I see some younger photographers who are making their initial purchase of pro-level gear going to Pentax. While I agree that Pentax will likely focus on pro and advanced amateur offerings, I think they can own the lower priced end of that niche. Pentax is a bargain. The K-1 isn’t quite the equal of Nikon’s best, but It is almost as capable and far less expenses. With in-camera shake reduction that price advantage extends to lenses as well. The Pentax D FA 70-200/2.8 sells for about $1000 less than Nikon’s 70-200/2.8, and I would be willing to bet the image quality is just as good. Paul
> On May 17, 2018, at 2:26 PM, Gonz <[email protected]> wrote: > > I see your point Bill, and you arguments make a certain amount of > sense as far as Ricoh's direction. But where I diverge in my opinion > is the survival part. Granted there will always be that cadre of > Pentax die hards, but as you can see from the average age of pdml > posters, its only going up, not down. I.e. there is very little new > Pentax "blood" coming in. So someone who is just coming into the high > end/pro side of photography will in all likelihood migrate to one of > the big three i.e. Canon, Nikon, Sony. Well at least as 35mm is > concerned. I think medium format is a completely different beast and > I wont even venture an opinion on that. Then there is Leica, but they > are also on a different league altogether when it comes to high end. > So where does that leave Pentax? With a reputation of a lower > cost/amateur manufacturer, they will have a real hard time competing > in the space with those big boys and all their resources. The market > is definitely shrinking, and it makes perfect sense to go after the > only remaining market not eviscerated by phone cameras (though I've > seen pros starting to move there too and even making full movies with > them), but whether they will survive or not is a crap shoot. > > > On Thu, May 17, 2018 at 10:05 AM, Bill <[email protected]> wrote: >> On 5/17/2018 8:33 AM, Gonz wrote: >>> >>> Hmmm, I've been lusting over Fuji's stuff for a while now, maybe this >>> is the push that I need. On the other hand, I read something like >>> this: >>> >>> >>> https://petapixel.com/2018/05/17/ricohs-new-camera-sdks-open-the-door-to-3rd-party-apps/ >>> >>> Which I've been advocating for years now. There are few things that >>> can create more buzz and excitement than an active third party >>> ecosystem that gives you applications and features Pentax/Ricoh could >>> not dream of. This is what made Apple the phone brand that it is, >>> maybe this will revive the Pentax brand and allow it to survive. >> >> >> I don't think there is much doubt that the Pentax brand will survive. What >> is in doubt is if it will survive in such a way as to make it desirable for >> entry level users. The road map is indicating all high end lenses, and as >> the camera market is shrinking at a rather alarming rate, the high end of >> the market is the safest place to be positioned. >> The low end of the market is being eviscerated by the cell phone market. Low >> end, low cost products have to sell in huge numbers to be profitable. Going >> forwards, those sales numbers simply won't exist. >> Witness Ford getting out of the sedan market, essentially abandoning the >> entry level automobile market to Korean manufacturers as an example. >> My guess is that the Pentax brand is going to pretty much abandon the >> beginner market (the Ricoh brand may pick up traction there), and >> concentrate on high end products that can be profitable at low volumes. >> >> As much as forum users who think they know everything disagree because >> Pentax isn't doing what they want (they must be stupid because of that), the >> management at Ricoh is made up of some pretty smart cookies who walked into >> the Pentax brand with their eyes open. We may not be seeing the development >> speed we would like to see, but we are seeing an ongoing commitment and a >> steady, albeit slow, pace of development. >> >> bill >> >> >> >> >> -- >> PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List >> [email protected] >> http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net >> to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and >> follow the directions. > > > > -- > -- Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding > it still. Dorothea Lange > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > [email protected] > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow > the directions. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
