Ludicrous Rumour: Pentax MILC Coming in May 2011

[miserere_mei]

<p><a href="http://www.mirrorlessrumors.com/pentax-mirrorless-system-with-ultratiny-sensor-5x/">MirrorlessRumors.com</a> has posted information about an upcoming Pentax mirrorless camera...with a twist. Here are the alleged specs:</p>

<ul>

<li>One camera (Pentax NC-1?) and two lenses will be announced in May</li>

<li>8.5mm f/1.9 (almost 50mm equivalent) and a zoom 5-15mm f/2.8-4.5 (28-80mm equivalent)</li>

<li>New mount</li>

<li>5.6x crop 14 MP sensor (size around 1/2.33")</li>

<li>HD h.264 recording</li>

<li>Smaller than NEX body</li>

<li>Hot shoe</li>

<li>3 more lenses to be announced later (very likely in September 2011)</li>

</ul>

<p>For reference, cameras like the Canon S95, Samsung EX1 or Olympus XZ-1 have a larger 1/1.7" sensor, with a 4.67x crop factor.</p>

<p>I don't understand how a camera such as this would outperform the advanced compacts listed above, all of which have pretty fast (and small!) zoom lenses. Unless the lenses for the Pentax MILC are something like 4mm f/1, 8mm f/0.5 and 12mm f/0.6 primes with a 5-15mm f/2 zoom thrown in, I see no point in such a camera system.</p>

<p>The guy at MirrorlessRumors.com seems quite certain his source is reliable, but I just can't believe Pentax will put out a camera such as this. I honeslty think it would be DOA. What do you guys think?</p>

<p>PS: As you might have heard, Schneider and Carl Zeiss have joined the 4/3 group and will start producing lenses for micro 4/3 cameras. Also, Sony has announced that it will make its mirrorless E mount specifications available to lens manufacturers; Sigma, Tamron, Zeiss and Cosina have already committed to providing lenses for the E system. This all means that newcomers to the MILC market are going to be at a serious disadvantage if 3rd party lens makers aren't providing any lenses for them. This does not bode well for Samsung's NX system or any other that might arrive in the next months/years.</p>

 

[jgredline]

<p>mis, i read / heard that rumor a couple of weeks back and basically thought the same thing as you. i do not understand it either. </p>

[bob_stevenson]

<p>It does make one wonder if camera makers ever look at the market and what 'photographers' want before reaching for the pencil and old envelope.........</p>

<p>The NC-1 appears to be a nostalgia only production to hopefully attract a cache audience akin to the those awaiting the Fuji X100,...ie people with more money than photgraphic ability who mainly wish for a decorative product with 'poseability'.</p>

<p>The NEX is the future for us image makers, so the latest announcement is good news.</p>

<p>Samsung appears to have shot itself in the foot with it's NX lensmount,.....that is going to die quite quickly. If they had just cast an eye on the photo forums to see what photographers wanted they would have made it easily compatible with Leica M and then NX10/100/11 would hgave sold in bucket loads.</p>

[miserere_mei]

<blockquote>

<p>It does make one wonder if camera makers ever look at the market and what 'photographers' want before reaching for the pencil and old envelope</p>

</blockquote>

<p>I know for sure they didn't ask <em>me</em>.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>Samsung appears to have shot itself in the foot with it's NX lensmount</p>

</blockquote>

<p>That was my first thought when I found out it wasn't compatible with Leica M lenses. I have no interest in them, but I know thousands of photographers out there who do, so it was a foolish move by Samsung. On the other hand, Samsung are producing some very nice primes that no other MILC company is, so I hope the NX system doesn't die out. I myself am waiting for the NX15 (or whatever they call it) to see if they've addressed my main complaints with the NX10; if they have, they'll be getting a cheque from me for 1 camera and 3 primes.</p>

[mountainvisions]

<p>The X100 is a great deal when compared to say what is probably a very similar build and material quality to a Leica (Sorry, I don't buy the fact Leica digitals should be held on the same playing field as Leica mechanicals).</p>

<p>However, the X100 for a camera I was almost hoping wouldn't be near my price range, is WELL beyond what I expected. $1300 is way too much. I get it has innovative tech, but guess what? It's ahead of it's time, and will fail like every fuji niche product.</p>

