On 03.2.28 8:29 AM, "Pål Jensen" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Pentax need to grab some attention. The only attention the *ist D will get is > the one immediately after the news about it breaks. "Oh, Pentax has release a > DSLR. Nice!" Then its forgotten completely and people buy the Nikon or Canon > DSLR. The *ist D is forgettable. It doesn't stand out. Hi Pål, My first reaction when I saw the photos of *ist D was that it indeed looked like N/C counterparts and Pentax played it safe this time. I thought it appealed to most of the common denominator mass who hold certain image on DSLR. You seem to be talking about more aesthetic than anything else and it is obvious that Pentax did not want to depart from the accepted design in the mass market, and I even thought Pentax has done so purposely, at least on the first one. Most cars look similar each other these days as mfrs use computers to design the shape of cars, ending up everybody doing almost the same thing. SLR design has evolved for a long time and there probably is only so much mfrs can do, particularly in a small package. I believe *ist D (yes, I hate to type this :-) has been developed with the C/N competitions in mind from the beginning for the very reason you talked about. It is small, compact, well specified and IF priced right, I believe it will sell well. They could have done some radical things in order to leave a mark, perhaps placing a penta prism sideway in order to eliminate the hump on top as Minolta did on S-1 APS camera, for example, but these thing might turn off the market this is targeted at (it does not look like a SLR :-). Remember, the *ist D is meant as the entry level DSLR and the market that buys the entry level SLRs may not be so brand conscious and they go for the max bang for the money (although it may be slightly different from the entry level market for the film SLR). At least in Japan, jumping ships and switching brands are everyday occurrence. Some also switch from N/C to Pentax. Those people, after a long use of N/C mostly at an enthusiast level and getting much more experienced in photography, suddenly realize what Pentax is offering in terms of compactness, user friendly interface and superb glasses. Compact, light weight and no-nonsense interface as opposed to a bloated size, weight and the fighter pilot cockpit interface are no longer fashionable. The fad for those was created by the mfrs for competition which nobody really wanted. In Japan, I can see that consumers are really wearing down by the feature set competition and the resultant bloated camera (Minolta Dynax 7 was it with all kinds of buttons. You may no longer see this kind of camera). This may explain the hot retro market until a year or so ago (still going strong). But in that country, there is a huge infrastructure of used market and switching the brands may not be as painful as it is here. In any case, I would like to think that Pentax know what they are doing and hope they are successful on this first DSLR, and sell tons of them to the market that is thirsty and eager for the "affordable" DSLR. I tend to agree with what Pål says "DSLR may not be so "brand driven" at least at this juncture. DSLR market is only slowly developing and the next war will be fought at the entry level DSLR market. If the targeted market compare offerings and see one brands has sufficient feature, easy to operate (very important for this market) and very affordable, they will buy that brand perhaps as a kit with one of those starter zooms. Yes, those who have the investment in lenses of one brand may tend to stick their brand solely for that reason, but it may not be a deciding factor any more. People who enter into DSLR market are not complete novices but we have to remember that these people tend to jump ships from the film SLR. They are willing to start fresh and Pentax (and all others) see a great opportunity now which they cannot afford to miss. If all else are equal, I am sure Pentax would be a price leader for one thing as they have been, but *ist D does indeed look like a very competitive products. Now coffee is ready, Bye for now. Cheers, Ken
