Re: Dpreview - New SLR
Mark said: Boyd's seems to be hangin' on. It's good place to get lens caps, filters, film, and occasionally, used gear. They had short-dated Fuji Super HQ 200 film for $1.00 a roll when I went two weeks ago. Photo Express did an excellent job printing it. I think they survive cause Camera Exchange can't seem to hire someone who doesn't treat you like an idiot and is as retail as retail gets. I went with a coworker and they were charging her $8.00 a roll for NPH. Good grief! Yeah, but the last few times I went to Boyd's, there was next to nothing in the place (in terms of inventory) and the only person out front is this guy who seems to have learnt customer service AT Camera Exchange. He indicated that they didn't have anything, and gave the impression that he didn't give a damn. This has been my experience on at least three trips in the past year (same guy there each time). As to charitably including Ritz/Wolf, well, they do have caps, filters, film ... and on at least one occasion I saw an Optio 550 on display at one of their stores! This was several months after I'd made the trip to Precision Camera in Austin to buy mine, but still it was nice to see that it was, finally, available in San Antonio. So I suppose these days, if Boyd's is a camera store, so is Ritz/Wolf. I stand corrected. ERN
Re: Dpreview - New SLR
True enough, but if they're bringing out a camera to compete with the Digital Rebel they will have to compete in places like WalMart. There's no way around it. William Robb wrote: - Original Message - From: Peter J. Alling Subject: Re: Dpreview - New SLR The product isn't the problem, it's getting distribution. I stopped into the local Wallmart today. they had the Canon Digital Rebel in stock and on display. There were no Pentax cameras there at all. If they don't get exposure they won't sell any. Don't use Wal-Mart as a guide in this case. They buy based on price, not brand. Canon is big enough to be able to volume discount more than Pentax is. At this point, Pentax needs to develop its brand as a cachet brand rather than mainstream, much like what Leica has survived on for the past 4 decades. William Robb
Re: Dpreview - New SLR
Based on the fact that they haven't introduced a new ltd. lens lately it may be a great finish. William Robb wrote: - Original Message - From: Dr. Shaun Canning Subject: Re: Dpreview - New SLR Well they had better give us some products worthy of lusting after like Leica have for eons... Have you looked at the 31mm abd 77mm lenses? It's a great start. William Robb
Re: Dpreview - New SLR
People come up and admire my Leica M4. They believe I am a great photographer because I have a Leica in my hands. They don't react to me when I hold my LX. I can't see the name Pentax getting any special recognition for its name. Jim A. From: William Robb [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Sun, 6 Jun 2004 23:29:57 -0600 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: Dpreview - New SLR Resent-From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Resent-Date: Mon, 7 Jun 2004 01:33:53 -0400 - Original Message - From: Peter J. Alling Subject: Re: Dpreview - New SLR The product isn't the problem, it's getting distribution. I stopped into the local Wallmart today. they had the Canon Digital Rebel in stock and on display. There were no Pentax cameras there at all. If they don't get exposure they won't sell any. Don't use Wal-Mart as a guide in this case. They buy based on price, not brand. Canon is big enough to be able to volume discount more than Pentax is. At this point, Pentax needs to develop its brand as a cachet brand rather than mainstream, much like what Leica has survived on for the past 4 decades. William Robb
Re: Dpreview - New SLR
- Original Message - From: Peter J. Alling Subject: Re: Dpreview - New SLR Based on the fact that they haven't introduced a new ltd. lens lately it may be a great finish. True enough. I do think though, that they are going to have to turn themselves into a brand with Leica style cachet appeal to survive. OTOH, perhaps they can do quite well at present levels of sales, though I suspect that those numbers will continue to erode. Canon is just too much of a steamroller right now to not crush the smaller players that get in the way. William Robb
