24mp APS-C?

I went into my local camera shop a few weeks ago now (not Jessops, a well known regional retailer) and enquired about Pentax cameras which they advertise. They don't actually stock them but can get them from their HO. Anyway, I asked about the K30 and K5 and they told me to hang on to my cash for 3 months as something new was on the cards (inside information?). I said, "Oh a full frame!", "No" was the reply, "a 24mp APS-C". Now I haven't heard of this anywhere else but if Pentax are going to do it they won't let on before it's release.
Has anyone else heard any whispers?

Steve

There are always whispers and speculation and it wouldn't be difficult to envisage a 24MP Pentax K-*, however, they are only whispers and speculation.

I think a 24MP APS-C Pentax cam is inevitable

Frankly I'd be more interested in it's ISO performance than the number of MPs

presumably the excellent 16mp sony sensor wont be around forever. I would think a version of the 24mp sensor found in the nikon 3200/5200 /sony alpha range made by sony will end up in a Pentax body at some point.

If K5 is anything to go by the Pentax pixie dust will make the most of the sensor. ISO performance could suffer but then again.

Predictable that a camera salesperson equated more pixels with being better. Often the case

Next time I get this response I shall point to the Nikon D4 and ask why a camera with "only" 16mp is £4k.

This link seems to hint at that very thing. When I done a general search for the term "24Mp APS-C sensor", there was also mention of the possibility that Sony also have this in mind.

Could be worth waiting for - or perhaps not.

Probably best to wait until it comes out, and gets good critical reviews, I think.

Indeed. It's a lot more than just the number of MPs.

However camera sales, especially in the hobby sector, are significantly driven by 'numbers' and 'king's new clothes' scenarios.

And in a market place where 'go faster stripes' make a difference in sales, but no difference in the standard of images produced, you can't blame companies like Pentax for delivering product to cater for this irrational want. Especially when their competitors are going down that route.

I still say that the main progress should concentrate on sensor sensitivity, i.e dynamic range. I couldn't care less about having 100MP files.

I want to be able to take pictures in low light, i.e night time street scenes at decent shutter speeds ( 1/400th and above ) with an IQ that equals today's ISO400 at least. This would mean a 6 stop increase in dynamic range compared to the K-5's current performance.

I think that different cameras have different uses. Nikon have both a D4 with 16MP and a D800 with 36MP. And they upcoming D4X is rumoured to have around 50MP....

As pointed out, there are many characteristics in a camera, the combination of which determines its attractiveness. So what is the future direction Pentax will take for its cameras? They will be the perfect cameras for...... :

It will become increasingly difficult for manufacturers to maintain growth. When digital cameras were first introduced they were poor compared to film, in many ways. Then they became better and have now reached a point where they are good enough to keep for much longer. Some people bought a film camera that lasted them for years, decades, even for life. One camera.

Things have expanded and we our selves have moved from having one SP1000 with 55mm lens to having three DSLR bodies, many lenses and then compacts as well. What can we possibly expand to next?

Our next upgrade will be because something has failed and needs replacing, and at this time I think you already know what that would be.

I agree, better high ISO performance would be a big advance.

The 24 MP sensor on the D3200 (and probably the D5200) is not made by Sony

Toshiba I believe

link

DXO labs seem to think otherwise. Confusion reigns

Do you think you could post a specific link to what you want us to read please jaspers45? The link provided goes to the home page and we'd have to search the whole site without any idea of what we are looking for.

second paragraph JR- I'm afraid my pc skills are not quite up to the standards of others.

I'm not saying it is a sony sensor although I thought it was- it appears that in various sites it is identified as Sony, Nikon and even Toshiba!

What it actually doesn't say is that it's a Sony sensor. It says that the sensor shares some features with the Sony expert range of sensors. It makes no specific reference to who makes it.