It’s gone a bit quiet recently

The last new Pentax camera was the KP launched a year ago, a silver K1 and a couple of Ricoh upgrades have been launched this year, and just two of the long-promised FF lenses are another couple of months away. And that’s it. Still no sign of Ricoh/Pentax showing at The Photography Show despite that being an ideal venue to launch the lenses. With such a dearth of new products and the only recent promotions being discounted camera prices should we be worried? I confess to a creeping sense of unease.

Reports of Pentax's demise have been circulating for decades. I wouldn't worry about The Photography Show to be honest, a lot of it is down to Penis Envy to be honest and part-ex offers were pretty insulting to be honest.

If Chris at SRS starts making uneasy noises or makes 'strange' business decisions then maybe the feint alarm sounds might ring...... but I do know when I started looking 30 years ago signs weren't good. To survive that long is

I dont have the money to spend, but a budget full frame and a super high spec full frame.
Pentax Ricoh seem to be a dslr and high end fixed frame camera maker.
They really need to branch out , there is a market for bridge cameras , compact xoom and evf type cameras , if they want to grow , they need to expand on there offerings.

Regards

Theoneadeem, I am sorry but I cannot agree, the market is packed with these, no point trying to break in from scratch unless with something very different and anyway that would be the Ricoh brand territory. Pentax territory is enthusiast cameras and were first into relatively affordable medium format. Other brands are bringing out more high end models; small budget cameras are losing out to camera phones so other brands are following in that direction and Pentax is in danger of losing its foothold there. Pentax has a reputation for being different to the rest and still has much to offer, but the momentum doesn’t seem to be there which is very frustrating. The K1 is favourably compared to the Canon 5D iv and Nikon 850 especially on price but is marked down for the limited lens choice at FF. A few new lenses were introduced in the run-up to the K1 which was two years ago now, but nothing since. APS-C is well served but hopes of K3ii or K5 updates have not materialised, and now the FF and MF ranges have stalled. Are being naive in hoping a rabbit will be pulled out of the hat?

There is absolutely no need to churn out new products every year in order to stay profitable and successful. I think it's more a bad habit we ,as consumers, have developed; constant expectation for stuff we most of the time don't buy anyhow. I'd much rather their time, effort and resources where devoted to some r&d instead of a filler flagship/entry level or mediocre glass just to stop the doom and gloom rumors. It's neither cost effective nor clever. The market leader is having financial issues and having to restructure the whole organization despite solid sales and near constant stream of new products. Most people, even professionals, can not afford to change bodies at the rate they are being released by some manufacturers anyhow. Neither do most people have the need to. In some cases, they can also barely be called upgrades.

I am personally very excited for the new 11-18mm

The lack of flagship cameras is a bit of a worry, in favour of K-S1 and KP type developments. The K-3ii was a relatively rehash type offering, so it’s been a long time without a real K-3 replacement.

Don't know about flagship models because personally I will not buy another from Pentax until they totally revamp the autofocus.

What I would buy though is a mirrorless in the form of Canon's M5. Having just bought one the only thing that lets the Canon down is lens lineup which is solved with an adapter but then you are using mainly big bulky full frame lenses whereas a Pentax mirrorless with adapter (+ K5-IIs sensor) and the LTD lenses would be very hard to ignore.

His Nibs wants to buy me a new camera (so he can inherit the 5ii) and I keep putting it off for several reasons, not least the lack of any new model. Not even the hint of a rumour of a new model.
I can't really afford to change brands completely but it is getting increasingly tempting.

The grass isn't always necessarily greener on the other side,

There's always some sort of short-coming which ever brand opted for, 2 good friends recently, one has converted from Canon cos of the better ( quality ) feel of Pentax K3 in this case, the better low light performance and the easier menu options than what he was using, the other commented my images held better detail than his Nikon and the shutter ( K1 ) was soooooo much quieter than his when we were shooting some wildlife.

There are many loyal Pentax users who stay with the brand for its various qualities, but when reviewers hark on about focus issues and limited FF lens range it puts off those who would otherwise be tempted. Until these are addressed the market share will not increase as the more subtle advantages which only come when you use a Pentax for a while rarely get highlighted. But that’s not my issue here, we had the new lens roadmap almost a year ago when a mock-up 50mm lens was shown, but despite new lenses in MF and FF shown “2017 or later” these are still not available. Over a year from mock-up to production for the relatively simple 50mm prime? Pentax has the curious marketing approach of both long-term teasers and sudden unpredicted releases, but the teasers need to meet the timeframe given and we need, say, at least one new body in one of the three formats per year to keep pace.

Hi all,

Having been in photographic retail in the late seventies I for one was happy to see a return to a more sane model renewal policy.
Back then there was a huge range of makes BUT major model changes were only every 5 or six years. good cameras were for the rich though!

The digital revolution saw big casualties with Konica Minolta for example saying (as they gave up) 'a six month cycle for models was an unsustainable business model'.

I note even Canikon have dropped models of late, delayed models and continued selling old models at high prices. Try a Canon 5D Mk III for example. Still expensive despite its even dearer successor

I bought my K3II last April. I find it a thoroughly enjoyable upgrade, especially for AFC with the excellent PLM zoom. I recommend it to all, for £649 in recent sales at a third of the price of the fancy D500 Nikon a bargain!
I look forward to the new model when it comes and will no doubt enjoy buying it when more affordable a year or so on. if its £1800 a body through I might be nursing my current camera a lot longer.

There are plenty lenses ........ Stop! moaning

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/169-pentax-full-frame/313830-current-pentax-...

Does anyone actually take any pictures? ..... I've been trying to find info on Pixel Shift which puts Pentax streets ahead of just everything else including MF. Can't even find a simple How-To sheet.

Best I've found .....
http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1656234&page=6&p=9510496#post951...

The K28 f/3.5 and M85 f/2 look awesome Have to dig them out.


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As a long time (pre-digital) Pentax user, what puts me off buying a new Pentax DSLR (apart from the fact I am quite happy with my MFT system and old K10D/D80), is the stories I've read here and on other boards about known shutter problems that linger from model to model and Ricoh/Pentax's lousy after-sales service.

Plus they don't do what I would call a decent CSC camera, but that's by the by - I can't make them produce the camera I would like, so I'll spend my pennies somewhere else.

Complete agreement with you on that.


Flagship camera? K-1, no? In many respects a market leader.


AF isn't an issue for everyone. Some like to manage with their old K and M series glass in preference to the clinical modern stuff.


When the M series came out there seemed to be frequent new models occurring. I never felt the need to keep getting the latest then, did I really need 1/2000 instead of 1/1000 sec exposure? No! So now I feel to keep buying the latest digital offerings doesn't gain much any more, K-1 excepted as it has the larger sensor almost medium format beating. Things were a little different 10 years ago as sensors were frequently being improved in resolution and dynamic range so upgrading made sense The current 'crop' all do a reasonable for their intended purpose so what point is there bringing out another revamped version of the same thing?
I gather the GR range will in future come under the Pentax branding with a camera that has a curved sensor. Now that will be something different.

As Algernon hints at, there's more on some of the cameras than actually gets used by most people now so why buy a new one that's got even more features that never get used?!

It is not just about new cameras, but lenses and accessories for which we have to try and track down survivors from the last century as they are no longer made or not available outside Japan. I am hoping the omission from the exhibitor list at TPS in March is an admin error but it is bizarre that the date coincides with the new lenses launch so why miss that opportunity?