K-3 ?

So am I.

I have no desire to shoot landscapes that I can blow up to billboard size and then view with an electron microscope.

Actually that's not telling the whole story.... when you bring cropping into the game then having a huge surplus of resolution is a bonus.

Is it any less skilful or talented finalising the composition back home on the computer compared to finalising the composition in the field ? IMO ... No, becuase a photographic eye is equally required for both.

So yeah with composition in mind then bring on the camera that has a 1000MP sensor and lenses that can resolve the detail to match

But in terms of the final image then 16MP is more than enough for me.

What I want is to shoot lowlight scenes with a reasonably fast shutter speeds and a decent dynamic range. IN practical terms this would mean an ISO performances at last 3 or 4 stops better than the K-5. Pie in the Sky? not really, the K-5 was 3 stops better than the K20D/K-7

I'm not confident the K-3 will bring such an improvement. Maybe the K-1

3-4 stops, so soon Smeggy, bit of a mountain to climb? Maybe a K2 then?

And a KO for all the Full Frame Hard Men?

I seriously would like some more glass alternatives from Pentax, some of the road map items look good but there's a bit more to do there still. If the roadmap even counts anymore, I have no idea, it's still on the website at Pentax UK, so I'm hopeful. I'd like Pentax to do this in increments but slightly bigger ones than they have been doing, they need a competetive AF System. Not to say that it's actually that bad in the new K5's, it's not but they need to play the numbers game here or be different. However that doesn't need to mean, different by being two generations behind, everyone else (Retro?). On chip AF does give some scope for innovation, that maybe contrast detect didn't? If they came up with something really good for the next model (K3) and suddenly they could be King of APSC? Then out comes the FF Lens Tri-mester (Summit to 24/28 24-80/90 and an 80-something All F2., along with the FF K1. Simples...

well I did say K-1 becuase of the odd number progression .... K-7, K-5, K-3, K-1

But who knows what goes the minds of the Marketing borgs

I think the NEXT BIG THING will be another on the lines of the Ricoh GR, small is beautiful, a camera with DSLR features the public can use etc etc., if the price is right. The latest K5's will have to suffice for a while as I can't see R/P breaking the stranglehold of N/C DSLR's on the market.

K5IIs
Down too £789 at SRS.
New K on the way would you say:::
Cheers
Dave

Sadly for Pentax they will never be anything other than small time bit player. I recently went on a photography course and we were asked say a bit about ourselves and what kit we had. When i said Pentax i could see the looks of amazement and disbelief from the others. Even the tutor was surprised i had not gone Nikon or Canon. 9 of us on the course, 5 Nikon users, 3 Canon users and 1 Pentax user. Not sure how that relates to actual market share.

Can't see Pentax replacing the K5 II until they have their hands on and fully evaluated the 24mp Sony chip that Nikon use in the D7100. No point doing another 16mp camera if they want to attract new users to the system.

All makes no difference to me though. It will be a long long time before i can afford to replace the K30. I really need to add some premium glass to get the most from the camera i have.

I'd be pretty sure that Pentax have had their hands on lots of chips that we don't even know about yet. I would expect plans for new DSLRs are in motion many months, sometimes years, before they finally get released. They wouldn't be telling anybody though, it would be a commercial secret for as long as possible.

Well I've decided to stop messing around and hanging on for the will they/won't they bring out a Full Frame, just bought a D800 with the 16-35F4 lens. My plan at the moment is to keep the K5 as a travel camera although I'll see how things pan out.

The K5 is a great camera and I've been happy with my other Pentax bodies over the last 8yrs, if a Pentax Full Frame had been around 6 months ago or so then I may have well stayed with them but that didn't happen.

Simon

C'est la vie, have fun and hope it works out as you expect.

Thanks John,

One thing I must add is how useful this forum has been, I've no doubt that without the help and feedback of the forum members on here over the years since starting out in 2007 my photography wouldn't have seen anywhere near the improvement I've managed, although still plenty to go yet!!

Simon

Well done, if you've got the dosh no point messing around life is too short. D800 is not for me, but seems the obvious choice for anyone seriously specializing in landscapes.

It will be good to get some more real user system comparison feedback when you get a chance?

Unfortunately, that would be outside Pentax User's ground rules Dodge69, other marques are not within the forum's remit.

I've been interested in that comparison too and your thoughts Simon. I've had a serious think about what direction I should be headed in and I want to concentrate much more on landscape. I think there's a very good chance that Pentax will announce the full frame later this year or by next year at the latest. I'm in no rush and I am very happy with my collection of fine Pentax primes and we very reluctant to give those up. The lenses though may well take a fair while to catch up so I can understand a migration. I've been following the photography of an ex-member who made exactly that same move at a place where that kind of discussion is welcomed.

I think most of us understand that John, however I am talking about direct comparison with Pentax products, or at least 'with reference to', jules has been doing this recently and has not been reprimanded?

I'm sure you'll make the correct judgement call either way if/when simon decides to write something.

Back on topic please guys, although I'm sure considering that we have no idea what the "K-3" might be and never have, it's been well covered quite a few times.

As always, when something finally does appear it's always fascinating to see how close or far from the mark the speculators proved to be. Then we move into the "it's the end of all things/it's far too expensive" mode!