Just came across a rumor that Pentax may be considering joining Micro Four Thirds.

Check out the excellent 1001 Noisy Cameras blog for the details and sources.

From an industry outsider's perspective that would bring a lot of good things to the m4/3s table, but how much it would benefit Pentax is another thing. Pentax already is able to make a fairly small camera body and with the m4/3s mount and imaging system, it might not require that much work to bring out a smaller body in short order.

However, I'm not so sure that producing new, small, lenses will be that easy. There's no doubt that they would have the edge over all the m4/3s producers when it comes to making small, prime lenses, as they seem to be the only ones really into this, but converting current lenses wouldn't be that easy a task.

That said, this could be a lifeline to Pentax in their ever diminishing market. Rightly or wrongly, the more that join in the m4/3s format (which almost seems to have become a synonym for the format, regardless of the sensor size), the more it will consolidate itself into a standard of its own and make life easier for a lot of people when thinking about what camera to buy. One mount, many cameras, many lenses.

Cheers

Ray

__________________
http://www.australianimage.com.au/

I agree with a lot of the points Ray raised, but Pentax has done really well with their K-x, it is a very good small SLR at a cracking price, it produces some great images and seems to be the best APS-C sized sensor for low light - if they revamped their whole range with developments they made with the K-x over the K-m then they (IMO) could do really well.

But now that Samsung has it's NX system, I wonder if there's any co-operation between the two companies? If not the m4/3rds system could really help them.

on a side note I was just thinking that if the NX10 handled noise as good as the K-x, m4/3 would really b in trouble ;-) Finally who's to say Pentax won't join Samsung's NX system? that really would heat up the mirrorless camera wars ;-)

__________________
Vince

Comments or contructive feedback is very welcome and will be very appreciated

Had: Panasonic G1 + 14-140mm + 20mm

Visit my Flickr here

Pentax has been making lenses with image circles equivalent to micro four thirds longer than anyone , by that im referring to the 18 2.8 ,24 2.8 50 2.8 ,70 2.8 and the 20-40 2.8 aspherical the primes are commendably tiny the 24 is literally the size of a Pepsi bottle cap
that Pentax created for the line of 110 SLR cameras made about 30 years ago

i for one would love to see pentax get in to the micro 4\3 lens game, but then again im still waiting for sigma tamron tokina,and esp voightlander to realize the validity of , and design for this new format .

All said and done, Pentax is seriously bleeding and Samsung seem to have gone their own way. The Japanese and Koreans have always had a tenuous relationship and I read somewhere (Thom Hogan?) suggesting that this is the fork in the road for that relationship. Pentax seems to be on their own and where are they going?

I forgot about the Pentax 110 line, but in reality, that's a bit like the Pen F line of lenses, how many of us would have clamoured for a re-introduction of those if it were possible? I would have gladly filled my kit with all and sundry Pen F lenses, but unfortunately, we are now held to ransom by a small group of ebay sellers. Heck, buying Leica lenses is a cheaper option!

Chers

Ray

__________________
http://www.australianimage.com.au/

true that, but the original pen interchangable lenses used an image circle larger than the pentax 110s the pentax of that line that was "normal" was the 24mm

but on penf i think 38 was normal ..... not sure about the pen f data

I really do hope that both Fuji and Pentax will join m43.
Would it be great to have a digital EVIL camera with pentax110 size ?
Smaller sensor, less MP, less weight, a P&S camera with interchangable lenses.
What you think?

__________________
Have a nice day.
Kind regards, Herman
Username Twitter: hermandijkhuis

Interesting speculation and one that would make perfect sense providing Olympus & Panasonic are willing to let them join, and the cost is not too high for them to buy in.
It would be good for the market and even better for micro 4/3rds as it will add yet another credible manufacturer with pedigree to the format.
It will also spur on the Canikon answers to micro 4/3rds and of course the winners of all this will be us!

__________________
Ian Lloyd-Graham
www.Ianskyphotosite.blogspot.com

So one blog cites another blog, and that second blog cites a machine translation of a very short article that, with no supporting evidence whatever, cites unnamed high-up sources saying this. Sorry but there's nothing to see here. There may be something to this rumor, but if there is then it is withheld from us.

Meanwhile, shortly having shed Presto 120 film, Fuji is using the back pages of the Japanese camera mags to advertise not a micro 4/3 digicam, indeed not any digicam, but instead its 6x6/6x7 folder (which I'd want to feed with Presto). My own unsubstantiated hunch about Fuji is that somebody high up wants its photographic division to go hugely into the red so that it can be closed down and the company can then concentrate more fully on cosmetics for insecure middle-aged women.

Ray,

As a Pentax and m4/3 user, I am surprised to hear the same vitriol about Pentax here as I do about m4/3 over at pentaxforums. The K7 is a killer camera that offers alot more than the competition at a lower price point. The Kx was backordered for months and is still selling extremely well - so well they have brought over 5 new colors to the U.S. (and don't bother knocking colors - this is the m4/3 forum, panny and oly both do it too). Finally, they are also releasing the 645d, which by all accounts is a market changer in the MF arena. Anyway, just wanted to point out that your bleeding comment is way off base.

In short (as short as I can be, haha), Pentax has always been going compact, competitively priced, optionally weather sealed with higher end bodies, and feature packed camera bodies, along with a prime lens lineup any other brand drools over. That is their direction, they are most definitely not lost in the woods.

Samsung has always been the tag-along in the relationship, not much loss there either. IMO it was samsung that made the mistake of not bringing Pentax users along with the NX system by not having an actual functioning adapter system. If you go look up the discussions at pentaxforums, you'll find that is the overall sentiment as well. That is definitely their loss, not Pentax!

Edit: forgot to comment on the discussion at hand! I seriously doubt this would happen. Primarily, most of Pentax's lenses are screwdrive which would not at all be compatible with the m4/3 mount - well, it seems it would be a pretty big engineering feat to put a motordrive into an adapter that could run the screw pin. The SDM lenses could be worked, but that is only a handful of current Pentax lenses. They are very strongly committed to aps-c too; its all just rumor anyway but who knows, my guess is they won't be joining the m4/3 standard.

__________________
Olympus E-p1, Panasonic 14-42mm
Pentax K-5, K-x, K100d, 645
My Lenses | My Galleries