From the beginning of 2011, the rumors were that Pentax will announce two mirrorless cameras. As the months passed by, the chance of a second mirrorless system diminished, even though rumors continued to flow. My guess three weeks ago was that Ricoh's purchase of Pentax did put the plans for second mirrorless camera on hold.
Yesterday TMCNet published this unusual press release stating that Ricoh is working on a new mirrorless camera developed by Pentax:
Tokyo, Sept. 17 (Jiji Press)--Ricoh Co. is considering fully entering the mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera market in a bid to boost its digital camera operations, informed sources told Jiji Press Saturday.
A new mirrorless camera will be developed by Pentax Imaging Systems Co., which the Japanese office equipment maker will acquire on Oct. 1 to take over the Pentax brand, the sources said.
Mirrorless interchangeable-lens cameras, which are smaller and lighter than conventional single-lens reflex cameras, attract a wide range of consumers including young women.
A super compact mirrorless camera was rolled out under the Pentax brand in late August. But it was rather designed for beginners with a small image sensor, which converts light captured through lens into an electronic signal.
Equipped with a larger sensor, the new model will allow for a wide variety of photo styles, such as making out-of-focus areas in a shot much more blurry, the sources said.
Among other Japanese makers, Panasonic Corp. and Olympus Corp. are already offering mirrorless cameras featuring large sensors.
Ricoh will offer characteristic compact cameras under its own label, while trying to bring the Pentax brand on par with Nikon Corp. and Canon Inc. in interchangeable-lens cameras, Ricoh President Shiro Kondo said.
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35 Comments
I think I just puked into my mouth. Please keep it tasteful, Ricoh.
It’s a translation.
ricoh mirrorless = smaller than nikon mirrorless = +1000000000000
Besides I thought the Ricoh GXR A12 Mount module is a “mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera”.
Ricoh GXR is a characteristic compact camera which Ricoh will keep on offering under its own label.
Up to Canon and Nikon standards, they say?
Hey! I hope they do it. Hopefully this Rikon camera will accept Rikkor lenses as well. Rikkor lenses are famous for quality, right??
LOL!
I’d trade my Canon LTM lenses for M Rikenon GR lenses anyday.
From the press release: “…..consumers including young women.”
Duh! Yes, that is the market, without saying.
….or young man. Why otherwise call a camera the “Girl Friend 1″…2…3… or make them so damn tiny that no adult man can hold them comfortably?
We shall give you Man Grips as an optional accessory. For those with bigger hands, Gorilla Grips will also be coming out later in the year.
It’s the first full frame compact camera.
Please! i’ll start going to church if pentax would release a NEX-7 body with nex-5n sensor, and pentax pancakes!
please make it be! pleaseeeeeeeeeeeee
not going to happen. Thou shall stay far from churches for the nex(t) 7 years
PS: LOL
About the only thing I would want that’s NEX-like from Sony on such a camera is the sensor.
What I am afraid is that Ricoh will loose it’s identity as a “small, high quality camera maker” with all this Pentax influence. I do have positive feeling about Ricoh GXR system (especially M mount module), but with Pentax aboard I am not sure about Ricoh commitments anymore.
At the end they will consolidate and something is bound to be axed. I feel GXR will be on a cutting block soon because of “young women influence”. What’s next – hello kitty edition?
From what little info there is it seems they’re keeping the two brands (& audiences) separate for now. I’m sure cameras will be released under both names.
Uh… It’s Ricoh who bought the Pentax camera division so Ricoh has the final say.
Some Pentax users actually share the same sentiment but with the roles reversed.
Personally, I beieve that Ricoh will do great things that will benefit Pentax users, and I also believe the GXR may see a nice boost with a K-mount sensor (if possible). I also don’t see why a k-mount and m-mount module will conflict with each other since they appeal to two groups with minimal overlay. Heck, some might even get both.
