Pentax shares its vision of the future of the camera: Continue to stay with the DSLR and not follow the Mirrorless movement

All major camera companies now including Sony, Canon, Nikon, and Panasonic are pouring resources into developing mirrorless cameras, a new generation of cameras to replace the exported DSLR. now on the market for decades. But Pentax has a completely different mindset, the company thinks that the future of photography is still traditional mirror-based devices.

The K-1II DSLR from Pentax

This was confirmed after the company posted a video talking about its 5 product design rules, including:

1. Design the camera with the utmost conscientiousness

2. The cameras must be able to help the photographer connect to their subject (meaning through the optical viewfinder of a DSLR)

3. Camera must create joy for photographers

4. The camera must be of high quality and cannot be measured using the numbers on the specification sheet

5. Pentax takes user experience very seriously, and considers it an invaluable asset

These five principles are explained more clearly in Pentax’s 20-minute presentation, including the sharing by Shinobu Takahashi – Chairman of the imaging division of Ricoh (Pentax’s parent company).

At 9:30 he explained why the future Pentax will still pursue DSLR design:

“Mirrorless cameras are already on the market, and many people think this is a high-end model that completely replaces DSLRs, but there are many reasons to argue. At Pentax, we don’t Designed with technology in mind, we want to create products that users want to use, with good grip and can do the job smoothly.

We designed DSLRs so that users can connect to the subject through the optical viewfinder, thereby creating works that match their imagination. Through our experience of producing cameras for many years, we see that a lot of people like this feeling, so Pentax will continue to produce DSLRs to serve them. “

Is that orientation of Pentax right? Or will we have a “Kodak 2nd”, not keep up technology and eventually ‘pushed’ out of the market? Again, only time will tell.