<p>As far as Pentax. if the specs are correct, this is DOA.</p>

<p>Thanks, but as Mis pointed out, unless the lenses are super small and super fast, I will just stick with my Samsung EX1/TL500. We are talking about probably $1000-2000 investment in this new Pentax camera when lenses are factored in, and for what?</p>

[bob_stevenson]

<p>The Fuji x100 is massively over priced,...it's in UK outlets now for a staggering £1000...that's a K7 body with a couple of lenses. or a NEX with 18 to 200 PLUS 16mm...</p>

<p>Hopefully x100 will fail, otherwise we will see many makers all trying to make overpriced niche 'poser' cameras for accountants to shoot their holiday snaps with.</p>

[jgredline]

<p>I am in the broken heart side of the Fuji X100 as there is no way, I would pay that kind of money for it. This one in particular hurts a little because I really wanted one, but not at 1200-1300.00...For that I will buy a K-5</p>

[jeremy_corbin]

<p>I think the X100 would have been super successful if they had priced it within a warning shot from the G12. But at 3x the price of the G12, there's just no way.</p>

[pbarnes]

<p>Where is my mirror-less range-finder style camera with a K-mount?</p>

[johnw436]

<p>Why, in the name of all that is good and holy, would Pentax release any interchangeble lens camera whatsoever that is not compatible with K-mount? I'm interested in a new compact body to mount the lenses I paid thousands for already. Okay, since MILCs require a lens adapter anyway, does this lens adapter go from MILC-K? Or is it just SH***Y USELESS MOUNT - to- SH***Y LENS THAT WON'T FIT MY SLR? </p>

<p>If I wanted a re-packaged Sony... well I guess I might as well go buy the Sony. You know, since I'd be starting from scratch anyway with new lenses and all.</p>

<p>I'm with Jeremiah on this one. A camera that is half as useful as an SLR should be half the price. If it's just a point and shoot with extra lenses, well I had one of those. It was a CoolPix 4300. You can get one for less than the shipping costs on ebay today. The G-series has become the non-SLR standard as far as I'm concerned. The EX1 is in that ballpark. For $350 the EX1 would be the winner for me, hands down.</p>

 

[johnw436]

<p>@ Peter,</p>

<p>E.X.A.C.T.L.Y. </p>

[laur1]

<p>I don't mind Pentax coming with a smaller camera that has a new mount, but are they really capable of supporting a new line of lenses? And is there any point in producing a line of interchangeable lenses for a sensor that is even smaller than 4/3? I don't think so - I don't believe there is much to this rumor.</p>

[rparmar]

<p>"The Fuji x100 is massively over priced,...it's in UK outlets now for a staggering £1000."</p>

<p>You're not thinking things through clearly. How much does an FA31 Limited cost? Does it come with a state-of-the-art body? Does it come with a custom sensor designed specifically to wring every ounce of goodness from it?</p>

<p>(Not that I can afford either, of course.)</p>

[tom_price1]

<p>This not a camera I would buy. I think the 4/3 sensor is a bit too small and a glorified point and shoot would have all of the traits that I dislike - huge depth of field (so limited selective focus), noisy sensor and limited dynamic range. Also, no ability to use the Pentax and K-mount lenses I already have. DOA.</p>

[donnie_strickland]

<p>Justin -- my sentiments exactly. If this rumor is true, I'm hugely disappointed in Pentax. A tiny-sensored point-and-shoot? Really? <em>Really</em>?</p>

<p>As far as the X100, that's what I want. I'll probably never have one because of the price, but I still want one. Optical viewfinder, traditional control layout (an aperture ring and a shutter speed dial!), good sensor size, fast lens, built-in ND filter, 9-bladed aperture, and a 35mm equivalent focal length, which is my favorite.</p>

[jonathan_rush]

<p>But what if it was tiny and cheap?</p>

[andrewg_ny]

