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Pentax Rumoured To Announce the K-3 Full Frame DSLR At Photokina

Pentaxophile
Posted 20/06/2012 - 14:12 Link
1stEverPentax wrote:
On the subject of price, if $2800 is fairly accurate, that equates to about £1875-£1900 body only, although the UK price often ends up closer to the dollar equivalent.
I would say that they need to bring it in at below £2000, particularly if it uses the same sensor that will have had a 6 months headstart on a Sony camera. Can't really understand why it seems to be taking so long to appear.

I am very interested to see what they come up with, but I wouldn't be surprised given recent past record, if they didn't attempt to compete with Ca/Nikon directly on price (the D600 will make that difficult now!) and concentrated on the niche of photographers who want a really high-end, compact-sized kit (including the FA ltds which are ready to go with this camera).

On the other hand, Ricoh did say they wanted to compete with the big two, so who knows!
[link=https://500px.com/will_brealey/[/link]
Algernon
Posted 20/06/2012 - 14:21 Link
It's quite easy to convert an MX into FF Digital.

The APS-C lenses can be converted to FF easily see Ricehigh
Half Man... Half Pentax ... Half Cucumber

Pentax K-1 + K-5 and some other stuff

Algi
helios
Posted 20/06/2012 - 14:45 Link
Interesting if true. While a more compact FF DSLR would have advantages there is no way to shrink the lenses if you want wide apertures and longer focal lengths.

The only really compact FF digital camera at present is the Leica M9 and its variants but of course it is a rangefinder with all the benefits and drawbacks that go with the system. The price is in another league altogether.
Archie
Pentaxophile
Posted 20/06/2012 - 14:50 Link
A FF would offer more compact *fast* wide angle lenses though, at least Algi. I adore the DA15mm (equivalent FL = 24mm), but would love a compact 24mm f2.8. The FAltd trio are also pretty compact, and fast - and would reveal their true character in depth of field and FOV on FF.
[link=https://500px.com/will_brealey/[/link]
michaelblue
Posted 20/06/2012 - 15:16 Link
Gwyn wrote:
If it is to be a full frame it will be interesting to see how many people who have been demanding one actually buy one. It should be a major hit on it's launch day if all those full frame protagonists are to be believed. Of course whether they are willing to pay the price for it is another matter...
No doubt they'll all start moaning about the lack of FF lenses for it immediately too, just too give them something else to complain about :

Spot on.....they'll probably all be looking for excuses NOT to buy one.
Regards,
Michael
Oso
Posted 20/06/2012 - 15:29 Link
Yes I love it, if it comes, Nope I would not get it because it's way above my budget.

Oso
mecrox
Posted 20/06/2012 - 15:55 Link
I was recently standing next to some press photographers who had the whole full-frame thang with them to cover an event. The size of their kit was just ridiculous for any other purpose and must have weighed a ton. I reckon each one was carrying at least £10,000 or £15,000' worth of equipment (2x bodies, 3-4x top-end lenses).

Is this really what so many folks are alleged to want? Light and compact (and, er, not £15,000) is the way to go, imho. Pentax have always been very savvy about this, but I don't know how easy it is to keep it compact on FF. Going larger and more expensive is a very odd thing to do when the rest of the world is going for smaller, lighter, nimbler and often cheaper too - mobiles, laptops, etc. It could be that the whole Full Frame ballyhoo is about ten years behind the times. Come and gone already. Unless you are a press or media person who really really needs this stuff, the world's moved on.
ChrisA
Posted 20/06/2012 - 16:17 Link
fatspider wrote:
If the rumour is true then I sincerely hope Pentax are not going to abandon top end models with APS-C sensors, unless of course the F/F has some gizmo which crops the sensor to APS-C and allows use of DA lenses.

Yes, but you still have all the bulk of the FF body.

It's not just a few extra mm for the sensor - it's all the electromagnets in there to shake it about, which will have to be stronger.

Anything heading towards £2k will be a loooooong way out of my league for a loooooooong time, so I hope they aren't going to abandon APS-C too.
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Pentax K-3, DA18-135, DA35 F2.4, DA17-70, DA55-300, FA28-200, A50 F1.7, A100 F4 Macro, A400 F5.6, Sigma 10-20 EXDC, 50-500 F4.5-6.3 APO DG OS Samsung flash SEF-54PZF(x2)
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ChrisA
Posted 20/06/2012 - 16:19 Link
mecrox wrote:
It could be that the whole Full Frame ballyhoo is about ten years behind the times. Come and gone already. Unless you are a press or media person who really really needs this stuff, the world's moved on.

I do very much agree with this.

Apart from the low noise 'advantage', which is so last-decade, the only clear advantage of the bigger sensor is the depth of field with wide angle lenses.

