Pentax vision

If you have a spare half hour you may enjoy this: link

Update on the new camera on 22 July at 7.00 pm (Japan time)

Quite clear from this link....do not expect a mirrorless camera from Pentax. That suits me just fine. For those who think that mirrorless is the only way forward will be disappointed.

But we all have choices. I stick with Pentax because I like SLR. I stick with Pentax because of the backward compatibility of old lenses. If you want mirrorless you need to find another brand.

I look forward to the success of the K-New with Pentax users, and look forward to what I hope will be the next new camera, and upgraded MF. I will buy that.

Times were tough in the camera world before this nasty virus came along, and things have got worse since. I am glad to see Pentax sticking to what they know well and not trying to compete with Sony and Canon et al.

Yes, I think it's a very wise and 'mature' decision.

I agree, there is no point trying to compete with the likes of Sony as Canikon have to do to keep their market share but an interesting approach to find a niche market being left by the others. Leica and Fujifilm take a similar approach with their rangefinder bodies so there is good diversity at the moment. I wonder whether Ricoh have researched using the K-mount for mirrorless and decided that technically it couldn’t compete with the new larger mount systems. I do wish though they would revisit MF as Pentax has a relatively large lens range which newcomers are struggling to match, but not for much longer.

If this is Ricoh's take on how they are to survive in the camera market then I'm happy with it.

It reminds me of a cartoon by Matt Pritchett some years ago. A passer by stops to ask a long queue of people waiting at the side of the road why there are there and it is explained that they are waiting for the next bandwagon.

Just because someone and seemingly everyone on the Interwebs shouts that mirrorless is the way to go otherwise you will be doomed, does not lead to it actually being true. There is nothing wrong with the mirrorless and EVF technologies but If building cameras that people enjoy using, no matter what features are on the camera, means being labelled 'niche' then so be it.

Rob, by 'MF', if you mean medium format then, yes, it will be lovely to see commitment in that sphere also. What is not clear is whether Ricoh have the resources needed to focus on 35mm and MF simultaneously. If you mean manual focus, then hopefully with Pentax being recognised as a stable, and hopefully growing, brand, will encourage Zeiss, Cosina etc back into releasing their products with the K mount as an option.

Says much the same as they've said before, but in a different way: do what you know you can do well for the people who appreciate that sort of thing. Sensible and reasonable as far as I'm concerned. Mind you, I'm not sure about "make us feel as if we're connecting directly with the subject" - there are some things seen through a macro lens to which it's probably best not to feel a direct connection !!

Steve

Actually, it put me in mind of the 100 Years of Olympus stuff from last year.

And we know what's happened to Olympus...

Olympus camera division is being sold. Pentax got there first - which, of course, is why it's now a Ricoh brand.

Just had a thought - perhaps the Pentax vision is aimed at Olympus users who might be looking for a new home that values traditional quality, the photography experience and isn't the Big Two...

Steve

Olympus users are used to a teeny weeny sensor so unless Ricoh bring back the Q I can't see them moving over myself

Twice, in fact.

Third time lucky?

I love Pentax's commitment to their origin's and principles. I for one do not wish them to produce a mirrorless camera, there are plenty of other manufacturers out there for cameras like that. I have tried a few, Sony NEX 6, Olympus E520, Olympus OMD EM10II, Fuji X30 and Fuji XS-1 but I have come back to the Pentax DSLR because of the clarity of a OVF and the build quality and handling of a Pentax.

Hi and welcome to the forum; and well said.

All of the above are reasons why I remain 'wedded' to Pentax. LongtimeLurker's comment re. 'the latest bandwagon' particularly resonated, (it also made me smile.)

The 'best' lens; the 'best' camera; the largest megapixel. Meh. As others have said on this site, the camera is the tool, it's the person behind the lens it that makes the picture.

To me, Pentax works, does what it says and is completely fit for (my) purpose.

Agree 100%.