Hi guys,
Well my question is what is Pentax/Ricoh doing or planning to do in the DSLR market? At a time when Pentax owners are scratching their heads wondering whether to update their existing model of DSLR or not, RICOH/PENTAX do nothing to indicate their intentions other than vague press releases muttering their long term plans to produce a mirrorless camera with 100% FOV viewfinder,this at a time when the future of Pentax looked in question is insufficient and leads to blogs appearing in sites like RiceHigh's Pentax blog in the form of questionnaires asking who will be abandoning the system or buying an OVF K5 before the we see the end of OVF Pentax DSLRs.With the now official announcement of the Kr being withdrawn from sale in may this year and no news of it's replacement how do R/P think their customers are going to react about "investing" in new lenses accessories and the like? I understand that the trade needs to "play it's cards close to it's chest" to keep that "edge" over the competition, but not the point of destabilizing and disconcerting the Pentaxists to the point of distraction.What is needed is an announcement showing their "commitment" to their customers and the system so they can buy the product knowing that their money has been well spent and is not going to be redundant in a years time. The situation is very different with Canon/Nikon who have so many models there's something out there for everyone. Pentax have only 2 APS DSLRS with no fullframe so our choice is already limited,if the OVF is abandonned I'll for one will stick with my K20 till it dies(or me first) and buy a S/H K5 for very little. Sony have caused a stir with their EVF's but they have the might to stay the course if sales suffer as a result. Get it together RICOH/PENTAX so we know where we are!
Dave's cliches
While I agree with you all Pentax users should finally get over the fact that full format DSLRs are totally out-of-scope. Whatever Ricoh/Pentax will comeup with - it will not be a full format DSLR. Maybe a full format mirrorless though (based upon a new non-K lens lineup). This would make sense because they would stay away from the extremely competitive situation in the smaller sensor EVILs.
There is an interview with a Pentax rep over at dcwatch.
[url="http://dc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/interview/20120113_504147.html"]http://dc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/interview/20120113_504147.html[/url]
He has not much to tell about K-mount but Q and 645.
Thanks for that Klaus, however my point was not the issue of full frame which may well happen if only in mirrorless,it is rather what choice to those of us who prefer an optical finder will there be in the APS-C format? as there are only 2 models at the moment with the Kr going,are we going to have a Ks(replacement to the Kr) mirrorless and the K5 as the only choices in the near future? When Canon announce a new mirrorless everybody knows that plenty of models will still be available with an OVF.(and of course Nikon) I know the FF guys shout the loudest and have been thwarted for some time now and I sympathize with them, but as your recent statistics show it's a decreasing market and the majority of "pentaxists with their small stock of lenses want a future that they can relate to format/mirrorless or whatever! But most of all we want to have more than a vague clue,and not polls asking whether we should now "jump ship" This is not the ambiance that a take over by Ricoh should be creating!!!
BTW as you stated the interview seemed to comprise mainly of the 'Q'and '645' so it does nothing ease my nervousness!
Dave's cliches
I'll be keeping my K20D with FA and DA primes, I've no interest in the K-5 as the ergonomics don't suit me. If they go EVF I may buy a second K20D body but in reality I'll probably buy into the Nikon system. They really need to do something and fast judging by the number of Pentax users that seem to be selling kit on the various forums.
All the good work that Pentax put in over the past 8 or so years seems to be going to waste as Amazon, Jessops and others appear to be selling off stock and not re-stocking Pentax here in the UK.
John
[quote name='johnwhit' timestamp='1326535651' post='14848']
I'll be keeping my K20D with FA and DA primes, I've no interest in the K-5 as the ergonomics don't suit me. If they go EVF I may buy a second K20D body but in reality I'll probably buy into the Nikon system. They really need to do something and fast judging by the number of Pentax users that seem to be selling kit on the various forums.
All the good work that Pentax put in over the past 8 or so years seems to be going to waste as Amazon, Jessops and others appear to be selling off stock and not re-stocking Pentax here in the UK.
John
/quote]
Thanks John,
Personally I am too old now to be thinking of jumping ship only to sell all my fine lenses for a pittance,50 years ago I was taking pictures with my grandfathers Rolleiflex TLR on 120 film through zeiss lenses and was gagging about the sharpness,sometimes I wonder about progress!the rollei is still perfect with no faults probably nearly 65 years old. PS. If you keep an eye on these Pentax items for sale you see that 80% of them do not sell and just keep getting re posted!
Dave's cliches
Hi Dave,
I've too much time and money invested in Pentax to sell up, started in 1979 with a Pentax MX so I'm not getting any younger. I still own 2 x MX, 2 x KX and 2 x MZ-3 but I've sold my LX as it was becoming a liability with the cost of servicing etc. I think if I need a better camera than the K20D I would keep the K20D plus all the fine lenses and just add the Nikon as a second system starting with a body and 2 zooms, probably a 16-85 and the Tamron 70-300 Di VC USD and see where that takes me. The lack of lenses in Pentax fit like the Tamron mentioned, really isn't doing the Pentax cause any favours either.
From the wealth of knowledge available I would say that 16MP is about the practical limit for APS-c sensors beyond which the system becomes lens limited as the sensor clearly outresolves even the best prime lens. I've got 14.6MP in a body I really enjoy using, the K20D, I'd be happy to use it until either myself or the camera expires.
The K-5 has had a troubled short history IMHO, I would like the sensor with better dynamic range, lower high ISO noise, I like the 100% viewfinder and 7 fps, they can keep the electronic level and HD video and the general ergonomics. Maybe I should buy another K20D with a low shutter count, stop obsessing about kit and go and take some photographs, I've always been more of a lens man than a camera man. <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='  ' />
John
Just posted, Interview With Pentax UK General Manager - CES 2012: We meet Jonathan Martin, General Manager of Pentax UK to talk all things cameras:
http://www.ephotozine.com/article/we-interview-pentax-uk-gm-jonathan-martin-18246
John
I read the interview and it strengthens my view that Pentax owners should stop having existentialist worries. Ricoh is a strong company and had a plan when they bought Pentax. Whatever that plan is, you can expect there to be news within a not too distant future. If I were a Pentax owner, I'd be excited; expect Ricoh to strengthen the Pentax line, maybe with Ricoh technology, surely with a combination. If Fuji can do it, Ricoh can do it, so my guess is for a Pentax mirrorless with APC sensor and Ricoh technology this year. What do you all think?<img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cool.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='B)' />
[quote name='Vieux loup' timestamp='1326713280' post='14898']
I read the interview and it strengthens my view that Pentax owners should stop having existentialist worries. Ricoh is a strong company and had a plan when they bought Pentax. Whatever that plan is, you can expect there to be news within a not too distant future. If I were a Pentax owner, I'd be excited; expect Ricoh to strengthen the Pentax line, maybe with Ricoh technology, surely with a combination. If Fuji can do it, Ricoh can do it, so my guess is for a Pentax mirrorless with APC sensor and Ricoh technology this year. What do you all think?<img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cool.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='B)' />
[/quote]
I do agree with all above. It is a matter of time; Sony needed a year, after they overtook Konica Minolta, to release first DSLR. I guess we will see new models til autumn.
A.
Pentax is [url="http://www.mirrorlessrumors.com/hot-pentax-k-01-mirrorless-camera-coming-soon/"]something obviously doing[/url]... <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='  ' />
A.
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