Will Pentax make a KP II?

What camera will Pentax make next?

The options are:

1. K1 III- take the K3 III and put in a FF sensor, pretty obvious choice for Pentax

2. K70 successor- unlikely, not much money to be made there

3. KP II- more midrange than K3 III, no dual card slots etc. I think they might go for a more retro-inspired camera so that it doesn't compete with K 3 III too much. Personally I'd buy one. However, given their pace in development we can expect it somewhere around 2027

Who knows. The only rumor I've read is that there will be 2 cameras for APS-C & 2 cameras for FF. The K-3 & K-1 series being flagships & my guess is a consumer camera similar to the KP on the other end of both. Whether or not that will be true has yet to be seen. I guess we'll eventually see what Ricoh has in store for Pentax.

I believe there will be another lower spec'd APS-C camera. But what it will be named is anybody's guess. Ricoh/Pentax is pretty inconsistent in naming its equipment.

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MaciekPruski wrote:

What camera will Pentax make next?

The options are:

1. K1 III- take the K3 III and put in a FF sensor, pretty obvious choice for Pentax

I would consider a FF Pentax if it was the size and weight of the K3iii.  I'd be ok with a "midrange" model.  Don't need two card slots, GPS, Astrotracer,  no video.  Just want a reasonably priced basic but robust FF DSLR  that would be used with the three Amigos and maybe the new 21.   Think Nikon D750 / D780,  but in Pentax flavor.

If I wanted a high tech FF,  it would be Leica for short lenses,  and /or maybe Nikon Zs for both.  I'd have to see how I got along with the latest generation of EVFs, but I'm told they are much improved, and mirrorless clearly offers some advantages.

2. K70 successor- unlikely, not much money to be made there

If they are making any money at all on the K70 then let why not let it continue as their low end model.

3. KP II- more midrange than K3 III, no dual card slots etc. I think they might go for a more retro-inspired camera so that it doesn't compete with K 3 III too much. Personally I'd buy one. However, given their pace in development we can expect it somewhere around 2027

I'd be happy if they just brought back the original KP.  Why they discontinued it without a replacement is a mystery to me.

Marketing — you would definitely want a low-end APS-C model like my K-70, at a new price point of about $800 USD. Or $1,100 with a kit 18-135 WR. I would name it K-6. And you would want a high end APS-C model, let's call it the K-4, at a new retail price of $1,800. The feature set and sensor on the K-4 would always be one generation ahead of the K-6. The K-4 would be useful to many professionals, with built-in WiFi radio flash control and the best auto focus tracking Pentax could devise. To get started, the K-4 would be a quickly warmed-over version of the existing K-3 III. Add that articulating screen and onboard flash!

On the FF side, it might be that you would only need a single model, the K-1 top of the line, loaded with every possible feature. Premium, no cost-cutting. Retro styling, and priced at $2,499 without apologies or discounts.

To make things simpler for the consumer, successive variants of each model would be named -A, -B etc... like K-1C, K-6B, etc.

Make sense?

MaciekPruski wrote:

What camera will Pentax make next?

Depends if they see a FF or an ASP-C body as the next most requested body?

The options are:

1. K1 III- take the K3 III and put in a FF sensor, pretty obvious choice for Pentax

If FF is next, then K-1iii is the most likely upgrade with necessary enhancements from the K-3iii (other than the fps). However, they MAY go a little left field and pull out a FF sensor in a body size & weight of the K-3iii (say a K2) ? - but I think K-1iii is the more likely of those two scenarios.

2. K70 successor- unlikely, not much money to be made there

If APS-C is next, I think that this is the most likely scenario as K70 is still in production and all that it would require would be fresh innards by cannibalising what they can from the K-3iii upgrades and possibly something from the KP, all without having to do much redesign to the body - probably a K-70ii.

3. KP II- more midrange than K3 III, no dual card slots etc. I think they might go for a more retro-inspired camera so that it doesn't compete with K 3 III too much. Personally I'd buy one. However, given their pace in development we can expect it somewhere around 2027

Always a possibility, but I think the least likely. The KP was an experiment to see if Pentax's APS-C base would accept it as a replacement for the K-3ii. The answer was clearly: No. But if there is an appreciable market for "retro" then a more retro than the KP APS-C body "may" be in the wind.

But if you think of DSLRs as a niche and Pentax as a niche within the DSLR niche, and APSC as a niche within that niche, then KP-Retro is probably a niche within a niche, within a niche, within a niche... And that may be going a niche too far.

If they wanted a mid range APS-C somewhere in between the K70 (or K-70ii) and the K-3iii, then I suggest that a K-5iii would be the perfect candidate.

