What you see here on top is a new patent from Pentax describing a zoom lens for a mirrorless APS-C camera. The interesting thing is that this doesn’t seem to be a lens for the K-01 but rather for a new (real) mirrorless system with short lens to sensor distance. This may confirm the long time rumor saying that a new APS-C mirrorless series will be announced this year by Pentax!
Source: Egami.
26 Responses
Nice, if true. but does Pentax really have the resources to build up a third system…?
F6.7 at 55mm is way to slow. I don’t like this trend that Olympus has started. However, part of the Pentax K01 design is the possibilty to design lenses that make use of the empty mirrorbox. So maybe this is a patent for such a lens? It might explain the slow aperture at tele because it needs to be small to fit in the mirrorbox.
Wouldn’t this just be part of the K-01 strategy of having lenses retract into the lens mount, where the mirror would normally be?
How can you tell what the flange back or sensor to mount distance is based on the lens design?
Well anyway, hopefully Pentax drops the Q line and invests more resources into a real mirrorless system.
And hopefully they release the K-5 successor soon and implement some good video controls 🙂 i know you still photography purists are hating it, but hey, you’re not the only target market anymore
Them dropping the Q is very unlikely and probably not a good idea.
It is a market niche where they truly don’t have any competition. It will never compete against the m43 et.al. but it will get a small following anyway and they can price it to be profitable. Thus giving more resources long term for investment in other systems.
Don’t care about more APS-C mirrorless. Give me FF or m43. Or maybe a fixed lens 1″ sensor, but spare me the APS-C tweener system. Ugh.
How many time does Pentax have to have a go at this?
Exactly, drop the Q and K-01 to spare the resources for a true mirrorless system. In addition to the consumer zoom mentioned, develop a few small prime lenses (Pentax is good at that) and a adopter for K lenses, then I’m in.
K-01 is a DSLR as far as PENTAX is concerned. Not much resource went into that.
645 is already dropped and Q should be soon. PENTAX is focusing on keeping 2~3 APS-C DSLR and working on an EVIL/mirrorless system.
“645 is already dropped and Q should be soon.”
Didn’t they make a statement recently that they are working on the 645 successor? since when is it dropped?
A pentax representative stated in an interview some time ago that their three dslr’s (entry level, enthusiast, medium format) generated the same amount of profit. (but very different volumes) updating the 6345 should not take so much resources but give a huge return. Dropping it would be very stupid.
Everything also show that the Q is here to stay.
That said, I agree with you about the K-01, that was all about the design.
But I don’t think they have the resources to make an entirely new APS-C system, they would be to late to the game for it to make sense. Joining another system? maybe. But except for their K-mount Ricoh/Pentax seems to be all about finding niche markets now. Do things different enough that they have no direct competition. (Q, GXR, 645D) Add the K and they already have 4 systems that they will not drop, making a 5th does not make sense – especially when it competes more or less with two of their other systems (K, GXR). A FF mirrorless? That might actually fit into their strategy – no direct competition, high margin, reasonable low development cost
The 645D is definitely not dropped, and it won’t be. Q will not be dropped anytime soon.
Pei, please don’t make such strong affirmation when you don’t know.
F6.7! F6.7?!?!?!? Rediculous specs.
Hey, it might actually be a FF if a lens that size is only f/6.7
Another one APS-C mirrorless? Are they stupid? FF mirrorless ? SUCCESS.
FF mirrorless = you and i amd the rest of the world who CANT afford it.
Yeah, bring on the FF mirrorless already!!!!!!!!
hope they will share with Samsung the NX mount, what would be nice like Oly/Pana
They’d better dump aps-c and go m43, make an electr K adapter to m43 and there’d be an immense market.
IMO the smaller formats will have much bigger chance of surviving than APS-C.
M43 or 1,5″ are approx. the same size and are the sweet spot for creating light and small quality systems.
If smaller formats are better, then they’re on the right track with the Q :p
Let’s get real, they won’t go to a competitor’s mount – period. And I bet they won’t create a dedicated mirrorless mount, either.
tetracting zoom on the K01 would be awesome. Just looking at the outside format, you’d get the first true pancake zoom!!!
i have a k01 i like the image quality but poor focusing in lowlight hope they put a brighter focus assist light