Without better lenses, the Pentax Q is a wasted effort

After reading DPR's preview of Sony's new RX100 (and a lot of thinking), I now understand the Pentax Q's place in the camera ecosystem...

The first page of the preview shows the RX100's competitors in a table -- the Pentax Q was not deemed worthy of inclusion -- along with the 35mm-equivalent focal lengths and aperture ranges for the lenses built into the cameras. This was what clarified things for me.

With sensors this small, you get no DoF control at the wide end, so you can pretty much ignore those scores. It's at 112mm (equiv.) where things get interesting...

The two fastest smallish-sensor cameras (Olympus XZ-1 and Fuji X10) give you (35mm-equiv.) apertures of F11.8 and F11 (respectively). That's enough for subject isolation -- around 1.7 ft. Plus, the lenses are built-into the cameras. In the case of the XZ-1, it's also pocketable.

If the Pentax Q doesn't have lenses at least as good as these, what's the point?

So, what do we get from Pentax? The 02 Standard Zoom, that only goes to 83mm and F25 (DoF equivalent). Compared to the competition, that's embarrassingly bad.

What's the point of an interchangeable lens camera, when you can get Point & Shoots with FAR better lenses?

As I mentioned in a previous thread, the way forward is fast primes. It's a proven formula. Micro Four Thirds cameras perform worse than the APS-C offerings from Sony and others -- but m43 has FAST primes. Panasonic 20mm/1.7, 25mm/1.4, Olympus 45mm/1.8, Voigtlander 25mm/0.95... the list goes on.

If Pentax wants to get enthusiasts all worked up and talking about the Q, they don't just need primes -- they need crazy fast primes. Take a lesson from Voigtlander. Put out an F0.95 prime. It would advertise itself.

I recently ran across this C Mount 8-48mm f/1.0 manual zoom. It's only $258.95 and it's made by Pentax!

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/341297-REG/Pentax_C60812_C60812_8mm_to_48mm.html

http://youtube.com/watch?v=yatlKSys33

The way forward is clear. The question is whether Pentax is willing to make the R&D investment necessary to take it.

Come on Pentax, give us some good lenses and we'll buy your camera! Lenses are a one-time investment. They won't just help sell the Q. They'll help sell your future models.