As major camera brands shifted to mirrorless, Pentax has remained, perhaps a bit stubbornly, committed to the longstanding DSLR. But now, Pentax has discontinued production of every DSLR in its lineup – in order to make way for the development of “a new series of digital SLR cameras based on an entirely new concept.”
In an announcement shared on September 09, Ricoh announced that it is discontinuing production of all Pentax K-series DSLRs “in preparation for our transition to a new stage.”
The announcement reads: “Currently, we are re-examining the value of photography and developing a product that will allow more people to enjoy the act of taking pictures itself.
“It will still take some time before this product is released, but it will be a completely new concept digital SLR camera that will make full use of the assets of K-mount lenses that we have accumulated over more than half a century.”
Ricoh did not drop many hints as to what that “completely new concept digital SLR camera” will be, but made it clear that it will use the existing K-Mount lenses, will honor the SLR design and will be a digital – not film – camera.
A “completely new” concept built around the DSLR that has been around for 35 years will not be an easy task. The Pentax K-series originally launched in 2003. While the company remained committed to DSLRs as the biggest brands went mirrorless, the more recent Pentax cameras were known for sensor-shift stabilization – a design that also powered an unusual astrotracer feature.
The company’s comments also seem to hint that the upcoming DSLR will also be beginner-friendly:
“At Ricoh Imaging, we will continue to pursue the ideal style of SLR photography, and we want to deliver products that allow everyone who is interested in photography and wants to try using a camera to experience the joy of SLR photography and the wonder of photographs.”
The “joy of SLR photography” hints that Pentax’s upcoming “new concept” DSLR will likely be built heavily around the shooting experience. The idea that a camera should be fun to shoot is a growing concept amid the rise of screen-free cameras and retro camera designs. More smartphone users seem to be drawn to the idea of having a dedicated camera without the distractions of a smartphone.
While the DSLR now lags behind mirrorless technology in terms of features like resolution and subject detection autofocus, one of the DSLR’s endearing features is the optical viewfinder, rather than the mirrorless’ electronic one. The viewfinder is in the very definition of DSLR – digital single-lens reflex – as “reflex” refers to the reflex mirror that bounces the image from the lens up into the viewfinder.
With the rise of screen-free cameras and retro designs, perhaps the optical viewfinder could be poised for a comeback. But, the company is stressing that the upcoming camera will be “a completely new concept,” and new digital cameras inspired by old film cameras certainly are something that’s been done before – no matter how happy I would be to see a digital remake of the Pentax K1000.
The Ricoh brand certainly isn’t a stranger to creating a highly successful line of niche cameras. The Ricoh GR IV series of APS-C sensor compact cameras has repeatedly hit bestseller lists and sells so well that stock remains limited. But the launch was also perfectly timed amid the growing compact camera trend.
While Pentax is not the only camera maker still producing DSLRs, the brand was along in insisting that it wouldn’t move into the mirrorless space. (Or, at least, not again, as Pentax once offered the small-sensor Pentax Q mirrorless series).
Despite remaining committed to the DSLR, numbers from Japan hint that Pentax only shipped around 10,000 DSLRs last year compared to industry leader Canon’s 580,000 – a number that pales in comparison to Canon’s 2.3 million mirrorless cameras shipped.
DSLRs have been steadily declining over the last few years. In 2025, the number of DSLRs shipped out of Japan was just 11% of that of mirrorless cameras.
Pentax noted that the new concept DSLR “will take some time” and did not give an estimated arrival for the new launch.
While Pentax has now ended production of its K-series of cameras, the announcement does not include other non-DSLR cameras, like the Pentax WG-8 waterproof compact camera and the Pentax 17 half-frame film camera.
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