Which is definitely not worth doubling the price and the weight for, in my book (yes, I know it probably isn't actually doubling, but ykwim)

The other apparent advantage is the ability to use old lenses to the full again. However, all those old lenses with their not-very-perpendicular-to-the-sensor light paths will be quite disappointing towards the edges of the FF image circle, I suspect.
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Pentax K-3, DA18-135, DA35 F2.4, DA17-70, DA55-300, FA28-200, A50 F1.7, A100 F4 Macro, A400 F5.6, Sigma 10-20 EXDC, 50-500 F4.5-6.3 APO DG OS Samsung flash SEF-54PZF(x2)
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Edited by ChrisA: 20/06/2012 - 16:22
helios
Posted 20/06/2012 - 16:25 Link
mecrox wrote:
I was recently standing next to some press photographers who had the whole full-frame thang with them to cover an event. The size of their kit was just ridiculous for any other purpose and must have weighed a ton. I reckon each one was carrying at least £10,000 or £15,000' worth of equipment (2x bodies, 3-4x top-end lenses).

Is this really what so many folks are alleged to want? Light and compact (and, er, not £15,000) is the way to go, imho. Pentax have always been very savvy about this, but I don't know how easy it is to keep it compact on FF. Going larger and more expensive is a very odd thing to do when the rest of the world is going for smaller, lighter, nimbler and often cheaper too - mobiles, laptops, etc. It could be that the whole Full Frame ballyhoo is about ten years behind the times. Come and gone already. Unless you are a press or media person who really really needs this stuff, the world's moved on.

Exactly. The improvement in sensor technology means that there is increasingly less need for a big sensor. The new Olympus OM-D E-M5 seems to be getting good reviews claiming that its MFT sensor is now closely matching the current APS-C sensors with the advantage of a smaller body and lenses.

Pentax has always been good at building smaller but high quality cameras designed for keen photographers. A FF body might be an expensive diversion.
Archie
Algernon
Posted 20/06/2012 - 17:16 Link
helios wrote:
Exactly. The improvement in sensor technology means that there is increasingly less need for a big sensor. The new Olympus OM-D E-M5 seems to be getting good reviews claiming that its MFT sensor is now closely matching the current APS-C sensors with the advantage of a smaller body and lenses.

Which sites have these reviews?

I hope it's not one that also claims that pigs can now fly
Half Man... Half Pentax ... Half Cucumber

Pentax K-1 + K-5 and some other stuff

Algi
Hardgravity
Posted 20/06/2012 - 17:38 Link
Just a thought, K30=entry, k5=mid/semi pro, k3= top/full pro.

Think I'll stick with my recently bought K5 for a good few years...
Cheers, HG

K110+DA40, K200+DA35, K3 and a bag of lenses, bodies and other bits.

Mustn't forget the Zenits, or folders, or...

PPG entries.
helios
Posted 20/06/2012 - 17:54 Link
Algernon wrote:
helios wrote:
Exactly. The improvement in sensor technology means that there is increasingly less need for a big sensor. The new Olympus OM-D E-M5 seems to be getting good reviews claiming that its MFT sensor is now closely matching the current APS-C sensors with the advantage of a smaller body and lenses.

Which sites have these reviews?

I hope it's not one that also claims that pigs can now fly

This one

link

To save you reading the whole extensive review a brief quote from the conclusions.

"The E-M5 can't completely overcome the light capture disadvantage brought by its smaller sensor, compared to APS-C, but it reduces it to the point that it's irrelevant for almost all practical purposes. At which point we think its size advantage, in terms of both body and lenses, will outweigh that difference for most uses. If you're absolutely unwilling to compromise on image quality then spending twice the money and moving up to the bulk of full-frame is the only way of gaining a significant step up from the E-M5."
Archie
johnriley
Posted 20/06/2012 - 18:06 Link
Back on topic please, this is Pentax User, not Olympus User....
Best regards, John
vrapan
Posted 20/06/2012 - 18:08 Link
I don't see how anyone can say that Pentax might be abandoning the APS-C format if the K-3 is FF did they not just announce the K-30 a very competitive camera at a very competitive price.

Also FAltds aside I am not persuaded that Pentax will release brand new digital camera costing £2k and depend for lenses on its film aged stable. So maybe an FF is on the way together with some glass to go with it.

Also the D600 is fairly compact for FF standards but the lenses are just as massive and heavy as for the rest of the FF. So as far as FF is concerned even a K-5 sized/weighing camera is not going to make much of a dent if you still have to carry FF glass.

Of course on the other hand a K-3+FAltds is unmatched for size/weight compared to Canon/Nikon exactly like the K-5+DAltds is.

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