Why I think Pentax is doomed
Rich
realm. Period. Olympus will shortly move completely away from DSLR's to
interchangeable lens mirrorless cameras like the E-P1, though they will
probably save the basic DSLR shape. Panasonic has already done this.
Pentax has no place. Aside from selling a handful of DSLR's to die-hard
and "in short supply"Pentax fans, they have no real place in the higher-
level camera realm. They don't impress very much. They have no niche
and they can't compete with C-N-S.
This, from "Luminous Landscape" kind of sums it up:
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/k7-hands.shtml
I have a confession to make. I found the Pentax K7 to be a competent
camera.
That's a confession?
Well, it is in a way because it goes toward explaining why I don't have a
lot to say about the K7's image quality or its overall appeal. It's a
competent camera and does a lot of things well and not too many poorly.
Image quality is fine, but not exceptional, and maybe a bit noisier than
some.
But therein lies its failing in my eyes. The camera isn't compelling for
any reason. In marketing terms it doesn't appear to offer a USP (Unique
Selling Proposition). Almost every aspect of the camera is competent, and
there are only a few failings. But it also doesn't really excel at
anything. It isn't the fastest, the sharpest, the highest resolution, the
smallest, the lightest, the fastest focusing, or have the fastest frames
rates.
In other words, the Pentax K7 is like a middle child who gets lost in the
shuffle in a large family, between the cute young ones and the mature and
smarter older ones, or the really attractive sibling that garners all of
the attention.
NOYFB
"Rich" <no...@nowhere.com> wrote in message
news:S8GdnUoGXOELu1DX...@giganews.com...
> Nikon, Canon and to a much lesser extent, Sony look to dominate the DSLR
> realm. Period. Olympus will shortly move completely away from DSLR's to
> interchangeable lens mirrorless cameras like the E-P1, though they will
> probably save the basic DSLR shape. Panasonic has already done this.
> Pentax has no place. Aside from selling a handful of DSLR's to die-hard
> and "in short supply"Pentax fans, they have no real place in the higher-
> level camera realm. They don't impress very much. They have no niche
> and they can't compete with C-N-S.
>
Bruce
I think you're right. Pentax had a brief period when their DSLRs sold
well, with the K10D holding first place in Japan's best seller lists
for almost a year.
But it has all been downhill since then. The K20D was a minimal
advance on the K10D, and the K7D does no more than fix some of the
K20D's deficiencies but at a very high cost. Even with all that
expense, the K7D is sadly inferior to the Nikon and Canon "prosumer"
DSLRs - cameras that the K7D fails to compete with.
The partnership with Samsung has gone sour - to the point that Pentax
won't even state who makes the sensor for the K7D. Samsung seems to
have given up on DSLRs altogether.
The low-end Pentax DSLRs offer nothing special either, and are
undercut on price by Sony, a brand that offers nothing special in
terms of technology or ability, but at least offers low prices.
Here in the UK, the biggest retailer of DSLR cameras, Jessops, has
stopped selling Pentax products altogether - this in a market that has
been traditionally very strong for Pentax.
So there won't be many first-time DSLR buyers choosing Pentax, nor
prosumer DSLR buyers, nor anything in between. Now Samsung has fallen
by the wayside, Pentax knows it needs a new partner to share
development costs, but who on earth would want to partner Pentax now?
So yes, you are right: Pentax is probably doomed, and confirmation
will come over the next year when new Pentax products will be few and
far between.
Mike GW8IJT
> realm. Period. Olympus will shortly move completely away from DSLR's to
> interchangeable lens mirrorless cameras like the E-P1, though they will
> probably save the basic DSLR shape. Panasonic has already done this.
> Pentax has no place. Aside from selling a handful of DSLR's to die-hard
> and "in short supply"Pentax fans, they have no real place in the higher-
> level camera realm. They don't impress very much. They have no niche
> and they can't compete with C-N-S.
>
> This, from "Luminous Landscape" kind of sums it up:
>
> http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/k7-hands.shtml
>
The lifting mirror and pentaprism/mirror is a relic of film days and should
not feature in modern cameras.
Mike
Alan Browne
For those with Pentax lenses and no desire to replace them, the Pentax
line is fine. Pentax can milk that for a while. But would you buy a
high end Pentax lens at this point? Aye, there's the rub.
Strategically they are in a weak position. They don't control their
sensor fab. This does not matter much to Nikon - they are much larger
and they get what they need from Sony (and would command the attention
of any other fab. Pentax have to pick and choose and with a lower
volume to offer do not have a strong buyer position. Further, Sony can
deny them access to the Sony FF chips as well (at the risk of anti-trust
but that would take 5 years or more to sort out). They can run to Kodak
and others for fab but remain relatively weak as buyers.
Peter Chant
>
> The lifting mirror and pentaprism/mirror is a relic of film days and
> should not feature in modern cameras.
> Mike
Can you get electronic viewfinders with reasonable resolution that are fast?
Pete
ransley
Why do you think sony will lead and Nikon and Canon fall behind. I can
say I wish my rebel 500 had I.S., or and canon dslr, Sony does, and
the 16-35 2.8 L lens I just bought does not have I.S.
John Turco
<heavily edited for brevity>
> The low-end Pentax DSLRs offer nothing special either, and are
> undercut on price by Sony, a brand that offers nothing special in
> terms of technology or ability, but at least offers low prices.
>
> Here in the UK, the biggest retailer of DSLR cameras, Jessops, has
> stopped selling Pentax products altogether - this in a market that has
> been traditionally very strong for Pentax.