I really don’t think that will ever happen. Ricoh has been and looks like it will always be a small-camera company. I would be more worried about Pentax dropping their SLR cameras, since Ricoh owns THEM. Between the Ricoh GR-1 series, GR-D series, and GX-R, I think they are pretty committed to small cameras. I do hope they will be the ones to fit a “full-frame” sensor in a compact camera though. Maybe as a GXR module. If they could make a module for, say, $1600, it would be one of the cheapest (and certainly smallest) full-frame digital cameras around. An old Canon 5D is cheaper, but a lot bigger…Leica M9 is almost as small but a lot more expensive…there’s definitely a niche there…
Ricoh manufactured very fine K-mount SLRs in some 30years ago. I still own one of them. So they have a huge part of common history with Pentax already.
But they never done medium format cameras if that is what you mean by “small camera company”.
It’s not freaking HARD. Most of us reading could have roughly described the X100 before it’s release, and look how big of a winner it is! As a big Pentax fan I gotta say all they should get going for their high end market is 1. A full frame version of their K5, 2. An set of consumer and pro APS-C cameras with the Sony 24mp sensor and the current K5 sensor, and 3. A No Bullshit mirrorless with interchangeable lenses, and STARTING with 3 Limiteds.
Jesus CHRIST why are these Japanese camera makers so resistant to what photographers want! Nikon and Canon already give us perfectly good SLR systems and Sony makes great gadget cameras. MAYBE there is a market for non rich people who want solid cameras with a simple set of features that focuses on quality.
Because it’s not actually want photographers want. It’s what a tiny tiny group of gear-obsessed people on the internet want.
1. A Pentax full frame K5 does not make sense. There’s other brands if you want FF, but Pentax has a large line-up of crop-only lenses, and does not have the mass / size of Canon to be able to sustain both a crop and FF lens series.
2. They have consumer and pro APS-C cameras, and their sensors are fine. 24MP is way overkill, especially for most consumers.
3. Like Panasonic, Olympus and Sony? Having only three prime lenses in the line-up would make it quite inaccessible to the consumer group, and most definitely the camera and lenses would be more expensive then their competitors, the mirrorless market is still small at the moment, and there’s little reason for Pentax to butt in on that, as it won’t be taking shares from companies already better established. Also, you’re basically just saying “HEY I WANT A CAMERA THAT DOESN’T HAVE DOWNSIDES AND IS JUST PERFECT”. Don’t we all.
Cameras focused on quality ARE expensive. Heck, I want a full frame rangefinder digital Konica Hexar RF, for non-rich people, please.
Most of the comments on this site are just about how things are too expensive or why don’t they make a full frame mirrorless for [insert price that will make it impossible to make any profit]. Stop your cussing and stop thinking whatever you want is what all photographers want. And if you’re going to complain about me bringing consumers into this, then you should realize the mass consumer group is still the biggest buyers, and result in the most money, especially for mirrorless. Anything aimed solely at photographers will have to be higher priced in order to make up for the loss of sales to that group (See; Pentax Q, Leica M, Leica X, Fuji X100, etc). Small sales = High prices.
While I basically agree with the fact that most people (the consumers) do not need 24 mp nor need/want FF, I think many Japanese camera makers are underestimating the importance of the amateur market. In fact Sony was surprised by the fact the Nex system appealed not only to compact camera upgraders, but also to amateurs/semipros/pros. And this is why they made the Nex7, which is pre-selling better than any other camera before (at least sony’s). Now sony should fix the lens problem, which will not be easy, as the Nex system was originally thought for non-discerning people, and was therefore planned with tiny bodies with not-so-tiny lenses (hence the very short distance of the mount from the processor, which makes creating e.g. w/a lenses more problematic than in other systems, e.g. m43).
Fact is: if the Nex system had more small and high IQ lenses none of us would be here discussing theoretical future Pentax systems. There is a market for quality, after all, and in the medium-long term that market is the most profitable, because the amateur buys not only the basic kit (as the mass consumers) but also expensive glass, on which the companies have higher profit margins.
So, all in all, I really think it is try that we should expect more from these companies, and that it sounds incredible that they are always cought by surprise when a good product ends up to be succesful (e.g. Fuji X100, Nex7, etc.)
The amateur photographer market /would/ be more profitable, if there were more! The amount of consumers buying into these is so much more higher them amateur photographers that it’s without doubt the most profitable. Both examples (NEX-7 / X100) show this quite clearly by their much higher price.
