Originally posted by Madaboutpix Ricoh has consciously decided to not have Pentax being crushed between the likes of Sony, Canon, Nikon, and Fujifilm in the attempt to take the same road they have taken. With the resources that Ricoh can or is willing to commit to Pentax, that just wouldn't be sustainable. Hence the rather glacial pace at which they are releasing new or updated product. It's not that they're doing nothing - the 16-50 PLM is a stellar lens that really brings out what the K-3 III is capable of - and I understand that several other lenses are in the works.
,,, as long I see new product announcements and updates now and then, I'm just grateful for Pentax to survive in its deliberately chosen niche.
This seems to be a key thought, to me anyway. And it isn't just Pentax finding a way to fit between So-Ca-Nik-Fi, but treading carefully through the minefield that the last three years have brought to the world. We're no longer in a smooth design, contract, build, sell process. Manufacturers for most products are struggling with logistics, shutdowns (still!!!), and roadblocks, let alone financial pressures.
Just within a couple weeks, more than 60 million people were in total lockdown in China. Tens of millions remain mired in that zero Covid policy. Every time that happens, everything from manufacturing, to raw materials transport, to delivery of parts, to people showing up at the factory all hits the speed bump again.
A day ago, I saw a photo of just one of Ford's storage areas for vehicles awaiting parts -- mostly electronics -- and thus not for sale. That one location has
40,000 pickup trucks. GM is said to have similar holding lots and volumes. Tens of thousands of brand new vehicles not for sale, stuck.
Pentax is navigating the waters of
The Future of Photography as well as the roaring waves of global disruption and conflict.
While, yes, it would be wonderful to "take this fantastic lens of the past and give it every update," would anyone really accept a new, larger weather-resistant lens that still had the CA or PF of the classics? No, I imagine they'd say, "Why is Pentax selling this expensive lens with all these defects?"
(the things we call Pixie Dust)
And so the "updated" lenses would have to be totally
new. They'd have PLM or DC, be WR, and have more elements in a larger, heavier housing to contain all those additions. They'd be unrecognizable in comparison to the classics. They'd cost a mint in a world where fewer people are buying purpose-built cameras at all. Would the "improvements" kill the magic?
So, I understand Pentax moving slowly is frustrating and annoying. But how does the Pentax planning group argue to Ricoh that bigger sums must be poured into the brand for many more new lenses, while the total volume of all brands sold is declining?
Given all these pressures and disruptions, I think it is most likely that solid new lenses will be released on occasion. Every now and then. We all know the quality and capability of past lenses, including those Pentax is justifiably famous for. We probably just have to keep using what there is and appreciate the new when it can appear.
I appreciate that Ricoh didn't fold up shop at Pentax as volumes sold are decreasing in most camera lines everywhere. Maybe for the general corporation, it is a pride thing or a challenge thing, perhaps, to persevere. I appreciate that attempt. Slow and steady seems to be the only way to navigate right now.
Maybe we'll be out of this disruption hell and back to more rapid globalism soon, but realistically it seems that might be 3-10 years away.