Whats next for Pentax

[Seawolf66]

Pentax has announced that the K-R is no longer in production , So time will tell what bring in its place or some type of surprise Like they did with the K-10-D

[bogiesbad]

Rumors are flying about FF, FF mirrorless, even 645D mirrorless. Mr Kitazawa has said in a recent interview that Ricoh will loosen the purse strings and allow Pentax to develop some projects that untill now were held back by Hoya....maybe the old
FF body prototype that preceded the *istD can't recall the name.
Lot's of excitement over at PF.

[wolfd]

Sony is rumored to have a full frame camera in the works for next year. Pentax usually follows Sony since (as seen in the K5) Pentax uses Sony sensors. So my guess is that its quite possibly accurate that Pentax are working on a Full Frame camera.

[Ben_V]

Originally Posted by bogiesbad

Rumors are flying about FF, FF mirrorless, even 645D mirrorless. Mr Kitazawa has said in a recent interview that Ricoh will loosen the purse strings and allow Pentax to develop some projects that untill now were held back by Hoya....maybe the old
FF body prototype that preceded the *istD can't recall the name.
Lot's of excitement over at PF.

A 645D of whatever construction is surely not a replacement for a K-r, costing 15 times as much. There needs to be another entry-level DSLR for Pentax, otherwise they will lose out completely on the market.

All the rumours you mentioned have been around for years now, with the addition of "mirrorless" now. My personal opinion is, that Pentax should invest in growing its DSLR system, instead of jumping from one bandwagon to the next. The Q-system might be useful for the Japanese home market - but elsewhere?

Staying in the photography market is not about developing new gadgets all the time, but about supporting an established system and thus satisfying those, who already invested. This would form a solid base for growth and convincing new customers. Pentax has had a poor record in this area over the last ten years.

Ben

[bogiesbad]

Originally Posted by Ben_V

A 645D of whatever construction is surely not a replacement for a K-r, costing 15 times as much. There needs to be another entry-level DSLR for Pentax, otherwise they will lose out completely on the market.

All the rumours you mentioned have been around for years now, with the addition of "mirrorless" now. My personal opinion is, that Pentax should invest in growing its DSLR system, instead of jumping from one bandwagon to the next. The Q-system might be useful for the Japanese home market - but elsewhere?

Staying in the photography market is not about developing new gadgets all the time, but about supporting an established system and thus satisfying those, who already invested. This would form a solid base for growth and convincing new customers. Pentax has had a poor record in this area over the last ten years.

Ben

Pentax has been very tight-lipped about the future especially since the Ricoh takeover and I referenced the interview as it is the first "info" I have seen from Pentax since. I totally agree with you and personally don't need a FF/mirrorless offering from Pentax to validate my using their gear. I do think that their latest bodies, Kx, K5 & Kr have been a step in the right direction.

[Djayvo]

I hope Pentax would at least let us know what to expect with there new camera line. I have put off buying a new camera (k-5 ) because of all the idiosyncrasies it has from one camera to another. Two things I look for in a camera, dependability is number one and quality of the pictures is second. If they can keep up the good work for +/_ $1,500 then I will remain a Pentax supporter but if not maybe it’s time to look else were.

[Dirk]

i think that pentax knows what we expect but competitition is hard and it is hard to be what you are to put in new features for lower prices that is what we want .

and keeping it a secret too long is that other brands allready offer it , so cloning it is pricy

[wolfd]

Pentax K5 was edged out ever so slightly by the Nikon D7000 as the best DSLR of 2011 by 'The Register'. With Pentax's experience in this competitive DSLR market I'm sure they will continue to turn out competitive products.

More info here.

2011's Best... DSLRs ? reghardware

[Ben_V]

Originally Posted by wolfd

Pentax K5 was edged out ever so slightly by the Nikon D7000 as the best DSLR of 2011 by 'The Register'. With Pentax's experience in this competitive DSLR market I'm sure they will continue to turn out competitive products.

More info here.

2011's Best... DSLRs ? reghardware

Sorry, I don't want to annoy you - but just another "best of..." self-declared expert-site. I don't even track how many "best ofs" of whatever, including lots of photography-related sites are around. And I cannot find the "info" on that site, just marketing blahblah.

In other tests, well yes, for the first time ever, the current Pentax cameras K-r and K-5 took the first place in AF performance measurements. (German magazin "ColorFoto"), despite the editors joint efforts over many years to place their valued advertising customers Canon and Nikon in the first place.

There are always reasons and perhaps even some honest ones, to value one product higher than another, but it is always a subjective evaluation, because every reviewer not only has personal limitations (knowledge, experience) but also subjective key issues. One looks more into the look-and-feel and values articulated screens, the next one might look into resolution measurements and the third one into build quality or in the field performance (AF, noise, water resistance).

The bottom line is: some reveiwers make good points and I trust their writings, if they make clear that their comparissons are subjective and won't be shared by others with different key interests. All those guys who hand out first and second places as whether these are the Olympics, I deeply mitrust - they don't state openly their personal interests.

Ben

[wolfd]

No offense taken Ben.

I agree all these types of tests are subjective and one should never be making a buying decision based on just one review. During the past year I have seen dozens of reviews for both the Nikon D7000 and Pentax K5 (which use the same Sony sensor). These two cameras have consistently come out very evenly matched and at the top of their class. So the reviews I am referencing should be taken more as a confirmation of other people's findings rather than the final word. In the end, everyone needs to make up their own mind whether any specific make / model of camera is right for them.