Prejudice is the biggest obstacle Pentax faces, period.
We live in an age where 99% of people who drive SUVs rather than minivans do
so not because they will EVER, EVER, EVER drive off-road, but because they
feel more hip driving them to the grocery store. It's an age where people
will pay $4 for a coffee from Starbuck's (I once saw a person pouring coffee
from a generic styrofoam cup into a Starbuck's cup - for what reason? It
certainly won't taste any better - or worse, for that matter). Less
recently, look at the triumph of VHS over Beta - an inferior format winning
out due solely to marketing. It's fundamentally irrational.
There's a person on one of the photo newsgroups who calls herself "Annika".
She posts pictures taken with what she calls the "fabulous EOS 1V". They
are badly composed, badly exposed snapshots that would be laughed off the
PUG, were they ever to appear in that forum. She insists the camera is
fabulous, and you know what? I bet it is. It sure doesn't show in her
pictures, which could easily be duplicated with my Stylus Epic. What she
has purchased is not photographic potential. It's pride of ownership and a
very light wallet. That's fine, if that's what she wants. It doesn't bode
well for Pentax, though. Unlike the F5, no one's going to buy the MZ-S to
impress the folks who see them wearing it around their neck.
My point? Pretentious poserism is rampant. By and large, people buy image,
specifications, test results, self-esteem, pride of ownership over
functionality. By and large, they buy not what they need, or think they
will need, but what gives them the image they want.
Pentax makes a wide range of good equipment. They certainly have a line of
high-quality glass that includes more choices than 99% of the gear-buying
public will ever need, myself included. The have backward compatibility
second to none. But Pentax has little cachet to sell its 35mm equipment for
it. Many salesmen, and most consumers, are going to have to be seriously
persuaded before they give it a fair shake. It's all right, though. We'll
all live.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Terence Mac Goff" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Wednesday, July 18, 2001 9:52 AM
Subject: Re: MZ-S review in Amateur Photographer (first UK review)
> The point I aimed at was that I think its disingenuous of Pentax to pitch
> this fine camera against the "pro" market, as they will get more reviews
in
> this vein. Pitching it as a compact, portable, well built and featured
> model is all well and good, but it will always be compared to others.
-
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