[Klaus]

 

And talking about some distant future is a mistake, in this case. Sure, Ricoh Imaging should plan for that eventuality (and I believe they'll enter the large sensor MILC market, at some point). But, as of now (mid-term planning), the DSLR market is much more lucrative for them.

Think about it: breaking into 10% on the DSLR market is roughly equivalent - as volume - to fighting for leadership in the MILC market. Planning for the future is all nice and good, but they can't starve themselves until that future happens; they need money, they need to sell. They need a product line which would work now (and in the immediate future), which would bring money for further development/R&D.

That product line is the K-mount.

 

Take Sony as an example. At some stage their A-mount sales were higher than Pentax.

Yet, they hit a ceiling ... and drew the consequences (which is contradicting my statement about Japanese companies but Sony is  a bit different due to their strong international structure).

So they were in a very similar situation. Which company is more successful today ?

 

Profits in manufacturing are highly dependent on the economies of scale. Which explains why they are cooperating with Tamron.

 

At the end of the day it just doesn't matter. Be happy. Enjoy your camera. As Dave mentioned - the end is near but it's not here yet. A 10 year horizon means probably something like 2-3 gear cycles for enthusiasts. So what ? :-)