I have to say, that the hand-wringing over Pentax seems to ignore that Ricoh only acquired Pentax in October of 2011. A certain amount of time for reorganization, melding of talent, and reacquisition of goals and decisions regarding business directions had to be made. I have the feeling that the K-01 had to be a carry-over from development decisions made at Hoya (not Ricoh). I truly believe that one must hold one's breath and judge the potential success of Pentax Ricoh Imaging by the cameras that will be introduced (and be shipping?) for the 2012 Holiday season. That means the replacements for the K-x, K-5, and ???.
I do think that the PR department has fallen down on the job in the way the new lens price "policing" is going to be done. Particularly bad timing after everyone got excited over the release of the recent Lens Roadmap (something Hoya had discontinued). However, I also think that the disappointment will blow over, similar to what we do with the price of gas. We sigh and we pay it and have less for other things (or we walk). Keep in mind that the Nikon D3100 was competing with the Pentax K-x not that long ago and both are supposed to have the same Sony Exmor sensors. Therefore, I believe that if Nikon is using a 24MP sensor in it's "entry class" D3200 then I think that it is quite likely that Pentax is developing (and will be announcing) something with very similar specs (and perhaps the identical sensor) for a similar price. I believe that this camera will be a mid-range Pentax DSLR and that there will still be a model closer to the $495 price point that is truly "entry level". There should be a K-5 replacement above it. And I in my dreams I see a FF model above it, perhaps competing in the D800 space. As far as innovation goes, I think that the O-GPS1 shows that Pentax can do things that no one else has even thought of. (Whether it is a huge hit in the marketplace is a whole 'nuther matter). And I still like the fact that Pentax uses shake reduction in the body, allowing me to benefit from it even when slapping a 40 year old Takumar on my K-x. I *hate* the idea of paying for image stabilization over and over again in each lens. I guess the thing that the Nikon D3200 announcement does is give me pause on purchasing a K-5 (as we all know, so late in the life cycle). I think it would probably be prudent to see what the reviews are for the new Pentax bodies before deciding. I may still go back and buy a low mileage used K-5 but I need to see how much of a jump in technology and IQ this next round will bring. I'm sure that many will be thinking the same thing and so Pentax will soon be delivering a fresh round of rebates on the current models to clear out inventory in advance of the new models. (The lens policing policy gives Pentax room to make generous "rebates" available too.) Those of you wishing to cash in your used Pentax lenses to change manufacturers would do well to do it soon in this historic window when the gap between used and new is suddenly (and perhaps temporarily) higher. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
