Pentax interview - with Director of Business Development Dep. Mr. Kitazawa

johnnyhuman said:

And that's the beauty of modern markets...there's a camera out there
to suit whatever your needs may be. Of course, what doesn't interest
you is quite interesting to others with different needs.

Click to expand...

The question is, who is out there that would "need" this camera system? I can only think of working pros.

Pentax has it wrong long-term if you ask me. APS-C is the right sized sensor, but the k-mount is the wrong mount for it. Entry-level pro gear will eventually gravitate toward 35mm full-frame. Entry level consumer and eventually advanced amateurs will be in micro 4/3 style systems. Pentax will be left with a big bulky k-mount mirror box for their entry-level consumer stuff and an even bigger, bulkier MF system for their entry-level semi-pro/pro. These are legacy film systems and will eventually be obsolete. The question is, why wait to replace them? The time is now.

-Matt

Hi Jan!

JanneM said:

No, I do have some. But even the relatively low-DOF shots are usually
not actually that wide open. From a DOF perspective I normally find
f/2 or faster to be annoyingly narrow,

Click to expand...

IMO it really depends on the FOV and the scene, too.

JanneM said:

I generally find that you don't need that narrow depth of field to
get a pleasing effect; usually you just want to blur the background a
bit, but not smear it out so you no longer see what it is.

Click to expand...

I see what you mean, although it's not fully my "style".

JanneM said:

True enough, and this is one reason I have been drifting into film
lately. The single most exciting announcement this year at Photokina
for me was actually the Fuji GF670...

Click to expand...

Ah, you mean the Bessa III
It looks nice indeed. AFAIK, the lens is fixed?

Cheers
Jens

--

'Well, 'Zooming with your feet' is usually a stupid thing as zoom rings are designed for hands.' (Me, 2006)
My Homepage: http://www.JensRoesner.de

Hi Matt!

KL Matt said:

with you? OK, maybe if you are a hobby body builder as well. But
that's a very small target group.

Click to expand...

Most hobby builders would object to being called small. Or a target. Do so at your own risk! #seeks cover#

KL Matt said:

The window of opportunity to
market this beast opened for about 2 years while they sat on the
fence about it and has now been firmly shut in my opinion.

Click to expand...

I'm afraid you might get proven right. And IMO, the "window of opportunity" for Pentax to claim some niche in the FF market is also closing, with soon-to-be-affordable FFeature monsters from Sony, Nikon, Canon. And the window of opportunity to market full-featured small cameras is getting smaller with (µ)4/3 - hopefully the K-M is quick enough to the market.

Cheers
Jens

--

'Well, 'Zooming with your feet' is usually a stupid thing as zoom rings are designed for hands.' (Me, 2006)
My Homepage: http://www.JensRoesner.de

24x36 hits 30Mp+ soon and APS-C will be close to 20Mp in 6 months (I expect 17-18Mp APS-C, and 30Mp 24x36 at PMA show). So large file sizes is not an issue for not going with digital medium format.

And the resolution of those new high Mp sensors means that old lenses won't do so the users needs to buy new lenses anyway, so those old 24x36 lenses won't be enough.
--
Take care
R
http://www.flickr.com/photos/raphaelmabo

Another article about the same interview in english.....(remove the space after the http://www

http://www . photographyblog.com/index.php/weblog/comments/pentax_and_samsung_partnership_not_perfect/

KL Matt said:

KL Matt said:

And that's the beauty of modern markets...there's a camera out there
to suit whatever your needs may be. Of course, what doesn't interest
you is quite interesting to others with different needs.

Click to expand...

The question is, who is out there that would "need" this camera
system? I can only think of working pros.

Click to expand...

I don't "need" any camera, especially not a DSLR. And even given that I for some reason "need" to take a picture, I (and you, and most anybody on this forum) could just pick up any p&s and get a camera good enough for our "need".

I got a DSLR not because I needed it, but because I wanted it. I wanted the extra control, the headroom for cropping, the nicer image quality, and the ability to use prime lenses (something else you absolutely don't "need" with zoom lenses available).

