Ricoh Pentax focus on DSLRs, and Medium Format, with no plans to release a mirrorless camera.
Posted: 20/05/2019 - 10:59
Imaging-Resource has interviewed Ricoh Pentax, and there are a number of interested snippets of information, including the prediction that many people who switch to mirrorless cameras, will switch back to DSLR:
"Currently, mirrorless is a newcomer, so of course many users are very interested in the new systems, they want to use [them]. But after one or two years, some users who changed their system from DSLR to mirrorless come back to the DSLR again."
Pentax say that the optical viewfinder is the reason people will come back. They also predict that the current decline in the DSLR market, is just that, a decline that will stop in two or three years:
"So the DSLR market is currently decreasing a little bit, but one year or two years or three years later, it will [begin] getting higher."
Pentax say they are still focused on medium format, so it's likely you'll see an update to the Pentax 645Z - Pentax' 50mp medium-format DSLR. You can read the full interview on Imaging-Resource, which covers all Ricoh Pentax products, including the Pentax K-1 II, plus compact cameras, including the (relatively) new Ricoh GR III, Ricoh WG-6, and Ricoh Theta Z1.
Ricoh Pentax are one of the only imaging companies to have made a profit in their imaging division, up 4% for Q1 2019 (January to March), according to ByThom. Many companies are seeing a loss, with the market showing overall camera shipments down 25% in dollars.
What do you think? Have you switched to mirrorless? Are you planning on staying with mirrorless or do you miss using a DSLR? Let us know.
“We must avoid however, snapping away, shooting quickly and without thought, overloading ourselves with unnecessary images that clutter our memory and diminish the clarity of the whole.” - Henri Cartier-Bresson -
I, like everyone on this forum, am part of that dying breed, so have a distorted perspective on ‘the market’.
My own cameras (iPhone 8+), Sony RX100v, K3 and K1ii, are those of a hobbiest with an eye and interest in pictures above and beyond snaps. I tried a Sony A7Riii before buying the K1ii.
Do I think Mirrorless will take over from DSLR ? Absolutely not... use an RX100 compact, A7Riii mirrorless, then a K1... experience is vastly different. I take the small camera when I know I’m wanting quality images but space is a premium. Would I choose the Rx100 over the K1 ever if space wasn’t a premium ? Never.
In my opinion, just as the guys at Pentax have pointed out, Mirrorless falls between two stool of snappers and people who enjoy taking photos (through a lensed camera).
Pentax will hopefully keep to this line and continue to make profits from their imaging division... that is after all what will really keep the brand alive in years to come.
However, for those who reach the limits of these basic cameras, there are two different routes that seem to make sense, the 'bridge' camera which adds a good zoom lens, or the specialist camera with a choice of high quality prime and zoom lenses. I think there's room for both, but I can see that DSLRs are likely to become more specialised with less of the cheaper lenses. It's hard to see how a low end DSLR and lens can compete with the higher end bridge cameras, when they also include a viewfinder (even though it's not true optical).
I'm using my K5II most of the time, even expanding my lenses to include more wide angle, but it's the 300mm (with 1.4 converter when light's good) that captures birds in flight. I use the Q for ease of carrying, and to experiment with (e.g. fisheye and with a long K lens as an alternative to digiscoping), and it does give some really good results, but it's trickier than the K5, especially with the lack of a through lens optical viewfinder.
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