>
> So there won't be many first-time DSLR buyers choosing Pentax, nor
> prosumer DSLR buyers, nor anything in between. Now Samsung has fallen
> by the wayside, Pentax knows it needs a new partner to share
> development costs, but who on earth would want to partner Pentax now?
>
> So yes, you are right: Pentax is probably doomed, and confirmation
> will come over the next year when new Pentax products will be few and
> far between.
I said it before, and I'll say it again: Kodak needs to purchase
Pentax. Then, this hybrid outfit could do something to challenge
the Nikon/Canon DSLR hegemony...or, at least, overtake Sony (which,
itself, benefited from the acquisition of Minolta's technology).
--
Cordially,
John Turco <jt...@concentric.net>
Paintings Pain and Pun <http://laughatthepain.blogspot.com>
John Navas
wrote in <4AEBCBA3...@concentric.net>:
>I said it before, and I'll say it again: Kodak needs to purchase
>Pentax. Then, this hybrid outfit could do something to challenge
>the Nikon/Canon DSLR hegemony...or, at least, overtake Sony (which,
>itself, benefited from the acquisition of Minolta's technology).
Pentax is now just a division/brand of Hoya. It's been widely
speculated that the camera business, which isn't strategic to Hoya, will
be sold off. If so, Kodak probably makes sense as a potential buyer,
but Samsung probably makes even more sense, since it's already partnered
with Pentax. However, whether or not the Japanese government would
approve that kind of foreign acquisition is an open question.
--
Best regards,
John
Buying a dSLR doesn't make you a photographer,
it makes you a dSLR owner.
"The single most important component of a camera
is the twelve inches behind it." -Ansel Adams
John Turco
>
> On Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:31:15 -0500, John Turco <jt...@concentric.net>
> wrote in <4AEBCBA3...@concentric.net>:
>
> >I said it before, and I'll say it again: Kodak needs to purchase
> >Pentax. Then, this hybrid outfit could do something to challenge
> >the Nikon/Canon DSLR hegemony...or, at least, overtake Sony (which,
> >itself, benefited from the acquisition of Minolta's technology).
>
> Pentax is now just a division/brand of Hoya. It's been widely
> speculated that the camera business, which isn't strategic to Hoya, will
> be sold off. If so, Kodak probably makes sense as a potential buyer,
> but Samsung probably makes even more sense, since it's already partnered
> with Pentax. However, whether or not the Japanese government would
> approve that kind of foreign acquisition is an open question.
That would be palpably hypocritical of Japan's leaders, in my opinion!
In 2008, they allowed Panasonic - the world's largest manufacturer of
consumer electronics equipment - to absorb Sanyo, which is the planet's
most prolific producer of digicams.
Teraposa Lunodas
Jack
Why should anyone care if Pentax goes out of business. There are more
than enough camera companies left.
John Turco
Being the owner of a Pentax K100D, >I< happen to care.
rwalker
wrote:
>Jack wrote:
>>
>> snip
>>
>> Why should anyone care if Pentax goes out of business. There are more
>> than enough camera companies left.
>
>
>Being the owner of a Pentax K100D, >I< happen to care.
My two favorite cameras are both Pentax. Neither is a 35 mm. or
digital. At one end is my Pentax 67 medium format SLR, and at the
other is my Pentax Auto 110 SLR. Sadly, it doesn't look like I'll get
to use the Auto 110 much longer, since no one is making 110 film any
more. I may try my hand and slitting 35 mm. film and reloading the
cassettes.
My dream Pentax at the moment is this:
http://www.photographyblog.com/news/pentax_645_digital_in_2010/
Of course, if and when it appears, I'll probably need a second
mortgage to afford it.
dj_nme
The way that the project seemed to get dumped when Hoya took over does
not bode well for the digital 645. :-(
rwalker
wrote:
Oh, I hadn't heard that part of the story. My actually owning one was
a pipe dream anyway.
John Turco
>
> On Wed, 30 Dec 2009 00:15:24 -0600, John Turco <jt...@concentric.net>
> wrote:
>
> >Jack wrote:
> >>
> >> snip
> >>
> >> Why should anyone care if Pentax goes out of business. There are
> >> more than enough camera companies left.
> >
> >
> >Being the owner of a Pentax K100D, >I< happen to care.
>
> My two favorite cameras are both Pentax. Neither is a 35 mm. or
> digital. At one end is my Pentax 67 medium format SLR, and at the
> other is my Pentax Auto 110 SLR. Sadly, it doesn't look like I'll get
> to use the Auto 110 much longer, since no one is making 110 film any
> more. I may try my hand and slitting 35 mm. film and reloading the
> cassettes.
<edited for brevity>
By coincidence, I also own an Auto 110 and two of its lenses.
They were handed down to me, by a relative, in May of 2006. A
couple of months earlier, I'd bought a Pentax ZX-60 kit (35mm
film SLR).
Although, I've never used either camera, the ZX-60's bundled lens
(28mm F3.5-80mm F5.6) has been mounted on my K100D, ever since I
got the body-only DSLR (in September, 2008).
Then, again, I didn't snap a single shot with the K100D, during
all of 2009; it last saw action, on June 3, 2007.
I have several Kodak P&S digicams, including a pair of "bridge"
types, such as the P850. It's become my favorite digital device
of all, as it's the right blend of sophistication and size.
The P850's image quality rivals that of the K100D, itself...and
without the latter's bulk and weight, which tend to discourage
casual picture-taking, somewhat.