Pentax Interview with Ricoh CEO - GR and Pentax DSLR

[agentlossing]

I thought this recent interview with Alfa Romeo was pretty interesting. Ricoh/Pentax has said it before, but they are doubling down on manufacturing not for the masses, but for serious hobbyists and those who know what they want. I think the GR III success has cemented this strategy for them, and I hope it continues to work out, because there aren't many manufacturers who are willing to make their products as obsessively niche as Ricoh (including Pentax).

I hope we will see new products that hold to this philosophy as well. Maybe not as crazy as, say a new release of a Pentax film SLR ... but maybe something new?

Pentax 'Cannot' Go Mirrorless: Ricoh Imaging CEO

In an interview with Alfa Romeo Japan, the President and CEO of Ricoh Imaging Shinobu Takahashi is surprisingly upfront about Ricoh's acquisition of

petapixel.com

Ignore the clickbaity headline. I thought of linking the interview directly, which you can find in the link, but it's in Japanese and I feel like the PP article mostly does a good job pulling the highlights. Original is worth a read, though.

 

[tonyturley]

I still say if Pentax came out with a digital FF MX, the same size as the film version and with the K mount and only the barest controls needed to do photography, it would be one heck of a camera.

 

[kyteflyer]

Pentax tried mirrorless, with the K-01, and the Q series. Each appealed to a small group of people, but overall you could not say that they were screaming successes. I can absolutely see why they would not pursue mirrorless.

 

[agentlossing]

I still say if Pentax came out with a digital FF MX, the same size as the film version and with the K mount and only the barest controls needed to do photography, it would be one heck of a camera.

That would be. I've been looking at the KP though and trying to figure out why, despite being so compact, it's so deep - from the K-mount to the rear screen there is quite a lot of real estate. It might get in the way of producing something as small and thin as the old film SLRs (though part of it with the KP might be the size of the glass pentaprism, which could be a little smaller maybe, if the mirror was bigger, i.e. sacrificing some light at the pentaprism for the gain that comes from the larger mirror? I don't know SLR tech quite so well).

At the least, I feel like Ricoh is dedicated enough to this niche philosophy that, if anyone is talking about doing something like that, they are. They have a lot of rich SLR history they could pull from with Pentax, like they do with the GR line.

 

[gordo]

The big issue IMHO of producing anything resembling the film SLRs, is that miniaturization hasn't reached a point it is affordable/ possible right now.

If you look at cut-aways of Pentax DSLRs, the space between the sensor and rear wall of the camera is pretty full of tech. Not sure there's any other place to put it without increasing size in another area.

Then there's the power issue. Have to have space for a battery with a usable amount of power.

That said, I'd love a digital systems camera like the LX. Interchangeable viewfinders, grips, motor drives, and other accessories.

 

[gordo]

As for not going mirrorless, I hope it works well for them. I know there are a lot of people who want mirrorless. Even within Pentax users there are a lot who aren't happy with the direction the company is taking. I think those of us who either prefer a good OVF, or can see a use case for both OVF and EVF, are becoming a small minority. I'm happy at least one company is standing ground and supporting the case for the DSLR.

I have a mix of Pentax and Fuji. I love the smaller size and weight of Fuji when lugging gear around, the jpeg options, and the EVF can give me some WYSIWYG which is helpful at times. But I prefer the K-1 OVF, and the Pentax files once I get into the computer for post.

Still waiting for the K-3 mk III to get into the wild and some honest user reviews. I've been shifting gear a bit, but can't really do any more until I know if the new body is going to work for what I need.

 

[kyteflyer]

I’ve looked at each new Pentax as its released (well, online anyway) and apart from the increasing weight gain, cannot see any reason to update from my now quite elderly K-5 and K200D. I don’t use them often, but when I do, am not usually disappointed with the output.. I think I am becoming quite curmudgeonly over upgrading just because something new is released. Its ridiculous, and the improvements are incremental at best. I *might* see an improvement if I jumped to the KP or K-1... but for my purposes... cannot see it. *grumble*

 

[rayvonn]

I’ve looked at each new Pentax as its released (well, online anyway) and apart from the increasing weight gain, cannot see any reason to update from my now quite elderly K-5 and K200D. I don’t use them often, but when I do, am not usually disappointed with the output.. I think I am becoming quite curmudgeonly over upgrading just because something new is released. Its ridiculous, and the improvements are incremental at best. I *might* see an improvement if I jumped to the KP or K-1... but for my purposes... cannot see it. *grumble*

I doubt any of the latest and greatest would have the output of your K200D.

 

[john m flores]

Crazy to think that in 5-10 years most people will be shooting mirrorless and that and OVF will be a novelty. I hope Ricoh makes this work.

 

[Bart J D]

Then there's the power issue. Have to have space for a battery with a usable amount of power.

But there's no need for a film canister