<p>Robin, you make a good point. I personally had no illusions that the X100 was going to be anywhere within shouting distance of a G12...and can't imagine why it should be, either. I also have to imagine that Fuji isn't expecting to sell anywhere near G12 numbers and I'm sure their planned production run needs to break even with many fewer units. Compare vs. NEX-5, Leica X-1, Sigma DP-series, all with larger sensors. Sigma DP isn't nearly as well-built, has only a simple accessory optical v/f, etc, and lens is slower. I think I was hoping it would come in closer to $1000 than $1300, maybe it might settle near there after early adopters help recoup Fujifilm's investment.</p>

<p>As for this Pentax MILC rumor, it sounds dubious, let's hope it is. I haven't yet seen a camera with a sensor that small with acceptable IQ for enthusiasts. Pentax hasn't yet exhausted my faith that they'll come up with something decent, a possible alternative even if it's not for everyone. There's some truth to the idea that a me-too might not be right for Pentax, whatever they do probably needs to be somehow distinctive or target a particular niche or else it may fail. For example, they could continue along with their weather-resistant...or include some actually desireable (for some) retro concepts/controls...something so it's not just another box on their tiny sliver of camera store shelf space.</p>

<p>Whatever Pentax releases, there's no reason to expect it to accept K-mount natively--if it does, it's sacrificing one of the big advantage of mirrorless design--that is, making it compact. If the sensor is as large as APS-C (or even 4/3 size 2x crop) hopefully they'll at least make a decent adapter that preserves as much functionality as possible--at a minimum, body-controlled aperture for ring-less lenses like DA Limited. And if they do incorporate a hotshoe, it had better be P-TTL-wireless-compatible.</p>

<p>As for the third-party lenses, we'll have to wait to see what actually appears. Sigma's support for 4/3 was no great boon to 4/3 because the lenses were their existing designs for full-frame or ~1.5x crop with a 4/3 mount...but not at all appropriate for the crop factor, etc. This time might be different though, perhaps Sigma now feels that the MILC bodies have enough market traction and gaps in their product lines to develop glass for the purpose. I suspect that the interest from CZ and SK is mostly for pricey high-end lenses intended for shooting video, probably not really desirable for mainstream still photography, so that may not mean much either.</p>

[andrewg_ny]

<blockquote>

<p><em>"Justin -- my sentiments exactly. If this rumor is true, I'm hugely disappointed in Pentax. A tiny-sensored point-and-shoot? Really? Really?"</em></p>

</blockquote>

<p>Donnie: And Pentax hasn't exactly lit the market on fire with their Optio line, either. Why think this would be so much different? Whether it's anything like described or not, let's hope there are some pleasant surprises in store. I do hope that unlike Olympus (and Panasonic?), Pentax will not show signs of letting its SLR system wither.</p>

[yvon_bourque2]

<p>Rumors are just that...rumors. When and if Pentax releases a mirrorless camera, I will judge them then.</p>

[mountainvisions]

<blockquote>

<p>Donnie: And Pentax hasn't exactly lit the market on fire with their Optio line, either.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Actually, the W line has done quite well. It's really the only Pentax camera, compact or SLR, I frequently see in the wild. As a matter of fact, you can almost count that in any group of 10-20 hikers someone has a W series optio, if not 2-3 people. Remember, for a while it was the Olympus or the Pentax Optio W, and before that it was pretty much only Pentax in this genre!</p>

<p>But I agree that the rest of the line has never caught on.</p>

[rparmar]

<p>Yvon: Exactly.</p>

<p>My guess I that though Pentax might bring out a mirrorless design at some point, it will be APS-C and k-mount to capitalise on their investment in those areas. Weather-sealed too.</p>

[ricardovaste]

<p>I think and hope it's a load of cr*p. If Pentax do a MirrorlessIL camera, I hope they do it right...</p>

[miserere_mei]

<blockquote>

<p>Yvon wrote:<br>

Rumors are just that...rumors. When and if Pentax releases a mirrorless camera, I will judge them then.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Yvon, but some rumours are scarier than others! :-)</p>

[donnie_strickland]

<p>Yvon: I agree. That's why I said "if" :-)</p>

[johnw436]

<p>How about an Optio without a lens.... maybe just a big hole in the front that takes a K-mount adapter. And an APS-C sensor. </p>