When a Pentax Full Frame

I'm very keen on my Pentax stuff but what a I'm really missing is a full frame sensor (and sincerily even a little better built-in exposure meter but in particular case I can use a separate one).
Anyone knows if there is any possibility to have a Pentax full frame in a short time ? Going to 645 Digital is a solution but the price is a little bit to high for my billfold (7000 Euros +Vat + lenses is the cost of City car).
Wait to hear news from anyone

Ciao

Alberto

For what reasons are you missing FF?


Just curious as I can think of no reason to go FF now APS-C has come of age with the K-5.

Aha, it's been a few months since this last came up.

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I do not have the K-5 but a K-7 and a K-20. I took some pictures with a friend's K-5 and unfortunatelly I did not find so many differences in quality between the two. I shot mainly Portraits and Fashion , not so many landscapes and others.

The reason why I suppose I missing it is the quality at higher enlargments. If you make it via software you could see artefacts easily while enlarging more than A2 over 600-800 ISO. If you are supported by hardware (double space with less pixel) I'm sure it will be better.
The other reason is that I saw some pictures taken with a Nikon FF and APS-C using a 85/1,4 made for 35mm. And the difference is visible. I'm not a technician or a Software wizard. I judge what I see. I have many 35mm Pentax lenses (all the AF Star series) and they are really excellent. If they do the same effect the Nikon's did I will be very happy (sorry for my bad English... I hope I have explained a little bit better my idea).

Ciao

alberto

Interesting. Thanks for explaining

I strongly suspect Pentax won't bother with full frame, having invested so much in the 645D. The marketplace is already saturated and taking sales from CaNikony would be extremely difficult no matter how good the product was. Sony have enough trouble doing this, let alone a long-established name which used to be the top marque.

I just think it'd be a waste of R&D money which could be better spent on innovative models like the Auto 110D idea which has cropped up a few times (EVIL using the same lens mount as the old Auto 110). The trick is to make something nobody else has thought of, and a genuinely compact EVIL (as opposed to those other brands where the camera is bigger than a K-m by the time you put a similar lens on would definitely be a step in the right direction.

I'm quite surprised when you say there isn't much difference between the K-7 and K-5. Did you try ISO 6400?

I personally do not want a FF Pentax. The K-5 is perfectly sized AFAIC.

If resolution is critical then Pentax has the 645D.

I'm not so sure about that... I'm certain the latent market of people with 35mm Pentax lenses is bigger than that of Auto 110 lenses. I even think that the R&D costs would be less. The problem is that many of those people have given up waiting and got a Nikon D700 by now.

The FA31/43/70mm trio, the FA35 f2 and the DFA 100mm are just waiting for a body that can really do them real justice, IMO. But Pentax don't think like that, so we probably won't get it, and the more time that passes, the less likely it becomes.

I'm intrigued, where, when shooting portrait or fashion would ISO 6400 be of need?

I've had the use of high ISO and low noise for quite some time and in reality, it comes into use for a fraction of the shots I take.

Aside from the benefits of a big bright viewfinder and being able to have a 31mm Ltd and a 28 Shift lens work as designed I suppose there isn't a reason to want one.

There were threads here, that prior to the K5 being launched had people saying they didn't need high ISO or higher machine gun mode shooting speeds. Short memories.

I was all for a FF Pentax DSLR and eventually bought a D700. Never looked back. The issue of the lager sensor. Well that's been here as well.

Not that I bother too much with DXO, have a look at the sensor overall rankings. It makes some good comparisons. For portrait and higher resolution, Alberto is better off with a D3x than a 645D, according to DXO that is. He would also have the option of some high end glass that would fit perfectly with his needs and not need eBay seconds or third party offerings.

As he says, he has some FF glass and would like a Pentax FF. Life's too short to pin your hopes and wants on a maybe. If you need a system to do a job and one is available that fits your needs-buy it.

Best regards

No I did not try the camera at such ISO , simply because I do not need it and doing the shots I normally do it appears to me unesefull. I'm quite old and I'm taking pictures since the late 80's and I've never used a 3200 iso Kodak or pushed a TRI-X to 6400. If I need more light I use a Flash.

Ciao

There are too many lenses for digital that may hint that Pentax won't bother with full frame, ever. I hope I am wrong though since this is something that I'd like to see one day.

Sometimes you get better atmosphere without flash.


But really the difference between the K-5 and previous models isn't just the ISO performance it's also the dynamic range. This is amazing in PP as there's much more leeway for bring up lowlights without noise.

The K-5 pics are 14bit compared to previous 12bit. That's 2 extra stops of dynamic range and make a huge difference even at ISO100.

My shooting buddy shoots Full Frame Canon. He has an autonomic psychological bonding with Full Frame. But he does admit that my K-5s beat the ass of his FF Canon.

I'm no spring chicken and have been snapping since the mid 1980s. And yes I never used 3200 film then, but I don't don't use those times as a rule for what I should use now. I'm looking forward to ISOs getting good into the millions.

I'm with Smeggy here. The K5 is a more than incremental increase over the K7 (I have both). The sensors are different and the K5's sensor rates amongst the best there is of any FF or APS-C camera.

I'm sure the new sensor with extra MP and the extended DR would help when you blow up your shots - what size are you talking about ? Of course to achieve the full range of the extended DR then you need to be shooting at low ISOs - you now have ISO 80 for example on the K5 - so the high ISO ability of the K5 is of no use to you.

DxO results – All Sensors.
Best Sensor Overall : 5th Pentax K5 (ahead of D3, D700, 1Ds Mk III, Canon 5DII).
Best Landscape Dynamic Range : 1st Pentax K5 (14.1 EVs).
Best Sports (low light) Dynamic Range : 14th Pentax K5 (ISO 1162)
Best Portrait (colour depth) : 11th Pentax K5 (23.7 bits).

Pretty much any of those top FF cameras are going to better the K5 for Sports and Portraiture, and of course other factors come into play when assessing a camera as a whole. If you don't want to spend a lot of money then selling the K7 and buying a K5 would certainly improve your work - though whether by enough to satisfy your requirements only you can say.

I'm pretty sure Pentax will eventually bring out a FF body but at the same time stop making a crop.

All you need is a megapixel monster capable of using crop lenses (I believe the D700 can do this already) and you have the best of both worlds.

Won't happen until they can make one that will have a sensible (ish) release price though.