Originally posted by RioRico And those are notably places where Pentax makes ZERO sales because Pentax isn't placed there. Thus a question: Will Ricoh-Pentax push for mass-market placement? Rather, SHOULD they go there? Should Ricoh-Pentax become yet another supplier of plastic crap? Suppose Pentax came out with a plasticized Kx (call it the K-y) with a plastic 50/1.7? Would this join the ranks of outfits that users want to upgrade ASAP? Would this make Pentax a market leader?
Short answer - yes.
Long answer - there is a lot of money to be made in consumer goods. You know, cheap trash. You make something really cheap, and you sell it for more. The cost of producing a BAD camera, and selling it for *only 500 dollars* could result in the same profit margins as a very good camera such as the K-5 (lets say in both cases, 300 bucks).
The same goes for lenses. An el-cheapo lens might only cost them 50 dollars to produce. If they can sell it for 200, then they made the same 150 they might expect to make from something like the DA 40.
My numbers might be off but also consider these two things:
A) If you can sell a lot at low margins, you can often make more money then by selling less at high margins (e.g., the iTunes model of music sales).
B) Every K-crap owner with their sketchy 50 1.7 all plastic "fantastic" is now a Pentax owner, and even if a small percentage of them upgrade, that increases sales of the better stuff. Lets say 1/10 soccer moms who buy a camera at best buy become actual photographers. Or, better yet, they simply decide they like it enough to buy a zoom so they can shoot lil henry's soccer matches. That sale of the 55-300 will go to the camera company that has a presence in Best Buy.
That's the thing with these proprietary mounts. After someone buys in, its much more challenging to convince them to switch. As far as the north american markets are concerned, Pentax should not strive to be a budget brand, much less a prestige brand. They need to SPAN these two, so they can suck the soccer moms up the food chain as they get better at their hobby and spend more and more money.
Currently I hear "why would Pentax bother, there are so many used lenses available!" This is true. It's also true of Nikon and Canon (with the proper adapter). Pentax just makes it easier on us. The fact is most people are willing to pay for simplicity, and the people who hang out here with their old lenses might be the smarter group, but they certainly are not the majority.
Or have we forgotten about all those superzoom wielding Nikonians?
But the point is those who want more of the good stuff (limiteds, 2.8 zooms, etc.) need Pentax to bring in the money to fuel R&D. We need a lens roadmap back. We need the CEOs to grow fat so I can sell my food stamps in order to buy that *next big thing*.