Latest Pentax Interview with Pentax Ricoh HQs' Senior Official by DC Watch

Thanks to Blog reader "qwe" for his alert, we have the latest Pentax Ricoh interview by the Japanese DC Watch, as follows:-

http://dc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/interview/20121010_564928.html

The above is in Japanese, you can read also the machine-translated English pages by Excite here and Google here.

The interview has just been published today, it seems that the tone of Pentax Ricoh has changed considerably since the last series of Photokina interviews (by IR, PF and etc.) a few weeks ago. This time, the interviewee is the head of (product?) development division of the Pentax Ricoh HQs, Mr. Toshiyuki Kitazawa:-


(Mr. Toshiyuki Kitazawa, Head of the Development Division of Pentax Ricoh Company Japan.)

So, I would like to summarise the more important things and key messages contained from my best understanding:-

1.The aspiration of a Full Frame camera and body for even better image quality by the users is understood.

2. The trend of traditional DSLRs (with mirrors) for being go up to the Full Frame sensor size and with lower prices is recognised.

3. They have started to develop a Full Frame digital system. However, the current faced problem for not marketing a FF system right now is the lack of a complete FF lens lineup, which is yet to be developed.

4. They are continuing to liaise with sensor manufacturers and try to source a suitable sensor unit for the new body.

5. He believes that the APS-C format still has its advantages, for its compactness and flexibility, and which the image quality is already not bad. As such, the development of APS-C and FF will be carried out in parallel.

6. A Pentax FF would come true within the fiscal year of 2013/14, but still maybe later.

7. The advantage of a camera body without an AA filter is for its highest possible resolution out of the sensor but with trade-offs of possible moire and false colours and noise, which is less likely to happen with the higher pixel density of model sensors.

8. Pentax has planned to make more AA-filterless camera bodies in the future, with new technologies being developed and involved.

9. The Q system will continue its development as an unique product line of its own.

I like the style of this Japanese Pentax Ricoh guy than the previous PR sales guys at the Photokina. I do have a far better impression on the way he is talking things in a far more practical way. He has touched on something technical but it is not too difficult. All in all, I think his statements are concise, clear, direct and fairly honest plus humble enough of himself, on what are being asked! Good! :-D Of course, at the end of the day, we don't have to agree with what he says and the Pentax plans as told, nonetheless!

Update (10-11): I have just checked that Mr. Toshiyuki Kitazawa is an engineer by himself who owns quite some patents related to cameras over years. See this profile of his for details. Now I know why I have had a good impression on him by feeling at the beginning! ;-) I don't like those sales guys btw, who often have too much crappy sales talks for most of the time but without knowing better for the technical stuff behind! >:-( They will never tell you something concrete also, neither, at the end of the day!


Related:-

Yet Another Pentax Full Frame Rumour