Re: Dpreview - New SLR
I do typically try to avoid the staff. They may have one of the best overall selections of photography gear in Seattle, but snobbishness turns me off. It almost seems like it's their corporate culture. Tom C. From: alex wetmore [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: Dpreview - New SLR Date: Mon, 7 Jun 2004 10:14:09 -0700 (PDT) On Mon, 7 Jun 2004, Tom C wrote: That's impressive that Glazers is carrying it. When I went there to look at a PZ-1p years ago I was uniformly snubbed. They still snub the Pentax, they just carry it. I typically don't shop there because I'm unimpressed with their staff. I do tend to buy paper there though because they have inkjet paper options that I've seen nowhere else. They weren't interested when I pointed out that the lens should really be left in the A mode when they hand the camera to people for testing purposes. They also didn't seem very interested in selling me the 24-90/3.5-4.5. alex
Re: Dpreview - New SLR
Pentax would be a prime candidate for acquisition right now. They are profitable to a point, but small enough to acquire and dismember. A juggernaught like Canon could easily do so. Nikon, however, are in trouble (well at least their parent company is in financial trouble - they lost 3 or 4 billion USD this last year). Cheers Shaun William Robb wrote: - Original Message - From: Peter J. Alling Subject: Re: Dpreview - New SLR Based on the fact that they haven't introduced a new ltd. lens lately it may be a great finish. True enough. I do think though, that they are going to have to turn themselves into a brand with Leica style cachet appeal to survive. OTOH, perhaps they can do quite well at present levels of sales, though I suspect that those numbers will continue to erode. Canon is just too much of a steamroller right now to not crush the smaller players that get in the way. William Robb -- Dr. Shaun Canning Archaeologist Cultural Heritage Services P.O. Box 21, Dampier, 6713. 0414-967644 Http://www.heritageservices.com.au
Re: Dpreview - New SLR
Its a bit of a drive, but at least at one point Precision Camera in Austin had them. I bought mine over the net however, the price discrepancy was too much to ignore. [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: From: Peter J. Alling [EMAIL PROTECTED] True enough, but if they're bringing out a camera to compete with the Digital Rebel they will have to compete in places like WalMart. There's no way around it. I hope they'll market their cameras at walmart cause none of the camera shops in San Antonio are carrying much of Pentax SLR products. I've yet to actually see the *istD in person. Mark
Re: Dpreview - New SLR
Except that the majority of its stock is closely held. There is no way outsiders can gain controlling interest from what I hear. -- Dr. Shaun Canning wrote: Pentax would be a prime candidate for acquisition right now. They are profitable to a point, but small enough to acquire and dismember. A juggernaught like Canon could easily do so. Nikon, however, are in trouble (well at least their parent company is in financial trouble - they lost 3 or 4 billion USD this last year). -- graywolf http://graywolfphoto.com/graywolf.html
Re: Dpreview - New SLR
Leica isn't a great example anymore. they are in financial straits and unless the new digital real Leicas ( i.e. M and R series) deliver all that is expected, they are going to have to make significant cost cuts to stay in business. Pentax has significant other, non-photographic, profitable businesses to fall back on and could abandon consumer camera equipment and still stay in business.you could even get some yourself some day soon. Pentax is poised to become a world leader in artificial ceramic bones. Herb - Original Message - From: William Robb [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, June 07, 2004 1:29 AM Subject: Re: Dpreview - New SLR At this point, Pentax needs to develop its brand as a cachet brand rather than mainstream, much like what Leica has survived on for the past 4 decades.
