Jim,
My comments were not necessarily directed at you as I know you are level headed and fair. More of general comment to all and my speculation.
With the K20D they could re-use 80% of the K10D R&D. Pentax did not
tell us about their K10D / K20D plans ahead of presentation. They
took competition completely by surprise. Suddenly they choose to talk
about FF plans in advance. When a company advertise about FF plans in
advance then it can't be aimed at the competition. It must be aimed
at the present users. If you look closely at what Pentax says
regarding FF there is absolutely no sign of a promise regarding
release time. I think Pentax grew tired of all the doom predicted
here in case Pentax does not release a FF DSLR soon.
Very good point, Jim. I never thought of it that way.
You may very well have information that I don't have but I don't see
how you can base your prediction on the Pentax statements presented
in this forum so far.
The way things have presented themselves have lead me to
my conclusions, rightly or wrongly, and I have no inside info on this matter just my speculation. The reason I say what I said has more to do with the power of Samsung than with any behind the scenes moves by Pentax.
Samsung may have been developing the 14.6Mp sensor well prior to the K20D introduction and we never knew anything about it. I am also
speculating that Samsung may have actually produced this sensor prior to their tie up with Pentax and this is the very reasion
why Samsung approached Pentax for the tie up so that they could introduce it in their own Samsung DSLR. In order to do this, Samsung required a lens mount and lenses to go with it and Pentax was the obvious answer. The reason Pentax must have been a logical choice to Samsung was due to the fact that Nikon may have still wanted to stay tied to Sony, Canon make their own sensors, Minolta went with Sony and Olympus have their own system, which leaves Pentax even
if Samsung had considered any of these. Samsung may have wanted to go with Pentax anyway as they have a great reputation and are a known brand.
This is actually a case where I would like to be proven wrong. I just
hope people here will remember the statement debated in this thread
in case Pentax does not release a FF DSLR soon.
I guess we have to put a time limit on what we call soon.
I would suggest that we will see a FF camera from Pentax before the end of 2009 depending on lens development - and this is my "out clause". ;-) This again is pure speculation and my reason is that things move fast in the world of electronics, especially
if what I say is true and that Samsung have
already developed the FF sensor. Having said that, Pentax will need to get a move on with lens FF development and the Hoya tie up may be the panacea to aid this along.
--
Lance B
http://www.pbase.com/lance_b
