| I fully agree with what you said PENTAX K, well put, it's exactly what I was thinking while reading through this thread.
I have a K1000 for the fact it was an introduction to serious film photography for me in 2002. It only made sense to carry my old lenses from one body to the next, I was enthusiastic when I read that the K mount remained intact.
What choices did I have when considering PENTAX a year ago, well the K110D, K100K & K10D. My budget wasn't that big; I had about $800 to burn and the K10D was slightly out of my range. What was I thinking when I decided on the K100D - well, I wanted the SR that was a definite. For $649 before tax I felt I made a good choice - I bought a middle range unit only to want to upgrade later. A little annoyed the K100D Super came out months later and included SDM compatibility.
The two key points, a majority of first time 'amateur' photographers and perspective buyers are deciding first off on price and second on features.
I talked to a friend at work yesterday and explained all the basics of settings of how a lens works to camera function. I then explained the difference between in-body stabilization and the extra cost of going with lens stabilization. He clearly stated he wanted something under $1000 CDN or closer to $800 and knew prior that lens stabilization is going to cost more in the long run. Pentax IMO is the only one to offer what I think would be decent but they still have a few quarks that prevent me from saying "Buy PENTAX without question". I did mention Sony and Oly as contenders.
That said, offering a SLR at the right price point and features that will appeal to first time buyers is what sells. Why do you think the Nikon D40 6.1MP and D40X 10MP are still among the TOP 2-3 SLR's sold through Amazon. A)They have the name to back it B)They've been on the market over a year and the price is low so people will grab it.
My friend is switching to a digital SLR soon, she's buying a Nikon as she has a film Nikon body which sees very little if no use - her reasoning is "Because Nikon is the Best" with no more mention than that, just blind truth.
If I could have have a small "entry level" 10MP camera with weather sealing or not, SR included, selling at around $550-600 that's an easy choice for me as I can look at the rest of the product line and say yeah, if I like this camera I'm definitely going to upgrade. Heck, I can't wait for Sept to see what's new because I have that 'entry level' camera that a business would like to see their customers upgrade from. It's like leasing a car and waiting for the next model to trade in - if you like the cheaper version (Features and Service) you often upgrade to something better.
-Greg |