Interesting idea. I can do that test, eventually.
Ok, here we go with my wishlist:
I want Pentax to treat video seriously, as a tool that is meant for professional users. Imagine a K-3 only having the green mode for stills. Ridiculous, right? Of course the users want control over aperture, exposure, and a TON of other things, and of course he doesn't want to be limited to JPEG. The green mode is there for those situations when you give the camera to someone else to take a group photo for you. Yet the video mode in any Pentax is basically stuck in the green mode.
Here's the thing: Without great AF the video mode is useless for consumers who just want to shoot a simple video. DSLRs, at least the big ones, like the K-3 and 645Z are owned and used by enthusiasts or professional users. People who put effort into their work and are more or less skilled (and want to improve themselves). That's also the kind of video shooting a DSLR lends itself to.
Pentax should not dumb their cameras down, or, perhaps better, offer an option in the firmware to unlock the advanced features.
Things I want/think they make sense for some users:
SR is an obvious one. 3 modes, at least. None, mechanical and electronic SR. More would be better. One mode for panning (so it corrects vertically), not horizontally. A combined mode where the mechanical SR filters out fast movements, and the electronic SR (using data from the accelerometer) filters out slow movements, and is able to "move" the sensor back in the center so it can take bumps again, instead of being maxed out. Basically a super steady mode. None and mechanical SR should be un-cropped, but with the option of giving you a crop (different levels of crop perhaps even?). We can go even further: Have a button that locks the sensor position, even while recording (i.e. the sensor will do it's best to keep the video steady at that position, even when it means it's maxed out. It will not try to go back to a center position. If you press it, an overlay will appear showing you where the sensor currently is, so you can balance it out by hand. Another button can tell the camera you are going to pan, so it knows not to do this overshooting and then going back thing that sometimes can appear when panning a bit faster. Additionally you could be able to set exactly how the camera tries to balance out camera shake, i.e. will it let you get a handheld look that just filters out stuff that leads to a wobbling picture, or do you want something that is really smooth?
MJPEG is a minimum requirement. Many video cameras and DSLRs offer you different quality settings AND different codecs, the Sony A7s for example has MP4, AVCHD and XAVC-S. Yes, they are all based around h264, but there's quite some difference. Especially XAVC-S is pretty amazing. I don't expect a Pentax to have that sort of processing power though. MJPEG will be fine. ProRes or similar would be a nice addition. RAW, even better. But not 100% needed. Oh, and of course higher bitrates for h264, however I have the feeling that the bitrate isn't the only problem when it comes to the h264 encoder in the K-3.
Line skipping vs pixel binning. Ideally do as much pixel binning as possible, but do give me the option of selecting how much line skipping I want. In a slow moving scene I want pixel binning. Better low light performance, less to no moire/aliasing. However pixel binning/full sensor readout leads to stronger rolling shutter effects and a heated up sensor. Sometimes I want to be able to move/shake the camera much more, in which case I'd rather have line skipping (faster sensor readout, less rolling shutter, and the movement will cover up jagged edges anyway). Being able to select how much I want to skip would be even cooler.
Use the buttons. The camera has plenty of unused buttons. Let me use them. Apart from what I mentioned in the SR section I want a white balance lock (similar to AE-L), that works in video mode. It should be remembered even when the camera goes to sleep or you turn it off. Ideally I'd be able to go to a video on the SD card that had the white balance locked and get the exact same white balance and perhaps even look settings (?).
Focus peaking. I guess the K-3 doesn't have enough processing power to do video recording and focus peaking. Unless it is basically a picture style that gets applied to the whole image, and that would get recorded if it were activated while recording a video, try to enable it while recording. Yes, perhaps the whole frame won't work, but as much as possible. Maybe it's a square in the center that can have focus peaking. That'd be better than nothing. In any case, focus peaking while recording video would be fine. Perhaps at different levels even, i.e. we can set how sensitive it is at detecting contrast. Sometimes it doesn't have to be that precise, and you're glad if it detects contrast at all, sometimes the whole screen would seem to be in focus, and you need more sensitivity.
Get inspired by Magic Lantern. Or better yet get Magic Lantern developers to work at Pentax. Unlike Canon, Sony and Panasonic, Pentax does not have a professional video arm that needs to be protected. You can thus go really pro in terms of features. Of course that means Pentax needs to have people who really know video, and the demands of videographers. Who's better suited than the guys that make Canon DSLRs awesome video tools? Also, you could try to get a DP as an advisor. If possible a popular one with lots of following, say Philip Bloom. Get him to give input/ideas that you actually try to fulfil, and get him to be then vocal about it.
Video styles meant for grading. Give us a picture style designed for a wide dynamic range, a flat picture that gives us the ability to really push the video. To give it a filmic look etc. Try to match what competitors are doing, so that it's easy to work with 2 brands on set and to get things to match.
4K, RAW, 10 bit, 4:2:2 or better yet 4:4:4, etc. Clearly nice to have. Even if it's only over HDMI (a proper HDMI plug that is hard to damage, if possible).
Audio levels on screen, with a red dot indicating the highest point in the last 10, 20 seconds (think digital vu meters?), and the ability to change the gain (perhaps by pressing a button and then using a dial, like with ISO etc.).
Timecode. So that shooting with multiple cameras becomes easier.
Zebras etc. Self explanatory. Be inspired by what professional cameras do, and give many options.
Imagine what good advertising it would be for Pentax if the next Indie hit was shot on a Pentax DSLR or mirrorless, and the director giving interviews where he raves about what a great tool the camera was, for both the actual video as well as promotional stills. Ok, perhaps that's a bit far fetched. But professional users more and more need to do stills and video, and seeing a pro at a wedding for example shoot Pentax will inspire people to look into the brand, and perhaps buy a camera from Pentax. I've had people who like my photos be interested in buying a Pentax (AFAIK one or two did indeed buy a Pentax in the end, and back then I was not even close to being a pro).