I never said a high quality solely aimed at amateur / semi-pro photographers camera couldn’t be successful, but due to it’s smaller amount of sales it WILL be more expensive. A full frame mirrorless would be even more niche, and accordingly have to be priced to off-set the investment needed to create such a camera.
Well, it also depends on marketing. Nobody actually needs 24mp but we are all salivating for these new Sony sensors.
If you market a (let’s say) 36 mp FF sensor on a relatively small camera correctly you will have milions of uneducated beginners seriously thinking that THAT is the camera they need in order to become the new Ansel Adams. Price will be superior for sure, but it (will) depend(s) also on the components (FF being more expensive) and manifacturing of the camera (Leica costs more not only for its name… which is also a price raiser per se).
But as I said: if an immature system like the Nex can sell tons of cameras, which mach marvelous sensors with horrible lenses (thus in fact creating lesser images than the corresponding m43 alternatives), this means that Sony reps were able to instill the idea that with those sensors you could make better pics. And if the Nex 7 is the most expensive of the pack, that is due to the idea that it holds the best sensor ever, and better features than all other mirrorless cameras. As I have already said: the fact that no existing lens can actually take advantage of that sensor, did not stop milions of pre-sellers from buying the camera, which is selling fairly better than any previous nex camera at this early stage.
I’d say that more than market segments, it’s a matter, here, of (well planned) marketing…
I’m just a big believer in Halo products! The 645D is a cool Halo product but it doesn’t do enough. It’s like Leica doesn’t sell D-Lux 5′s for 800 dollars because they’re good point and shoot cameras, they sell them because they make Noctilux, the M9, the 50mm Summilux ASPH… Same with Canon rebels, they sell because the pros use 1Ds and 5Ds.
Pentax can make whatever consumer level stuff they wan’t, I’m not interested in that. I’m interested in what will build buzz for Pentax and they’re great design, engineering, and first and foremost, lenses!
I just love the argument that they didn’t have the resources to develop a FF lens lineup. Somehow they have the resources to develop two mirrorless systems from the ground up though when they already have designs for most every FF lens you could want that just need updating.
They made the 645D work by taking components from their APS line and reusing them. They could have shared those components across 3 systems.
The sad thing is that they were pretty much right as far sticking with APS but are still screwed anyway. The current crop of APS cameras are insanely good so it’s just hard to justify FF now. But their whole thing of being the ones with the compact APS lenses is totally deflated with the advent of the mirrorless cameras. They could have done FF or they could have been first with a mirrorless, but instead they did neither. Now they’ve just gone insane with their tiny sensor camera.
Hopefully Ricoh can manage them with balls and sanity.
“gear-obsessed people on the internet”.
good one.
I absolutely do not like the design.
This is obviously a photoshopped Pentax Q…
Why so much venom towards pentax they make good cameras a that are very usable and have a good build quality.
The haters are just jealous and scared. It’s a typical psychological reaction.
I mean, have anyone used the, in example, Canon kit lenses? They are horrible. But Canon have some nice premium lenses. In Pentax we call them “kit lenses”. Weather sealed, non-rotating front element, metal mount. Of course they are scared.
Pardon me for spoiling the fun, but is this a press release?
I honestly don’t think it is.
Its a badly translation of something without a source, posted at a unknown (for me, and probably for most of us) website.
Agree, this doesn’t look like a ‘proper’ corporate press release.
My first slr as a teenager was a ricoh XR-1 manual SLR. Ricoh used the pentax K mount and also made their own lenses. Ricoh was also what we had at school for photography class so I just assumed that ricoh was the brand to buy. Looking back they clearly were targeting a lower price point consumer market very much like they are doing today. The point being they have a culture of differentiating themselves from the big players and this has been by targeting the lower to mid level consumer market. However they are certainly not anti SLR or range finder for that matter they will probably focus on the consumer market as they have always done. The problem is that the consumer market is in flux and it is not clear if mirrorless will dominate the non smart phone photography market or wether SLRs will continue to rule.