No, of course I'm not telling you that. What I am saying is that Pentax has been a subsidiary of a larger aorganisation whose core businesses were different. You can't think of Pentax in terms of just Pentax. What Pentax thought and what was possible were I imagine completely different.

Did Pentax think they should develop a full frame camera years ago? Almost certainly yes. Could Pentax have made that decision? Almost certainly no.

Hoya bought Pentax to cherry pick the bits they wanted for their core business and spit the pips of the camera business out. The bloke who ran Pentax and wanted to develop it as a camera business was replaced by someone acceptable to the parent company. He wouldn't waste Hoya's time on full frame and the like, merely keep it ticking over until it could be passed on. Hoya never intended to keep Pentax and therefore never put the a lomg term strategy in place. The business objective for the camera arm would have been damage limitation.

Ricoh are different. They bought it to run as a camera business, therefore to be competitive and recognised the need for full frame. Not just to be regarded as serious but also because it is a long term essential r&d line to satisfy the trend for smaller bodies and larger sensors.

Timeframe? Ricoh took over in October 2011. I expect it would have taken a good six months to get the Pentax subsidiary into shape. I expect a full frame to have been greenlighted for maybe a year at the most. If it comes out this year I think they are doing very well. It's not just a camera body there has to be a convincing lens portfolio too and if it is intended for Pros then a proper support network too. The clamour for a full frame to market shortly after the Ricoh takeover was just ridiculous.

Pentax won't be left behind. Smeggy is right the takeover put them back. But to move forward that had to be the case and it is the right thing to do. I don't think the pot was slightly dry I think Pentax were headed for oblivion. The K5II was just a stopgap. The MX-1 and other dribs and drabs I expect were already in the pipeline. I think we have yet to see anything from the new Pentax.

I won't judge the success of Ricoh's management for another year.

They have been acting for a while. People's expectations of how long it takes to conceptualise, design and produce a new product are way off the mark. Anyone who has been involved in a multinational business takeover would also appreciate the time taken to integrate a new business. Few seem to appreciate that.

Full frame is pretty niche in the grand scheme of things, especially if it is going to aimed at enthusiasts rather than pros with the support network and lens catalogue which that entails and which Pentax don't currently have. The mainstream sectors are more important. Pentax do need to come up with product, it's been pretty slow. But on the other hand you have to give Ricoh time to get the ball rolling. It's less than two years since the takeover and it takes a while to define strategy and restructure the management teams. Then from concept to market takes time. Plus the general feeling was that Hoya weren't that interested in Pentax so probably left the r&d department in not good shape. I don't think anyone should reasonably have expected Pentax to come up with full frame in that limited time. I would say another year yet wouldn't be unreasonable at all. I would rather wait for the right product than have a rushed product, so I think Ricoh are going about it the right way.

I had my concerns about the health of Ricoh as a whole (cameras are only a small part of the overall business) but a large restructuring has returned the company to profit.

They have stated some ambitious aims for the future and from what I've seen are taking a very sensible approach. I think the Ricoh GR is a great product. It will sell like hot cakes and I think it is a game changer in the marketplace. That kind of thinking bodes well for Pentax products.

For any fan of Pentax cameras I think now is exactly the wrong time to be jumping ship. Ricoh is way bigger than Nikon so they have the resources to deliver along with seemingly the will. I have some beautifully constructed lenses that will last me a lifetime. I'm not going to give them up so readily without even giving Ricoh a chance to deliver, seems a bit crazy to me.

A minty secondhand 15 costs less than a new 21.

You could change your mind and decide that 15mm would be more useful to you after all.

It's a lovely image. I don't think it needs the unusual tall, thin aspect. I think it would look best with a conventional 4 by 6. I agree about the tree being a little close to the edge. A bit more space and this would have been a great image imo.

Very little in terms of focal length, but I think the K55mm is a better portrait lens. I have both.

Well done from me too. I love the tonal range in the portrait.

You could pick up a K55mm f2 for very little money. Changing lenses won't be a problem.

Knowledge of budget would be useful to any recommendation.