The long wait for a new DSLR could will soon be over, as production on the latest Pentax camera is now "in progress".
A report from a renowned insider in Japan reveals that the much-anticipated DSLR isn't just a camera rumor or a project on a drawing board, but has actively entered the production phase.
While a timeline for launch can't be inferred, it's certainly conceivable that we could see the new product – widely expected to be a successor to the Pentax K-1 Mark II full-frame flagship – later in 2026.
"The new camera is not only a speculation or still a project. The production is in process."
That's was posted to social media by Kimio Tanaka (as shared by Pentax Rumors), a Ricoh/Pentax insider who has previously shared ominously on-the-money information about the company's plans and products.
Pentax has repeatedly reiterated, including as recently as April, that it remains committed to DSLR development and that a new model is on the way.
Again, it is generally expected that we will see a follow-up to 2018's K-1 Mark II, the company's flagship camera. However, given that 2021's Pentax K-3 Mark III and 2023's K-3 Mark III Monochrome have recently been discontinued, it's also possible that we could be looking at an APS-C release.
Pentax is making cameras for an incredibly niche audience at this stage. As Canon told me earlier this year, DSLRs only account for 10% of camera sales these days, which is about 700,000 units – and some 620,000 of those are sold by Canon.
If we're very generous and say that the remainder is split evenly with Nikon, that means there are only 40,000 Pentax DSLR customers. Do they want another bulky full-frame DSLR or do they want a more compact APS-C offering?
Personally, I'd love to see a K-3 Mark III – and Pentax's hints in recent years certainly suggest that it's working on a full-frame body. But Pentax has also hinted at projects like a fully manual camera, so it wouldn't surprise me if the company came out with something completely leftfield.
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