A good fairy now allows you 3 wishes : What should the new Pentax look like?

Beverly Hills · Mar 24, 2023

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The new generation of Pentax engineers is smart enought to realize that the task is not inventing a new design, but in choosing a design that can still be produced affordably
without ending up in a plastic camera.

It may sound pretty naiv to expect Pentax to quickly re - release some popular models.

Technically everything is actually possible.The question is wether you really want it and if the budget is hight enought !

Just let us look around to see how things are going elsewere. In times where the Chineese are able to build super carriers :

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equiped with latest technology.

Will the Japanese still have succeed in bringing reliable slr cameras made of solid metal into the market ?

That is the key and at the same time the essence
of the whole topic :

S O L I D . M E T A L !

..." wow - but metal is pretty heavy and should also cost a lot " ?

....coming back to the issue with supercarriers :

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USS Gerald R. Ford ( CVN 78 )

....IT IS A MATTER OF WILL !

And now you have a total of 3 wiches ?
Exactly - I had only 2 wiches :

......s i m s a l a b i m

that would make a long awaited dream come true, bring back Pentax LX ! with a simple modification : a shutter speed of 1/4000s .....and after all, what's a good fairy for ?

ok ....that worked out well, then I have one more wish left

......s i m s a l a b i m

A second dream comes true : a Pentax MX freshly produced in 2025 ...
with a tiny change : the LED lamps in the viewfinder have been replaced by the latest technology.

That's it from my side, but now it's up to you : what do you wish for from the good fairy !

markjwyatt · Mar 24, 2023

M42 lens mount w/adapter for Pentax K-mount.

Bill Burk · Mar 24, 2023

markjwyatt said:
M42 lens mount w/adapter for Pentax K-mount.

But the adaptation is cleverly built-in and recognizes the lens as you start to attach it. And the M42 engages like a K bayonet because the jaws open until the lens is nearly flush with the mount. You only need to make that final twist. Of course it works in stop-down mode when it has to.

Cholentpot · Mar 24, 2023

Meterless K1000.

Make something that is robust and simple.

lecarp · Mar 24, 2023

A NIKON!!!

grain elevator · Mar 24, 2023

markjwyatt said:
M42 lens mount w/adapter for Pentax K-mount.

A camera that defies physics, got it (M42 is narrower than K, which is why adapters the other way around are possible).
But seriously, a camera that can meter with open aperture with bot K and adopted M42 lenses (on would of course need to manually index the widest aperture somehow) and of course automatically stop them down would be pretty cool.
I don't really see a need for a re-issue of any old Pentax, plenty of those around, except maybe the LX. I wish them the best economically with making a new film camera, and I think to that end a modern camera that shares as much as possible with the K-1 makes most sense. Either way I'm not in the market, but might in 30 years when old cameras may be a bit scarcer.

Philippe-Georges · Mar 24, 2023

LX of course!

markjwyatt · Mar 24, 2023

grain elevator said:
...M42 is narrower than K, which is why adapters the other way around are possible...
But seriously, a camera that can meter with open aperture with bot K and adopted M42 lenses (on would of course need to manually index the widest aperture somehow) and of course automatically stop them down would be pretty cool...

Agreed... Other way around is fine.

ic-racer · Mar 24, 2023

"New Pentax" has already been done twice. I'd like to see either of them again.

Bessaflex TM for Pentax screw mount lenses and Kenko KF-4PK for Pentax K mount lenses.

Huss · Mar 24, 2023

Bring back the Auto 110. But give it full exposure read out with exp compensation +- 2

The Auto 110 was Pentax's greatest film SLR ever made.

Cholentpot · Mar 24, 2023

Huss said:
Bring back the Auto 110. But give it full exposure read out with exp compensation +- 2

The Auto 110 was Pentax's greatest film SLR ever made.

So good that I have two. Greatest slr of all time. Made for the greatest format of all time.

Make 110 great again!

Huss · Mar 24, 2023

I too have two! Why? because it is the greatest slr known to mankind.

Pieter12 · Mar 24, 2023

Traditionally, it is genies who grant wishes, not fairies. But if I had 3 wishes, I wouldn't waste them on a camera.

miha · Mar 24, 2023

@trendland, you posts are so picture heavy it takes a while to open them. Nice camera, though.

BradS · Mar 24, 2023

miha said:
@trendland.

What I was thinking too.

Cholentpot · Mar 24, 2023

Huss said:
I too have two! Why? because it is the greatest slr known to mankind.

Have the regular and the SUPER. Because we all know SUPER is better. Need to round off the lens collection though.

Derek Lofgreen · Mar 24, 2023

Some may not agree but if its a new film slr then it should compete with the abilities of the latest tech. Wishing here after all. I don't need another manual SLR I need a film SLR that matches the digital stuff out there on some level.
1. Advanced autofocus with 400 autofocus points... or whatever.
2. Modern metering system
3. Record Exif data to retrieve wirelessly with a mobile app

D.

mshchem · Mar 24, 2023

mshchem · Mar 24, 2023

First SLR with in body stabilization at 8 frames/s with Tri-X

Pieter12 · Mar 24, 2023

mshchem said:
First SLR with in body stabilization at 8 frames/s with Tri-X

To do in-body stabilization, its going to be a big mother camera. And what does Tri-X have to do with it?

mshchem · Mar 24, 2023

Pieter12 said:
To do in-body stabilization, its going to be a big mother camera. And what does Tri-X have to do with it?

Nothing at all.

Helge · Mar 24, 2023

It will need some extra doodads and gags that make it a genuinely better shooter than any old Pentax.
At the same time these extras shouldn’t cost too much to implement or manufacture.

Simu flashing would be a no brainer. It would make pushing and tricky light so much easier and better and cost a nickel in LEDs.

Two things that make a huge difference to general photography is tripods and bounce and off camera flash.

A table tripod that could double as a handle and fold up like a battery grip would be a big deal.
Having to carry a separate tripod and mount it is a total turnoff to most people raised on digital.
A table tripod like the above, that can be put on tables, held to walls and even the chest, would be better than electronic in-body stabilization.

A small but powerful wireless flash powered by rechargeable cells would be fantastic. It should be able to fold flush with the camera, and you should be able to add as many as you want.
Bounce it, fire directly from behind, put it indoors
and shoot from outside etc.

Of course you can buy separate triggers and flashes. But it’s never pocketable, and it requires a lot of effort and knowledge.

This would be very easy and cheap to implement with modern micro electronics. At least put the transmitter and custom brackets on the camera.

davela · Mar 24, 2023

Fully mechanical shutter, possibly TTL metering, compact or moderately so, with a bright focusing screen and with good eye relief. That is, essentially an MX or a K1000 like camera, but with improved viewing optics (this was more an MX issue than a K1000 issue). The OM-1 and a few modern era SLR's (such as the last Contax series) are good examples of how well an SLR pentaprism and related optics system can be made.

Beverly Hills · Mar 24, 2023

Beverly Hills · Mar 24, 2023

A good fairy now allows you 3 wishes : What should the new Pentax look like?

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