essential IMHO to avoid the need to take the camera down from the eye after composing and getting the meter needle in balance, to check that the actual camera settings are acceptable.

It has not been mentioned that Pentax would need to revive the manufacture of an appropriate manual lens too, maybe the K-series 55mm F2, otherwise that retro look and feel will be lost.

Call the resulting camera a K1000-D if you want, if only for marketing reasons.

[reh321]

If you want a digital revival of a chunky, all-manual, Pentax film camera, why choose the K1000? It was the least satisfactory of the K-series, the only plus point compared with its siblings being that it was the cheapest at the time. The magnitude of the cult nostalgia that surrounds the K1000 today is related simply to the numbers of users it had - budget models tend to sell in the greatest numbers, and it had a very long production run.

The very similar looking and handling KX would be a far better choice, if only because it displayed the shutter speed and aperture in the finder. At least a shutter speed indication is essential IMHO to avoid the need to take the camera down from the eye after composing and getting the meter needle in balance, to check that the actual camera settings are acceptable.

It has not been mentioned that Pentax would need to revive the manufacture of an appropriate manual lens too, maybe the K-series 55mm F2, otherwise that retro look and feel will be lost.

Call the resulting camera a K1000-D if you want, if only for marketing reasons.

I’m guessing that either the “ME” or the “Super Program” would be a better model, for pricing if nothing else,
but you are correct that the all-mechanical K-1000 would be a lousy model. I’m not sure they would have
to revive manufacture of K or KA lenses - there are already a lot of ‘unused’ ones in circulation.
Just counting K and KA lenses, I have at least four of them myself. I’m not sure which one/ones
would have to be revived if anything; 50mm was used as a “kit” lens when I got my first SLRs.

[zapp]

Pentax develops and sells cameras and lenses for profit.
Dreamers just dream.