Digital Home Thoughts: Pentax Announces Q Interchangeable Lens Camera with Point-n-shoot Sensor; We All Go 'Huh'?

"Pentax has announced the 'Q' mirrorless interchangeable lens camera. The camera is the first to use the company's Q mount and features a compact-camera-sized 1/2.3" image stabilized CMOS sensor."

I have to say, I am complete baffled by this. What is Pentax trying to do? Making a small camera is one thing, but an expensive interchangeable lens compact using one of the smallest sensors in compact camera territory and charging a high price for it? The Pentax Q is mirrorless interchangeable lens camera like the Micro Four Thirds cameras, Sony's NEX or Samsung's NX, but uses a 12.4 megapixel 1/2.3" sensor instead of a much larger sensor. For an idea of how small the sensor is, the focal length crop factor is a whooping 5.7x. Top it off it is going to be even more expensive than many of the other mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras I listed above, coming in at US$800 with the kit 8.5mm f/1.9 lens (equivalent to 48mm). While it is small, full-featured, and looks well-built, I can't help but feel Pentax has totally missed the mark here. Looking at the lenses, it appears there are a few "toy" lenses, but with mobile phone cameras (and the software) doing a good job of mimicking the "toy" look, I am sceptical of the market for it. Ships in US in Fall 2011.