[Docrwm]

I genuinely appreciate the sour grapes of all the folks outside the US that appear to revel in anything that smacks of sticking it to us here in the United States. The "welcome to our plight" statements by many are just that - sour grapes that you've been stuck with overpriced gear and now you're happy we are too.

Well, it means that you won't benefit from our prices any longer either directly by ordering from Adorama, B&H, or Amazon OR from the indirect benefit of being able to buy used lenses at lower prices either.

Who in their right mind is going to pay more for Pentax lenses with less warranty service, higher prices, problems with QC, and faulty designs in their "leading edge" SDM gear even if they can touch it at Best Buy? Seriously, who?

[ABETTERDJ]

All of the Sigma and Tamron lenses we ever tried couldn't hold a candle to the originals. When we look at wedding photos we have done with Tamron or Sigma compared to the ones we have done with Pentax or Minolta it is embarrassing!

[joe.penn]

All of the Sigma and Tamron lenses we ever tried couldn't hold a candle to the originals. When we look at wedding photos we have done with Tamron or Sigma compared to the ones we have done with Pentax or Minolta it is embarrassing!

Who in their right mind is going to pay more for Pentax lenses with less warranty service, higher prices, problems with QC, and faulty designs in their "leading edge" SDM gear even if they can touch it at Best Buy? Seriously, who?

I have to send my K5 back in for a second time for service - the "on/off/opPreview switch assembly" was replaced the first time in service now that has gone bad again .

My suggestion is this - just keep pounding the forums with the alternatives when people are inquiring about Pentax glass, and not just with words but with actual example photos and with price comparisons.

[Clavius]

I genuinely appreciate the sour grapes of all the folks outside the US that appear to revel in anything that smacks of sticking it to us here in the United States. The "welcome to our plight" statements by many are just that - sour grapes that you've been stuck with overpriced gear and now you're happy we are too.

Dude, the prices in e.g. Europe are currently below the future US prices. So, it has nothing to do with "welcome to our plight". It has more to do with: "You're receiving what you ordered, quit whining."

[eddie1960]

I genuinely appreciate the sour grapes of all the folks outside the US that appear to revel in anything that smacks of sticking it to us here in the United States. The "welcome to our plight" statements by many are just that - sour grapes that you've been stuck with overpriced gear and now you're happy we are too.

Well, it means that you won't benefit from our prices any longer either directly by ordering from Adorama, B&H, or Amazon OR from the indirect benefit of being able to buy used lenses at lower prices either.

Who in their right mind is going to pay more for Pentax lenses with less warranty service, higher prices, problems with QC, and faulty designs in their "leading edge" SDM gear even if they can touch it at Best Buy? Seriously, who?

No sour grapes here, but I am glad to see the disparity addressed. I want my local retailers to stay in the business of Pentax and when an outside dealer disrupts the market by undercutting it as much as the US web market did then We lose dealers Just like the same concept is killing B&M in your own country.
I don't personally think the gear is overpriced up here for the most part. I think what will happen eventually is your prices will normalize to about where ours are.
As for the attack on SDM lenses, what is the current breakdown ratio? I know a few years back there were a lot of issue, I don't actually see as many now. Should the warranty be better? yep i think so. I also think there are new lenses in the works to replace the 16-50 for instance (which in reality is the lens that gave SDM it's bad rap)
If a new generation of DA* comes along with a new motor and warranties go to 5 years on lenses but maintain the one on bodies woudl you be happy?? Personally I doubt it at this point.

[Blue]

Dude, the prices in e.g. Europe are currently below the future US prices. So, it has nothing to do with "welcome to our plight". It has more to do with: "You're receiving what you ordered, quit whining."

What the devil are you talking about.

[Sol Invictus]

What the devil are you talking about. :rabbit:

I'm not quite sure what the poster mean either, but why is there a rabbit in the forum? Who let the vermin in?

I'm confused all around.

[Philoslothical]

sour grapes

Pot, meet kettle, with regards to the thread itself, and the others just like it that came before.

Perhaps you should consider what effect it has had on the brand for U.S. sellers to do what they've been doing. Do you really want U.S. sellers to be able to continue to push Pentax out of retail, both here and abroad? Do you really want there to be zero incentive for brick and mortar chains to carry Pentax, when everyone that goes into a store to "check one out" just wastes staff time and goes home to order online?

[Blue]

I could easily put money down for any of the latest FF cameras and lenses from Canon and Nikon tomorrow without having to bat an eyelid. And I did actually own the Nikkor 200mm f/4 macro in the past, but that's not the point. With my hectic schedule, managing time is far more important than quibbling over the cost of something, and I don't say this in a disrespectful way because I know how it is to be financially tight.

Most people don't need to own every lens in the manufacturer's line-up. From the many suggestions from very successful pro shooters that I know personally, every single one of them stress the importance of investing in the best lenses possible to be able to glean the best image quality. So it all boils down to how much one is prepared to set aside money for one's creative endeavors photographically speaking. Whether one is a beginner with a limited budget, a serious enthusiast or a working pro, lens or camera prices should be the least important criteria compared to learning the craft.

I agree with you. That is the point bolded and underlined. The other option is to pay a heavy surcharge to be a Pentax fanboi and be limited in both warranty support and choice of tools. Managing time is part of the game.

[Docrwm]

Dude, the prices in e.g. Europe are currently below the future US prices. So, it has nothing to do with "welcome to our plight". It has more to do with: "You're receiving what you ordered, quit whining."

Sorry, but go read the posts about how its great that the US is not paying what "we've" been paying all along - there are dozens of them in these various threads (including the one immediately after your post). As for asking for this, never asked for absurd rises in prices nor for no tangible gain from Pentax for higher prices. I'll say it once more - increase quality, increase variety, increase support, increase ANY ONE of them and THEN ask for more in return.

[Blue]

I'm not quite sure what the poster mean either, but why is there a rabbit in the forum? Who let the vermin in?

I'm confused all around.

It is the preliminary stage of "I have no clue about what your talking about, so here is a bunny with a pancake on its head."

[Sol Invictus]

It is the preliminary stage of "I have no clue about what your talking about, so here is a bunny with a pancake on its head."

It all makes sense now!

[joe.penn]

It is the preliminary stage of "I have no clue about what your talking about, so here is a bunny with a pancake on its head."

[Clavius]

Sorry, but go read the posts about how its great that the US is not paying what "we've" been paying all along - there are dozens of them in these various threads (including the one immediately after your post). As for asking for this, never asked for absurd rises in prices nor for no tangible gain from Pentax for higher prices. I'll say it once more - increase quality, increase variety, increase support, increase ANY ONE of them and THEN ask for more in return.

Ok, I'll just take your word for it...

Who in their right mind is going to pay more for Pentax lenses with less warranty service, higher prices, problems with QC, and faulty designs in their "leading edge" SDM gear even if they can touch it at Best Buy? Seriously, who?

Here's where you prove yourself very wrong. You claim that Europe has the same high prices. And at the same time you claim that nobody in their right mind will pay for those prices. But we all know that Pentax is doing very well in Europe. (In comparison to the US.) You can walk in any better camera-retailer here, and you'll find Pentax. That means that this strategy, to which the US is new, works very well!

[Blue]

. . . You can walk in any better camera-retailer here, and you'll find Pentax. That means that this strategy, to which the US is new, works very well!

The only problem is, there aren't any retailers to walk into much less a better retailer except for a 1000 mile one way drive. Europe should be broken down by country, especially the U.K.