The all new Top of the line Pentax.
31 August 2000
There is much speculation on the Pentax Discuss Mailing list about a possible new flagship camera. Previously, I wrote some silliness about a possible new camera. Now I'd like to speculate sensibly. As I write, Photokina is only a few weeks away and there are strong expectations of an announcement there, this page may be completely out of date very quickly. Or I may look like either a visionary or an idiot.
On to some speculation. I think there are a few possible ways that Pentax can go with a new camera.
35mm SLR
Pentax has always had a repuation for good, solid small 35mm cameras. This reputation lasted from the LX, MX all the way to the release of the Z1. This type of 'Robocamera' was at odds with the Pentax Way and more in the Nikon/Canon mould.
Sales of the Z series were not brilliant and Pentax came out with the MZ series, returning to small, light camera bodies, but this time with plenty of advanced features.
MZ-1 - small and high tech
What I call the MZ-1 would sit at the top of the MZ (or ZX in some parts) family. This camera would have all the features of the MZ-5n (or even MZ-3) with some of the nicer features from the PZ-1p. The improvements would be to the motor, higher shutter speeds, flash compensation, multiple exposures, a more informative display, third stop changes, and a better viewfinder display. The MZ-5 really loses out to the PZ-1p in the viewfinder display department.
I don't think that the HyP and HyM modes of the PZ-1p would transfer very well to the MZ style body. The OTF metering from the LX would fit in here very nicely.
PJ-1 - Robocamera
Where the MZ-1 is an update of the MZ series, the PJ-1 should be an update of the PZ series. The basic updates would be to the metering, the autofocus and the provision of a second set of controls on the vertical release. The metering should have more sensors and this time Pentax should *say* that the camera does 3D-Matrix Metering. Possibly the OTF metering from the LX could be added, but really that's something more suited to the MZ style of camera (but see below). The autofocus should at least come from the latest MZs and be beefed up with extra power. Possibly some lenses can used the motors in the lens to speed up focussing.
This is a camera aimed fairly and squarely at photojournalists. Package this with a 80-200/f2.8 without power zoom and the FTZ500 and you have a pretty damn good package.
Medium Format
The last time everyone thought Pentax was going to release a flagship, they took the world by surprise and autofocussed the P645. Are they going to do something similar this time around? Autofocus the P67? This is more speculation. The 67 was updated recently and doesn't really require many changes.
P67IIn - OTF with a vengeance
Fed up with carrying a light meter around? Don't like the meter on the TTL pentaprism? Get the new Pentax 67IIn. It has the famous Off The Film (OTF) metering from the LX as well as a motordrive, databack from the P645n, interval timer from the PZ1, remote control operation, damped mirror and a digital hotshoe for the FTZ500.
Completely out of Left Field
Pentax have a patent on a Twin Lens Reflex. The camera in these illustrations appears to be a 35mm model.
There has also been speculation of a rangefinder style camera, although what advantage this would have over the existing small camera range I don't know. It seems unlikely that Pentax would want to have a new range of lenses and their existing point and shoot line is close enough to the Leica style anyway. Possibly a highly specified point and shoot like the Ricoh GR10.
After the fact
Well, Photokina has been and gone and Pentax have displayed a full-size CCD digital camera, an MZ-S, which is a very high tech evolution of the MZ series with a lot of PZ features. Guess I wasn't too far off. :)