I also got a Yashica Mat, and I most certainly do not need it for any reasonable definition of "need". It's bigger than the DSLR, there's no zoom, the lens is prone to flare, it's slow to operate, there's no light meter of any kind, and it uses film I have to get developed and scan. From your point of view I'm probably insane.

From my point of view, I'm having fun. In the case of the Yashica, an indecent amount of fun, in fact. I don't take pictures, I did not get a DSLR and prime lenses, I most certainly am not care and feeding a medium-format TLR film camera because of any "need". I'm doing it because I find pleasure in doing so.

And likewise, I'm quite ready to spring a fair amount of money on a medium-format digital camera as long as it's made for the kind of use - available light street and landscapes - that I want it for. Do I need it? Of course not - don't be silly. Again, it's not about need for any of us. I want it because I have good reason to believe I will find a great deal of pleasure in learning to handle it and use it, in taking pictures with it, in postprocessing those pictures and show them to other people.

And before you start sputtering that it's too much money to spend on something you don't need, I will just point out that buying a Ducati sports bike will set you back more than this camera is ever likely to cost, and a golf club membership can easily cost more than that every single year.

--
Pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jannem/
Blog: http://janneinosaka.blogspot.com

The 645 from Pentax was pretty popular. I believe that most of those people would buy a 645D. I can't imagine many of those switching to a Canon or a Nikon FF DSLR. They bought the 645 for some reasons but size or speed is obviously not one of those reasons.

A Pentax FF DSLR sale would be much more unpredictable with the present competition in mind. The Pentaxians with real pro FF DSLR needs have already switched. Why should they return if Pentax releases a FF DSLR. One thing is certain. It will definitely be slower. That leaves us with mostly advanced amateurs and the question how many of them would actually buy a FF Pentax DSLR.

Furthermore the camera companies are probably making more profit selling lenses than cameras. If Pentax releases a FF DSLR they can't rely on a significant sale of new FF lenses because of the large amount of legacy lenses. That could easily lead to a relatively expensive FF camera almost only appealing to present Pentax users. IOW little to no increase in market share.

Finally if Pentax wants to appeal to a significant amount of pro shooters again then they should show responsibillity to those who continued to invest in the 645 system because Pentax promised to deliver a digital alternative. They even showed prototypes on both Photokina and PMA.

Now please notice that I don't say Pentax should not make a FF DSLR. I just think they should also launch the 645D even if I am not a 645 system user myself. I lost more respect for Pentax because of those 645D issues than anything else.

--
.......
Have a nice day (a picture is worth a thousand words)
Jim

Link to Pentax SLR Forum Best images:
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1036&message=23551175

Inspiration Challenge - in depth feedback guaranteed

'Don't overestimate technology - nothing is knowledgefree'

JensR said:

JensR said:

True enough, and this is one reason I have been drifting into film
lately. The single most exciting announcement this year at Photokina
for me was actually the Fuji GF670...

Click to expand...

Ah, you mean the Bessa III
It looks nice indeed. AFAIK, the lens is fixed?

Click to expand...

Yes, the Bessa (looks nicer as a Fuji though ), and yes, the lens is fixed. f/3.5, 80mm AFAIK. But it's fully modern, with aperture-priority metering and everything.

--
Pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jannem/
Blog: http://janneinosaka.blogspot.com

Roland Mabo said:

24x36 hits 30Mp+ soon and APS-C will be close to 20Mp in 6 months (I
expect 17-18Mp APS-C, and 30Mp 24x36 at PMA show). So large file
sizes is not an issue for not going with digital medium format.
And the resolution of those new high Mp sensors means that old lenses
won't do so the users needs to buy new lenses anyway, so those old
24x36 lenses won't be enough.

Click to expand...

Once again I don't see why you say that old lenses have lower MTF than the new ones ? I only see that some of the new DA lenses are really disappointing, especially when compared to old designs. Quality of glass (and then cost) will always be the main factor ...

-

JensR said:

Not if Pentax places it correctly. Now there are still empty niches
in FF-land, which Pentax could fill.

Click to expand...

Yes, a compact cheap FF body with big viewfinder, simple AF and 3fps, it would be the dream, the first new body I would buy since the first *istD.

--
-