Daronl wrote:
Sorry guys, but my first post ( containing no commentary) reflected how speechless I was at considering these pricing rumours for the long awaited FF, I would be astounded if a £3000 FF was the final outcome after all this procrastinating .

Ricoh / Pentax would be living in cuckoo land if this first FF comes in at anything significantly over £ 2000; for numerous reasons ; if it is close to £3000 it will be a major error.

Already there is a rash of top class FFs out there at £2000 (ish) and numerous below £2000.

I would be extremely dissappointed as a lifelong loyal Pentax User if after this "long and winding road" to a first FF we end ip with such a scenario.

I have prepared for this for a long time and have already purchased three FF lenses with another on order, but a £3000 FF body could be the "last chance saloon" for Pentax with many users including myself.

It is not about price but value; Such a camera would be the price of 4 Pentax K3 IIs and be up there pricewise, with the latest well developed and technically evolved pro-grade Canons.

I don't see that flying commercially , consider what we have seen in the recent report published (and posted on PU) a few weeks ago which concluded by precise technical comparison, that the IQ from a K3II (APS) surpassed that of the Nikon D810 FF (FF camera of the year.)

I sincerely hope these rumours do not become fact or the current "Grey Sky " over the brand will become much darker and likely brand loyalty would be stretched beyond breaking point for many of us.

I have never baulked at Pentax value / pricing but the gap between the mavellous K3 variants and a £3000 FF would be too wide for me to take seriously on any level or criteria.

What would be gained for that extra 400% in price; in reality, not a 400% improvement in IQ or low light capability or crop-ability,

I doubt we would see any improvements correlating with such an exponential pricing hike.

So I sincerely hope Pentax does not shoot itself "fatally" in the foot and these statements are indeed just speculative / escalating rumours.

McGregNi wrote:
If they could make it in Basingstoke, then the world's their oyster ....

SteveLedger wrote:
Pentax is doomed.....

50mpCMOS wrote:
It could be worse though...

How many Olympus cameras are there in the wild? Also take a look at the prices for Olympus digital bodies, the very limited lens selection, and then also the extraordinary prices of Olympus lenses. The size of those 4/3 sensors almost makes the current Olympus line much like a 110 film interchangeable lens camera.

The same with the limited scope of the Fuji rangefinders. Quite an incredible camera, outside the fact that the sensor was even outdated before the camera was released.

On the flip side... Pentax/Ricoh would not last long if it was a camera only company.

pezking wrote:
Success is relative. Just because Pentax's market share is small, doesn't mean they aren't succeeding to a sufficient extent to a) keep in business and b) make a profit for their owners.

It means their r&d budget is probably smaller, as is their marketing budget, and as a result it's harder for them to take market share from the big players.

SteveLedger wrote:
What..!?!?