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Pentax K-3 coming next week it seems
#1
http://photorumors.com/2013/09/23/new-pe...fications/

 

24mp

 

-IF- they are finally going to release new lenses, this may be a reason enough to restart the section.

#2
Hi,

    Things have been looking worrying at Ricoh/Pentax as, apart from an update to the K5 to the K5II  ( a modest AF and screen improvement),  there has been little in the way of advances in three years, two new models, a K30 upgrade (the K50) and the K500 entry model complete it's range.  So if this announcement turns out to be true, this is for Pentaxians "just what the doctor ordered". Simplistic AF has been one of the short-comings of Pentax and this twenty seven point system could well be addressing that with a real possibility of AF tracking being effective. New sensor sans AA filter and better video H264 and audio monitoring will be a great upgrade from the K5's space greedy jpg format and it looks like there's a lot more. 

   Pentax had to do something to show that it's still up there with the best of them and this could be it.

 

  Lenses, well, let's not hold our breath.

 

#3
There was a rumour about 18 - 70mm f2,8, but that's hardly believable, IMO.

 

A.

#4
Quote:Hi,

    Things have been looking worrying at Ricoh/Pentax as, apart from an update to the K5 to the K5II  ( a modest AF and screen improvement),  there has been little in the way of advances in three years, two new models, a K30 upgrade (the K50) and the K500 entry model complete it's range.  So if this announcement turns out to be true, this is for Pentaxians "just what the doctor ordered". Simplistic AF has been one of the short-comings of Pentax and this twenty seven point system could well be addressing that with a real possibility of AF tracking being effective. New sensor sans AA filter and better video H264 and audio monitoring will be a great upgrade from the K5's space greedy jpg format and it looks like there's a lot more. 

   Pentax had to do something to show that it's still up there with the best of them and this could be it.

 

  Lenses, well, let's not hold our breath.
 

A K-3 may entertain (some) existing customers but the real problem is that these numbers are diminishing. Without new lenses it'll be a very rocky road ahead - although I actually like the currently lineup.
#5
Quote:A K-3 may entertain (some) existing customers but the real problem is that these numbers are diminishing. Without new lenses it'll be a very rocky road ahead - although I actually like the currently lineup.
 

I think you hit a nail on the head for a lot of the industry: little innovation.  When DSLRs were new and immature, people needed new lenses since digital sensors have different requirements than film.  Due to the move to APS-C or FT, they needed new WA lenses.  Also there were large improvements between successive models (e.g. the move from 6MP to 10MP models, like Nikon D100 -> D200)

 

Today the added benefit from upgrading from a 16MP model to a 24MP model are quite limited (diffraction eats a lot of the benefit).  I personally think that most (not all) people upgrading from e.g. a Nikon D7000 to a D7100 have just to much money.   I doubt many of them will even occasionally print at 50 x 70 cm (about 20 x 28 inch).
enjoy
#6
Seeing it from today, you're right. I had a lot of trouble after upgrading to D7100. At the time I thought having a smaller high MP travel cam could be nice and I was always annoyed how easily the mode button of D7000 could be turned coincidentally.


That could happen to new K3 owners as well: software not available, new AF could cause trouble. Okay, Pentax is not Nikon but after my experiences with Swiss freelance Pentax service my liaison with Pentax came to a sudden end. There will be no revival.
#7
Hi,

    If this camera is a reality then there's no doubt in my mind Pentax will sell a decent amount of them, whether that will be enough to rescue Pentax in the long term is another matter. More sales means that Tamron/Sigma will produce a fuller range of lenses in the PK  mount, reducing peoples reticence  to buy into a limited system. I think it's at least a camera that DSLR users will like (it has all the bells and whistles), as it's more about pinching sales from Canikon than the current mirror-less trends in digital cameras. I agree they need to expand their lens range, a new large aperture standard zoom update and where's that long awaited teleconverter? Tethering and the like. 

  At least my Pentax friend says he's seeing some light at the end of the tunnel and that's after four years of seeing his colleagues being layed off.

  P.S. I hope they sort out the red saturation problem. 

#8
Quote:...I think it's at least a camera that DSLR users will like (it has all the bells and whistles), 
If it has not more bells or better whistles...

 

They have that in-body-shake reduction thing. It was easy for me, because I didn't know better, to make that system responsible for continous AF malfunction. In the old K-m (and K-x?) were no focus points at all shown in the finder. Pentax is not cheaper than Canikon, but customers will buy into an APS-C system only. They once had an excellent pro feature film camera, LX, but somehow they never developed enough power to penetrate the market with it. That would happen with a full frame Pentax DSLR, too.
#9
Pentax should have taken the mirrorless turn, way back at the time they released the K-01.

Traditional DSLRs is a dead end and I think it's too little too late for Pentax.

 

 

I believe they could design a great mirrorless body with fantastic ergonomics, packed with the tech found in the K5. Something similar to what Olympus did with the E-M1.

Of course, to do that they would need a new mount, but given Pentax's history focusing on small form factor, it can only make sense.

A Pentax mirrorless body with say a selection of pancake or smallish primes such as: 15mm f/4, 23mm (doesn't exist), 35mm f/2, 55mm would be a good start.
Plus, an adapter to use existing lenses.

I wonder how much work it would be to update their current designs for a mirrorless mount (shorter flange distance).

 

 

--Florent

Flickr gallery
#10
Quote:I wonder how much work it would be to update their current designs for a mirrorless mount (shorter flange distance).
 

You might be able to keep a few of the telephotos.  Otherwise you need to bin everything you have and start from scratch.  That was one of the issues with the K-01 - Pentax wasn't prepared to do this.

 

Look at Olympus, they binned the entire FT line and upset a lot of people.  Sony did the same with their A-mount vs E-mount.  Samsung pulled out of Pentax-K.  Fuji started their new X-mount.

 
enjoy
  


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