On Tue, May 19, 2009 at 07:30:08AM -0400, paul stenquist wrote: > Will the K-7 be the expensive model, or is simply a new line? If it's > clear that this will be the top offering, I'll go for it. > Paul
That probably depends on how well it sells. Really good sales could permit a follow-on model, but I don't regard this as a priority for Pentax (or, even more, for Hoya). I see this as the top offering for at least the next two years. We've already seen some of the posters here underwhelmed by anything new in this camera, so the number of people willing to pay twice the price of a K20D/K30D for a camera that doesn't offer them all that much in day-to-day use is probably fairly small. For that matter I'm not sure how I'd feel if I already had a K20D. I'd want the new features. But how much would I pay for them? Even if there are plans to make the K-7 the start of a range, I'm sure the next models to come along would be aimed at a far lower price point. But, as I've mentioned before, I think that we're a lot more likely to see Pentax moving to EVF cameras much more akin to the Panasonic G1; DSLRs, with complex and expensive mechanical assemblies, may well be near the end of their life. [All else below is even more speculative: stop now if you don't care] If Pentax do move to a new range (with a smaller register distance), I wouldn't be surprised to see auto focus for K-mount lenses only working with SDM. The interesting point is aperture control; at present that's still done mechanically. Will we see lenses with stop-down motors in the lens itself? And, if so, will the adapter for K-mount lenses have a mechanical aperture actuator? (I suppose it could also offer screwdriver-mode AF, but I don't think that would happen). -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.