Jon Donahue wrote:

Marketing — you would definitely want a low-end APS-C model like my K-70, at a new price point of about $800 USD. Or $1,100 with a kit 18-135 WR. I would name it K-6. And you would want a high end APS-C model, let's call it the K-4, at a new retail price of $1,800. The feature set and sensor on the K-4 would always be one generation ahead of the K-6. The K-4 would be useful to many professionals, with built-in WiFi radio flash control and the best auto focus tracking Pentax could devise. To get started, the K-4 would be a quickly warmed-over version of the existing K-3 III. Add that articulating screen and onboard flash!

They are unlikely to use K4 as a name. "4" is the unluckiest number (and shunned) by the Chinese speaking population of the world. Some hotels in HK and Singapore don't even have a floor numbered 4.

On the FF side, it might be that you would only need a single model, the K-1 top of the line, loaded with every possible feature. Premium, no cost-cutting. Retro styling, and priced at $2,499 without apologies or discounts.

To make things simpler for the consumer, successive variants of each model would be named -A, -B etc... like K-1C, K-6B, etc.

Make sense?

I doubt there'll be a KPii.

I'm of the opinion that the KP was a design exercise, a good effort at making an (almost) grip-less camera and a test-bed for upcoming technologies. I seem to remember reading "somewhere" that the KP was discontinued, in part at least, due to component shortages.

I'd bet on the next APS-C being a K-70ii, maybe K-70p, effectively a K-70 body, with a flash, articulated screen and all, with a KP "innards" for the improved a/f and low-light performance.

I think K-80 could be real....As for KPII - I doubt. K-1III - yes, some day...based on K-3III software and hardware...

The K-1iii seems the obvious logical choice.  With all the FF MILC options these days, Pentax is likely losing users in this segment, despite having captured them only 5 years ago.

I see no reason for the next K-1 to be significantly lighter.  I mean, the K-3iii is more compactly built,  but scaled up to FF, it still isn't a A7IV.  I don't think Pentaxians care about that as much as everyone the MILC world does.

As far as as an "entry level" FF, I don't buy it.  It's still going to be 2 grand, easily.  I don't see the market for a stripped down version of the best Pentax can do.

I do hope there will be a KP successor. I do hope there will be:

1. A K1iii; full loaded flag ship FF with K3iii steroids
2. The K3iii; it's already there as the flagship APS-C
3. A KPii; a compact APS-C
4. A new 645 with 100 MP

I own the KP besides the K1ii and it is a lovely compact solid performer. I use it as a Point & Shoot with the M20, M28 and XS40 and for tele work with the K135 2.5 and K200 4. At their sweet spot apertures these serve the 24 Mp sensor well.

MaciekPruski wrote:

What camera will Pentax make next?

The options are:

1. K1 III- take the K3 III and put in a FF sensor, pretty obvious choice for Pentax

2. K70 successor- unlikely, not much money to be made there

3. KP II- more midrange than K3 III, no dual card slots etc. I think they might go for a more retro-inspired camera so that it doesn't compete with K 3 III too much. Personally I'd buy one. However, given their pace in development we can expect it somewhere around 2027

IMHO--

Re Thread title: if they do, they still won't call it that.

Opt 1 is still the most likely next thing.

I still rather believe asahi man's projection of 2 APSCs, 2FF

For the lower end APS-C, you have to remember the Japanese  market (the market they made all those wild colored KS~ models for). There is money to be made there.

No. That production line is occupied by K3III.

But they need to develop some K70 succesor. That camera is too old now and needs modern replacement. With current pricing strategy it will reach into KP price range anyway.

We can probably expect plastic sealed body, articulating screen, KP sensor, improved DNR processor, tuned KP autofocus, new UI, better video. And price in roughly $1200-1300 USD range.

henricoo wrote:

I do hope there will be a KP successor. I do hope there will be:

1. A K1iii; full loaded flag ship FF with K3iii steroids
2. The K3iii; it's already there as the flagship APS-C
3. A KPii; a compact APS-C
4. A new 645 with 100 MP

I own the KP besides the K1ii and it is a lovely compact solid performer. I use it as a Point & Shoot with the M20, M28 and XS40 and for tele work with the K135 2.5 and K200 4. At their sweet spot apertures these serve the 24 Mp sensor well.

I think a K-1miii is a given. The only thing that might stand in the way of it being the next out the gate is scaling the K-3miii innovations to FF. An updated lower-end APS-C might be much easier technically, because there you're only figuring out what/how to cut, not blazing new ground. So if they're working on both, then the APS-C team could finish faster.

On the other hand, whether the next entry APS-C should look more like a KP, or more like a K-70 (or K-5) could take a while to sort out, and has serious technical implications. It's not just a marketing decision. Two obvious issues: the sensor mount in the K-3miii is thicker--figure out how to shrink it more? Or give up the KP's compactness? And if you go with compactness, that probably means the lower capacity battery--no hope of standardizing up on the Li90 battery. So figuring out the design goals and working within those constraints might be as hard as producing a FF flagship.

Finally, I think the 645 has left the building.