We all know Pentax's video efforts could be better. Unfortunately I now fear any "improvements" Pentax will make to video. Twice, Pentax made video LESS useful and LESS attractive for professsional users, because they listened to complaints from un-informed reviewers.
Specifically, reviewers complained:
"Pentax uses old fashioned MJPEG compression on their video. All the kids want H.264 these days!"
MJPEG is so old fashioned that Canon offers it at 500mbps on the 5D Mk IV. It's a format that preserves image quality, has good colour depth, and can be readily edited on professional NLEs. If Pentax wanted to modernize the compression, they should have moved to ProRes, like all the pro/semi pro cameras have. Instead, they listened to the mob and went heavily-compressed H.264. Result: they lost any high-end appeal, and even the uninformed reviewers say "gee, Pentax video quality looks terrible, don't buy Pentax if you want video. Get a Panasonic or Canon instead."
Secondly, reviewers complained:
"Pentax in-body image stabilisation makes a funny buzzing and clanking sound when shooting video. Terrible!"
But the in-body stabilisation was the BEST in the business for video. I have professional shooters who were amazed at the smooth tracking results from handheld Pentax footage. As for the audio --- professionals never use the audio from in-camera mics. Audio is taken either with auxilliary mics plugged into the camera, or recorded on a separate audio recorder. So the in-camera mic issue was never an issue for them. For the non-professionals, Pentax simply defaulted the stabilisation to OFF when shooting video. Problem fixed. But no.... Pentax went ahead and REMOVED in-body stabilisation from video mode, replacing it with a useless and very low quality "on-sensor" stabilisation. Why not at least give users the choice -- move the sensor and risk hearing it on the mic, or choose crappy on-sensor mode for silence?
To win at video, Pentax (or any camera company) needs to provide only these things: - Frame rates: 24 fps, 25 fps, 30 fps and 60 fps
- Resolutions: 1080P and/or 4k
- High quality codec that supports video editing, i.e. ProRes
- Real image stabilization (optical or moving the sensor)
- Manual exposure controls (shutter speed, aperture, ISO)
- Zebra stripes for over/underexposure
- Focus peaking
- Audio input jack
- Headphone / audio output jack
- Clean HDMI video output - FULL RESOLUTION, with no overlays of info (so you can record on a different recorder if you want)
That's literally it -- the complete recipe for video domination!