I'll be watching Samsungs NX1 closely... and hope Pentax does too...
I hope this new sensor in Ks1 is able to deliver the goods in future models with 4k....

looks like a competent well spec'd camera that may very well beat the k-3 on low noise and low light shooting...
the important thing here is.... what would a future higher spec model with this sensor perform like?
I like this camera, and think of it as a replacement for the KR more than anything else....
but if it delivers on image quality and bests the k5II, I have no doubt the sensor will wind up in whatever model replaces the k5II
I suspect a WR version of this camera is 5 months away and then a k5II upgrade shortly after that.

I think we'll see this sensor, and the light up dials in a future sucessor to the k5II... knowing pentax... same body..new knobs and dials with LED's and new sensor and BAM... KS-5

no aa battery holder slot by the looks of things..

I saw the video, it seems the handgrip leds show how many faces the face recognition caught and also self timer countdown.
wi-fi via flu card..
and red/green led at shutter shows video or stills mode .
shares the AA filter effect via SR as the k3.

it seems like a really competant camera with light up dials.
you can turn off the christmas lights via menu settings.
looks like a very nice competant camera... reminds me of the KR when it was new actually... has some advanced features, in a budget body with new stuff....
if the past is any indicator of what's coming in the future...
I'd say expect a md range k5IIs replacement based on this cameras features with WR and handgrip and dual wheels to be announced in a few months.

well the speculations and guessing was fun.. now all told... this is a great little camera. I want one!

well pentax has pulled of cameras with removable viewfinders in the past... and they were tiny compared to other makers slrs... so if anybody could pull of a d-slr with removable viewfinder and mirror box it'd be pentax and ricoh... just tell the combined engineers to cross an LX with a GRX....

agree that is where the ir reciever is on the kr.. but I am just speculating... the mini projectors are becoming popular ... with nikon and sony... and if pentax wanted an entry level d-slr to comepete with other brands mirrorless... then why not? Ricoh did patent a micro projector lens a while back.... and if they're possibly using the same chassis for a grx mirrorless model and a pentax d-slr model... why not?
ricoh did patent a 4/3 sized lens recently.... perhaps a kit lens for the mirrorless verson of this camera, and perhaps a kmount module will come out for tHAT camera as well..???? who knows...

I think the black dot in the handgrip is a cloned out circle to hide the spot where the projector lens resides.... and I'm guessing the 'tacked on" look of the mirror box is becuase this camera share a common chassis and electronics as a new ricoh grx replacement mirrorless camera.
JR said it and I agree with him on that.