Bill, your comments ring ever so true. I'm looking for a digital camera (!) with certain specs and features for a specific long-term project. My first thought was to see what Pentax offered. Just the Optios and a little toy model. So, not only have they lost my business for the camera, but for whatever accessories I may choose to buy as well. And, down the line, should I choose to upgrade, the chances are real good that I wouldn't even consider Pentax, because by that time there may be an investment in another company's digital products.
What's even more disappointing is that I'm not looking for a DSLR, but a good "prosumer" model in the 3MP - 4MP range. The advanced amateur market is one that Pentax does pretty well with their film cameras, but their digital offerings are quite poor wrt features and the number of models offered. So, I'm looking at Canon, Nikon, and Olympus - all companies with a broad range of digital cameras to fit just about every budget and need. As a 35+ year user of Pentax gear, this is very disappointing indeed. Not even having a Pentax to consider is ridiculous. William Robb wrote: > The point is, if Pentax stays out of this market niche long > enough, they won't have a market to sell to when/ if they decide > to get into it. > Look what has happened to them over the past couple of decades > for playing this game with the high end market. They turned > Ostrich when the modern AF cameras came out, and they started to > lose market share in a big way. > Pentax used to be the camera of choice for SLR's for the serious > photographer. Now they are a has been company that sells point > and shoots. They are no longer recognized as being an industry > leader by the people who they need to recognize them, which is > the buying public. > When J. Sixpack goes looking for a film camera now, he is > looking at Nikons and Canons. > When he goes out to buy a digital, he will be doing the same > thing. > Soon, it won't matter what Pentax puts on the shelf, it won't > sell because no one will care. > The worst case scenario is that they won't be able to put > anything on dealers shelves because the dealers themselves don't > have enough confidence in the brand's recognition to sell to > give them shelf space. > To an extent, it is already happening. Pentax no longer commands > respect from the camera stores in many places. I read that here > all the time. > As this situation evolves, the company will find itself in > deeper doo-doo. > Not putting a digital SLR onto the market very soon will be > suicide for Pentax. The digital SLR market is here, now, and > needs to be responded to. -- Shel Belinkoff mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://home.earthlink.net/~belinkoff/ http://home.earthlink.net/~belinkoff/darkroom-rentals/index.html - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
