[monochrome]

Fuji is Pentax's competition. Fuji has very little infrastructure burden to carry (the embedded patents and engineering Pentax would need to just throw away) forcing them in any direction. They can afford to be nimble. I can't afford their nimble, cutting-edge products.

Sony is an electronics and manufacturing company that happens to sell an imaging device right now. We all know Sony's history exploiting consumer product trends - they ALWAYS end up blowing it by trying to force their customers into proprietary formats.

Yes, Pentax doesn't market the way we expect them to market in the west. I don't know why - maybe they just milked cameras for SMC patent income and we never knew it - but they've been this way since the late 80's. And they're still in there making new products and pitching.

[CWRailman]

Fuji is Pentax's competition. Fuji has very little infrastructure burden to carry (the embedded patents and engineering Pentax would need to just throw away) forcing them in any direction. They can afford to be nimble. I can't afford their nimble, cutting-edge products.

Sony is an electronics and manufacturing company that happens to sell an imaging device right now. We all know Sony's history exploiting consumer product trends - they ALWAYS end up blowing it by trying to force their customers into proprietary formats.

Yes, Pentax doesn't market the way we expect them to market in the west. I don't know why - maybe they just milked cameras for SMC patent income and we never knew it - but they've been this way since the late 80's. And they're still in there making new products and pitching.

I agree with you on much of what you said except the last line. In NO WAY are they in there making NEW products and definitely NOT Pitching anything.

While Pentax has brought incremental improvements into their line, there has really been nothing new in years and what is new for them is still way behind the market curve as far as innovations. When they do bring out a new product like the Q series they fail to provide support for it and the product dies or never reaches it’s potential. Whether it’s Olympus, Fuji or even Panasonic, there is way more information out on the Internet demonstrating how to get the most out of their products. Google Youtube videos on the Panasonic GM-5 for an example and you will get several videos produced by Panasonic demonstrating that camera and I don’t even want to comment on how many Fuji presentations there are out there. It would take you a while to watch them all. Where is Pentax’s video demonstrating any of the Q products? It does not take much time or money to produce such presentations. I only discovered the Q series because I bumped into Blunty’s excellent video of it. If Pentax can’t provide some degree of support then get out of the market with some degree of dignity and quit disappointing long time supporters such as myself. While they still have some value I have sold off a few of my Pentax cameras and due to their lack of marketing and support I am not considering investing any additional funds into Pentax products. There are quite a few former members of the Pentax community that I have met on line in photographic forums who have moved on to Olympus, Panasonic or Fuji for similar reasons.

[monochrome]

Are you describing Pentax Japan produced marketing for Asia or Pentax USA's failures versus Fuji, Panny and Oly USA marketing operations? Clearly Pentax in the USA is currently pretty much just an order-taker. They just don't have very much here. I know they're getting better but you can't imagine how badly Hoya damaged the brand in the USA. Pentax markets Q significantly in Asia. It has been a strong success there and reportedly continues to sell well.

[CWRailman]

Are you describing Pentax Japan produced marketing for Asia or Pentax USA's failures versus Fuji, Panny and Oly USA marketing operations? Clearly Pentax in the USA is currently pretty much just an order-taker. They just don't have very much here. I know they're getting better but you can't imagine how badly Hoya damaged the brand in the USA. Pentax markets Q significantly in Asia. It has been a strong success there and reportedly continues to sell well.

I am speaking from my personal experience and what I am hearing from the stores here in the USA. And based on what I am hearing from the sales people at the stores, Pentax is not getting better in the US in fact in the past year they have gotten worse according to what several of the managers have told me.

As far as what is going on in Japan, based on what I am hearing second hand from people who live there, (one of my close friends here in the US is an interpreter for English to Japanese manuals and has numerous associates in Japan with whom she communicates on a weekly basis) Pentax does have a more visible presence but again is not as supportive of their products as other manufactures such as Fuji and now Sony who have dominant presence in that market. This information leads me to wonder where all the rumors I have heard of Pentax doing so well in Japan come from as I have not seen any sales statistics to support such statements.

[monochrome]

I rather suspect they smell a hint of recession on the air.

[luftfluss]

I am speaking from my personal experience and what I am hearing from the stores here in the USA. And based on what I am hearing from the sales people at the stores, Pentax is not getting better in the US in fact in the past year they have gotten worse according to what several of the managers have told me.

As far as what is going on in Japan, based on what I am hearing second hand from people who live there, (one of my close friends here in the US is an interpreter for English to Japanese manuals and has numerous associates in Japan with whom she communicates on a weekly basis) Pentax does have a more visible presence but again is not as supportive of their products as other manufactures such as Fuji and now Sony who have dominant presence in that market. This information leads me to wonder where all the rumors I have heard of Pentax doing so well in Japan come from as I have not seen any sales statistics to support such statements.

Mirrorless sales 2014 in Japan by marketshare. Source: PetaPixel

[bluefoam]

I'm hoping Pentax come out with a new body at some stage. I've decided that I'll invest in a new body if they do... I've already got 01; 02; 03... with 08 on the way and I'd like a 06 too... a body with EVF would be ideal... I know that idea has been flogged to death, but it would add allot of benefit...

