[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > On 28/09/06, Paul Stenquist <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >>So the flagship will not be full frame. That's fine with me. I've >>invested quite a bit in DA lenses, and I intend to invest more. > > > At least we have a better idea of where they are heading now, I know > it's not aligned with my requirements. I suspect the K10D will be the > last piece of Pentax gear I buy (it will simply tide me over during > the transition). >
Its pretty clear that Pentax does not have the either the resources or the incentive to pull off a FF camera. First of all it would require two different lens lines, one for the smaller image circle, one for the larger. Even Canon, with their much deeper pockets, is pretty stretched right now supporting lenses for the high end FF and the smaller consumer and semi-professional APS sized lines. Second, in body SR is not going to work in the FF because of image circle limitations. Canon has the upper hand here because of the lens based IS, which is independent of the sensor size. But have you priced an IS lens lately? Third, Pentax believes that they are going to address the higher end market through their MF offering, but that may be too little too late. They have traditionally let Canon and Nikon fight over the high end 35mm market, with the exception of the LX. Unfortunately much of the MF market seems to have gone to high end 35mm digital, such as the Canon 1DSMkII. Finally, I think Pentax pulled out of the MZD project because of two things: 1. chip cost and availability 2. image quality. Even if you fixed 1, the image quality problem with FF sensors is real. There might be a technological fix in the future, and Leica's approach seems promising, but it seems Pentax's sensitivity to this issue is an obstacle to FF adoption. Of course chip availability and cost is still an issue. With the advent of super wides to cover the hole left by 1.5x crop factor, its not much of an issue to me any longer. The 12-24 is an amazing lens. The only remaining problem is noise due to smaller photo site sizes. If Pentax has done a good job managing this in the K10D, there is not a whole lot more that the FF is going to offer for the considerable premium it would require. I think the K10D has the potential to be about as good as it gets for an APS sized camera. rg -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
