Originally posted by FullertonImages Pentax looks at the market and says, we can release a camera that will smoke both of these camera in most respects, for less than they debuted at, and with a price that will still be competitive against them. They do exactly that, setting new standard in aps-c high ISO quality, that is a quantum leap for a single generation change.
I would like to know why people keep saying this...The K-5 hasn't proved it's worthiness at all yet. Comparing my 7D shots to the recent K-5 shots posted, the 7D doesn't look much different at all....How can it set a new standard when it hasn't even been tested yet. All this snowballed after one image was posted and people were claiming the K-5 king of the APS-C world, and I bet it does just about the same as a sensor that has been on the market for a year.
Like I said before, people are going to see Nikon D7000 that is weather sealed and magnesium for $1200. They aren't going to care that it has plastic in the front. Then they are going to see a weather sealed Pentax K-5 for $1600. Then they are going to compare specs. Oh wow same sensor, that must mean they take the same pictures. Oh both weather sealed, even though we all know K-5 is ten times more WR. And D7000 is $400 cheaper, that means I can get nice $400 lens to start out with. Also it's a Nikon! Yay! Oh but Pentax has built in IS, thats cool! Oh but I can just buy a lens with IS in it, so who cares about old lenses!
If we want the K-5 to sell well(and I do, more competition, and I really like it), Hoya needs to attract new customers. They aren't going to pull any new customers in looking for a high end SLR when the D7000 is available. They need a wider fanbase. Also having the K-r priced so high is another disadvantage. If Pentax could release a sub-$500 entry SLR, maybe even the Kx rebadged with some newer features, they could attract some future buyers. But currently their entry SLR is $800. Not going to draw anyone in at that price. Ok rant over. Hopefully somebody understands what I am saying.