P. J. Alling wrote: Sony has been slow up to now because they are feeling things out, they are probably still integrating the K/M engineers and project managers into Sony's culture. Sony sales managers insist on the cameras being profitable, and they are milking the old K/M system as much as possible. However they know to maintain and increase their market share they will have to match the big boys, and that means a FF body, (as far as I know they don't even make any reduced frame lenses), so look for a FF body soon.
That means that Pentax will have to get a FF body to keep from becoming locked in a contest for 4th place with Olympus and the 4:3 system.. Hoya will probably not like the odds at that point. They too are interested in the camera line being profitable. If it isn't, and shows no signs of becoming so, that's all there will be. ----- This analysis is spot on. Higher-sounding specs drive the marketing, which drives camera development. Pentax may be in a real bind here. They are having terrible problems with the Hanoi plant, and for some time now have been unable to produce the DA and DA* lenses in sufficient quantities to meet demand. This is part of what is delaying the introduction of the telephoto lenses that so many people want. Imagine the problems if they also have to produce full-frame lenses again while continuing the DA line. If Pentax brings out cameras based on a 24 x 36 sensor, perhaps they can resurrect some of the FA and FA* lens designs. But I'll bet that the bodies of those lenses will need to be redesigned for more economical manufacturing. And both wide angle and wide-to-tele zooms will need to have redesigned optics. I understand that there is a shortage of optical engineers, and that Pentax cannot simply go out to college fairs and hire more. The other manufacturers are also facing this problem. So if the market shifts to affordable cameras with 24 x 36 sensors, Pentax will have a dilemma. They can ignore that market and lose, or they can enter that market and lose anyway because they don't have lenses. I am told that Pentax regrets closing their lens production plants in Japan. Joe -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