[patarok]

yep. EVF and WR sealed body... must buy...and a very long stabilized tele also wr. i would buy immediately because i like the format of the Q. It seems to be the only mirrorless that makes sense when talking about advantages in size for the mirrorless over the slr system.(OK some Oly-Bodies are also kinda small, but the lenses are huge compared to those for the Q.)

[bluefoam]

TBH, if they can't/don't add EVF, I'd be happy with a high quality screen that is readable in bright light... this is one of my main issues currently as I live in the desert in The Middle East at the moment & seeing the screen is difficult allot of the time.

My wish list:
Improved screen quality
WiFi would be great
Better Video
No Touch Screen... I like the manual controls,,, it's a rarity these days
Metal Body

My uses are actually covered by the lens options currently available... Although I have yet to receive and try my 08. But additional lenses are always welcome.

[Mikesul]

TBH, if they can't/don't add EVF, I'd be happy with a high quality screen that is readable in bright light... this is one of my main issues currently as I live in the desert in The Middle East at the moment & seeing the screen is difficult allot of the time.

My wish list:
Improved screen quality
WiFi would be great
Better Video
No Touch Screen... I like the manual controls,,, it's a rarity these days
Metal Body

My uses are actually covered by the lens options currently available... Although I have yet to receive and try my 08. But additional lenses are always welcome.

Agreed. A hires screen would be a wonderful addition and do much to make up for the lack of EVF. The tiny evfs on recent Sony cameras are nice but not essential. They will update the Q or introduce a replacement aimed at the same niche for sure.

[johnmflores]

TBH, if they can't/don't add EVF, I'd be happy with a high quality screen that is readable in bright light... this is one of my main issues currently as I live in the desert in The Middle East at the moment & seeing the screen is difficult allot of the time.

My wish list:
Improved screen quality
WiFi would be great
Better Video
No Touch Screen... I like the manual controls,,, it's a rarity these days
Metal Body

My uses are actually covered by the lens options currently available... Although I have yet to receive and try my 08. But additional lenses are always welcome.

I just got a used Panasonic GM1. It's shockingly small:


Two ways to travel light by John Flores, on Flickr

You'd think that the Micro Four-Thirds sensor would wipe the floor with the 1/1.7" sensor in the Q7, but in good light they are actually neck and neck. The only place where the GM1 pulls ahead is in low light, but the Q7 has Shake Reduction so in many situations it's quite even.

But the one place where the Q7 kills the GM1 is in usability. The GM1 has a touchscreen but the UI frankly stinks, requiring extra touches and swipes to perform simple changes. The Q7 is a mini DSLR, the GM1 is a point-and-shoot on steroids. But if there was one feature on the GM1 touchscreen that I wish the Q7 had is the touch to set focus point and touch to set focus point and take the picture. It's such a time saver.

[Tony Belding]

But the one place where the Q7 kills the GM1 is in usability. The GM1 has a touchscreen but the UI frankly stinks, requiring extra touches and swipes to perform simple changes. The Q7 is a mini DSLR, the GM1 is a point-and-shoot on steroids.

I've heard elsewhere that this was a shortcoming of the GM1. As for my Q7... The user interface is excellent, and it's not dumbed-down at all.

But if there was one feature on the GM1 touchscreen that I wish the Q7 had is the touch to set focus point and touch to set focus point and take the picture. It's such a time saver.

Hmm... A time saver when you're using a tripod, I'm sure. When shooting handheld, I thought the easiest way was always to spot-focus and then re-compose, just like I learned to do way back in the good old days with my manual-focus 35mm SLR.

[johnmflores]

Hmm... A time saver when you're using a tripod, I'm sure. When shooting handheld, I thought the easiest way was always to spot-focus and then re-compose, just like I learned to do way back in the good old days with my manual-focus 35mm SLR.

Nope. Touch to focus and touch to focus/shoot is blindingly quick, accurate, and effective. On cameras with this feature, I'd choose this over focus and recompose any day of the week.

[surfar]

Good stuff .. BLUNTY has a Youtube comparing these...I too have just acquired the GM1...a major reason being the ammount of glass available...ive found the GM1 a lot faster than the Q7..and I like that aspect...and itll be a little bro to the GX8 when I can afford it

[CWRailman]

Hmm... A time saver when you're using a tripod, I'm sure. When shooting handheld, I thought the easiest way was always to spot-focus and then re-compose, just like I learned to do way back in the good old days with my manual-focus 35mm SLR.

It actually is much faster for those of us who learned that method during the film days. I have the touch screen focusing on three of my cameras and I am much faster and much more accurate at using the spot focusing method and then quickly reframing especially when using an EVF. Olympus has a touch screen tracking component that works OK but some Olympus shooters still complain about missed shots while others shut the touch screen off completely due to accidental photographs. I guess it all depends on your needs and potential use.