It'll be interesting to see the 2011 data as I would expect quite a lot of changes:
- market size
- Pentax market share
So the 1,000 units of a FF seems wrong to me. The plan of a FF would be to increase market share, not take some of the Kr/K5 (or replacement). And as pointed out the lifecycle of such camera would probably be longer.

My comments about the pentax line-up:

- Kx = brilliant, Kr = what's the point? they could have kept the Kx only as an entry DSLR, the Kr doesnt add much and is now disappearing after one year
- K5 seems to make sense
- Q: what the hell? although it might make sense to get into the mirrorless market, this hasnt delivered and seems to have disappointed most people

Missing:
- a good compact camera! there seems to be a market for portable compacts, LX5, G12, P7100, and on the higher end with the Fuji x100...
- FF: although it's not a necessity, it seems to be the next step to keep up with the competition. The question is would someone jump from a entry level canikon to a FF pentax? are people loyal to their brand? I wouldnt expect that many more people to get into DSLR (as they would already have by now..) although there might be some older people with a bunch of Pentax lenses who would be happy to buy their first DSLR (FF)!? I also agree this potential FF would have to come up with some very good specs, and at a lower price than competitors.

As pointed out before, going to the mass market doesn't necessarily making more profit, if Pentax has survived so far it means they manage their investment/money relatively well. That said they need to come up with smart moves as to keep their existing customers, as clearly most of us here are having concerns, which is not a good sign!

On the other hand I feel I should spend more time shooting and enjoying my current (and brilliant) camera than speculating on the next line up! Although I am starting to get worried of the future of my DA lenses...

One more thing: the WR, this is such a great concept which I find under-rated! how many people own a waterproof compact? not saying I would shoot underwater with a DSLR (that's another market!), but it'd be nice to go to a festival, street fair or the beach without having to worry too much about someone spilling water or the rain... the K200 was WR, I really hope the Kr replacement will too... It would be nice to have this across all the range, with lenses to go with it and maybe market pentax as the WR brand!

back in the summer days there was the annual competition of the pentax forum (the US one). they never announced the winner have they??
or am i missing something?

damn been looking for this for a year! grrr

interesting ebay topic which i will comment on.
I do sell on ebay, but for the first time about 2 weeks ago i sold outside of ebay (no one had bid on my item though so technically i didnt piss anyone off).
Regarding ebay, I think by paying the couple of quid to post the ad they already make some money here. If the item does sell through ebay it does make sense for ebay to take 10%, as they have a rating system + will secure any dodgy transaction by protection both seller and buyer.
I love ebay and I think it's fair.

FYI the french ebay has a "petites annonces", basically free classified, no fees at all. I put my laptop on it at a decent price and have received about 25 dodgy emails (people who can't spell nor speak the language nor have the same name as their email address!). Basically the same as Gumtree now...

Well what is impressive is that at f2.8 it's tack sharp and it feels so easy every picture comes out beautiful. Might have to add people were relatively static though.
Shame they don't make it anymore!

here you go..
link

here is the link

hello,
I sold mine a year ago or so but will need one once again. Mine had sold for 20 quid on ebay, i actually need mine by Friday so will be willing to pay a bit more (as there arent many for sale at the moment on ebay).
anyway let me know if you have one you want to get rid of.
thanks

hello,

I just got back from a wedding to which i brought only two lenses.

although i find it annoying to carry the camera around at wedding, i had a plan in mind - first of all use my 50-150mm - the ultimate portrait lens, and use the 10-17mm fishy + flash at the party (thanks to the person from the forum who posted a few pics of wedding shot with a fish eye awhile ago).

the 50-150mm 2.8 is such an amazing lens, it's so sharp even wide open and the bookeh is absolutely amazing, i spent the cocktail shooting people.

much later in the evening, I got the 10-17mm out, set it at f8 with a metz 44, manual focusing. I've never had that much fun taking pictures EVER, the results are absolutely amazing.

anyway i dont really want to post pics of my friends but i just thought i'd share this, basically it was worth the hassle of taking the kit.

great!

not sure how much it would cost. i will need to go to the post office i guess. i think i do have the box (hopefully). reckon it would be around £5 or so.
where do you live?