Re: Dpreview - New SLR
While I believe Pentax is a publicly traded company, I think I read somewhere that a majority of their stock is closely held. It's tough to buy and dismember companies like that. I used to work for one. The CEO owned 51% of the voting stock outright, made a corporate takeover impossible. Dr. Shaun Canning wrote: Pentax would be a prime candidate for acquisition right now. They are profitable to a point, but small enough to acquire and dismember. A juggernaught like Canon could easily do so. Nikon, however, are in trouble (well at least their parent company is in financial trouble - they lost 3 or 4 billion USD this last year). Cheers Shaun William Robb wrote: - Original Message - From: Peter J. Alling Subject: Re: Dpreview - New SLR Based on the fact that they haven't introduced a new ltd. lens lately it may be a great finish. True enough. I do think though, that they are going to have to turn themselves into a brand with Leica style cachet appeal to survive. OTOH, perhaps they can do quite well at present levels of sales, though I suspect that those numbers will continue to erode. Canon is just too much of a steamroller right now to not crush the smaller players that get in the way. William Robb
Re: Dpreview - New SLR
From: Gonz [EMAIL PROTECTED] Its a bit of a drive, but at least at one point Precision Camera in Austin had them. I bought mine over the net however, the price discrepancy was too much to ignore. That is a drive. Not too bad but still a good 90 minutes. Definitely important before dropping $1300 on a camera. Mark
Re: Dpreview - New SLR
Mr Robb said, among other things: True enough. I do think though, that they are going to have to turn themselves into a brand with Leica style cachet appeal to survive. Wouldn't their prices have to go up a Whole Lot to achieve that? ERN
Re: Dpreview - New SLR
From: Peter J. Alling [EMAIL PROTECTED] True enough, but if they're bringing out a camera to compete with the Digital Rebel they will have to compete in places like WalMart. There's no way around it. I hope they'll market their cameras at walmart cause none of the camera shops in San Antonio are carrying much of Pentax SLR products. I've yet to actually see the *istD in person. Mark Think you meant neither of the camera shops, Mark -- if Boyd's is still hanging on ... (sigh)
Re: Dpreview - New SLR
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] I hope they'll market their cameras at walmart cause none of the camera shops in San Antonio are carrying much of Pentax SLR products. I've yet to actually see the *istD in person. Mark Think you meant neither of the camera shops, Mark Well, I was being gracious and counting Ritz/Wolf Camera g if Boyd's is still hanging on ... (sigh) Boyd's seems to be hangin' on. It's good place to get lens caps, filters, film, and occasionally, used gear. They had short-dated Fuji Super HQ 200 film for $1.00 a roll when I went two weeks ago. Photo Express did an excellent job printing it. I think they survive cause Camera Exchange can't seem to hire someone who doesn't treat you like an idiot and is as retail as retail gets. I went with a coworker and they were charging her $8.00 a roll for NPH. Good grief! Mark
RE: Dpreview - New SLR
This is great news. Hopefully this new camera can make high qualitay pictures - like the Nikon D70, which - in some respects - beats more expensive models? Jens Bladt mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://hjem.get2net.dk/bladt -Oprindelig meddelelse- Fra: Henri Toivonen [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sendt: 6. juni 2004 22:07 Til: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Emne: Dpreview - New SLR http://www.dpreview.com/news/0406/04060601pentax900dslr.asp I don't know if this is already old news, haven't been following you guys today,. /Henri
Re: Dpreview - New SLR
*prays* Please Pentax, don't let it be silver. Silver cameras are just so uncool. Unless it looks like an old chrome pentax, of course, retro is definitely cool (-: Seriously, I think that this camera could be good for pentax right now. When it gets more definite I'll do the rounds of the local camera stores and try and get them excited about it. I'm sick of discovering that a store does indeed stock the *ist D but has it tucked away in the corner somewhere. David Jens Bladt wrote: This is great news. Hopefully this new camera can make high qualitay pictures - like the Nikon D70, which - in some respects - beats more expensive models? Jens Bladt mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://hjem.get2net.dk/bladt -Oprindelig meddelelse- Fra: Henri Toivonen [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sendt: 6. juni 2004 22:07 Til: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Emne: Dpreview - New SLR http://www.dpreview.com/news/0406/04060601pentax900dslr.asp I don't know if this is already old news, haven't been following you guys today,. /Henri
