[Poit]

Ok, so firstly, I have avoided posting here for some time because I received complaints about being a troll. I was a tad peeved about that, I just speak the truth as I see it. I’m sorry if the truth offends some folk.

Anyway, I find myself wondering where the good ship Pentax is heading. With only one new body in 2017, and a handful of lense announcements (read ANNOUNCEMENTS...not releases) I began wondering what on earth was going on behind closed doors...

Asahi Man predicted, in 2016, that 2017 was to be the year of new lenses. Not exactly, was it? 3 new announcements? Only 2 of which are FF.

And so I thought to myself “well they must be busy doing some R & D to bring them up to speed in AF, touch-screens, AF joystick, and other goodies”. Keep pace with the D500 and D850...

But, with recent leaks about K-1 mkii, it would seem that all that silence has not amounted to very much. At least not yet.

They really took the industry by storm with 3 excellent cameras (k-3, 645z, and k-1), and now the seem to be letting that momentum slip away.

Thoughts?

[jlstrawman]

It's kind of hard to miss all the other threads that have already addressed this subject.

[Jeff Lopez]

None, Poit..Your thoughts are as valid as all Pentaxians..
I think this thread might be closed..

[Adam]

Moved to the industry forum (because this is not news but rather lack thereof) in the hope that we'll get some thoughtful responses to this rather than simply more brand bashing.

Personally I think that Pentax cound do a much better job of staying in touch with customers. The fact that there are so many roadmapped lenses but no concrete releases and few updates gives off the vibe that they don't care, even if they're working hard behind the scenes. All it would take is some hands-on demos, Q&A sessions, microsites, and so on, while they develop their designs.

Secondly, it seems that the tethering support they added to the KP has gone completely overlooked. So many people have been asking for APS-C tethering, and they finally added it last April, but even I didn't realize that until a couple of months ago. This feature would be a perfect candidate for a standalone press release which never happened.

Finally, there should be some clarity on future direction. It's starting to be painfully obvious that they will lag far behind in terms of video/AF technology, and it would be better to own that and define a very clear niche instead of stating that things are being "researched". I think their strategy is to go down the most profitable route (which makes sense), but that doesn't mean it has to be at the expense of fans.

All that said, let's see how they spin the K-1 II. A minor refresh to the K-1 wasn't expected and could be a very welcome improvement if it is followed by a substantial development in one of the company's other product lines.

Adam
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[jatrax]

busy doing some R & D to bring them up to speed in AF, touch-screens, AF joystick, and other goodies”. Keep pace with the D500 and D850...

R&D? Yes. Keeping up with Nikon? No. If you want Nikon, buy Nikon. No offense intended.

Asahi Man predicted, in 2016, that 2017 was to be the year of new lenses.

Perhaps you should take that up with Asahiman, not Pentax. Why people think someone on the internet is more reliable than actual company press releases I have no idea.

I find myself wondering where the good ship Pentax is heading.

Wherever RIcoh wants to go.

Ricoh is in business to make money. So they bring to market things they think will make them money. Not risky things that might make them money. DSLR is a rapidly shrinking, mature market. The way to survive in that market is the same as Ricoh has demonstrated in the mature copier market. By not taking risks that might cost them money.

I’m sorry if the truth offends some folk.

I'm not offended. I just think your expectations are much larger than reality. What exactly are looking for Pentax to provide that is limiting your photography? If they cannot provide it, perhaps time to look at another brand.

[VoiceOfReason]

Wait for them to release a 100-150mp 645z replacement, a K3ii replacement that surpasses the KP, and of course a refresh of the K1 that doesn't have those joke specs. I know that more than just the ISO being expanded up would have to go into a K1 refresh.

[reh321]

Ok, so firstly, I have avoided posting here for some time because I received complaints about being a troll. I was a tad peeved about that, I just speak the truth as I see it. I’m sorry if the truth offends some folk.

Anyway, I find myself wondering where the good ship Pentax is heading. With only one new body in 2017, and a handful of lense announcements (read ANNOUNCEMENTS...not releases) I began wondering what on earth was going on behind closed doors...

Asahi Man predicted, in 2016, that 2017 was to be the year of new lenses. Not exactly, was it? 3 new announcements? Only 2 of which are FF.

And so I thought to myself “well they must be busy doing some R & D to bring them up to speed in AF, touch-screens, AF joystick, and other goodies”. Keep pace with the D500 and D850...

But, with recent leaks about K-1 mkii, it would seem that all that silence has not amounted to very much. At least not yet.

They really took the industry by storm with 3 excellent cameras (k-3, 645z, and k-1), and now the seem to be letting that momentum slip away.

Thoughts?

The thing everyone seems to miss is that the three most recent cameras {K-70, KP, K-1} all are said to do quite well in low light {this is hard to report on, because DxOMark was in much more of a hurry to report on the Nikon D850 than on the KP}. I believe high ISO is where cameras are going, so I am perfectly comfortable with what is happening with Pentax bodies. I would like to see a little more action on FF lens, even though I don't expect to purchase another FF system {I'm 70 now; my last FF system was 35mm system}

[jatrax]

Personally I think that Pentax cound do a much better job of staying in touch with customers.

True. They had an opportunity (still do I guess) to build a brand around guerrilla marketing. With no significant budget they could have leveraged their loyal fans to drive brand awareness through social media. But maybe that is asking a lot from such a conservative business oriented company.

On another note I got a phone call from Ricoh this afternoon. I get one regular as clockwork, every 3 years when my copier lease is almost up. The copier sales team knows how to sell (or lease) copiers but sadly that is a very different business than selling cameras.

[Poit]

Firstly, there is no brand bashing happening on my behalf. I am merely wondering what they are doing.

I have only ever used Pentax. I love the cameras they make, but deficiencies in AF are frustrating. I used Pentax for weddings for some time, and it was (on occasion) embarrassing.

Sure, it’s easy to say “just change brands”, but that’s not viable for someone with shallow pockets. I do wish people would stop saying that. Changing brands is a huge cost.

Sony, Fuji, and Olympus have all greatly improved their AF systems. Why can’t Pentax? Surely Ricoh has at least the same resources as Fuji or Olympus?

[clackers]

Shrinking market, Poit.

It's unlikely there will ever be a new mainstream maker of ILCs ... Samsung tried and died..

Canon, Nikon and Sony are trying to cope with selling less cameras by charging more for the ones they do ... dicey situation, that invites plant closures and employee layoffs.

Niche brands like Fuii, Pentax, Olympus, Panasonic, Hasselblad and Leica just do what they can to survive. Their boards are unlikely to throw millions at their camera divisions to steal market share, they either won't get 'em back or were better off investing in higher yield stuff like finance or medical products.

[Poit]

I would like Pentax to be on a (semi) level playing field with others.

Why? Because it will attract more customers. More customers = more revenue. More revenue = more R & D. More R & D = better cameras for us Pentaxians.

Simple

[stevebrot]

And so I thought to myself “well they must be busy doing some R & D to bring them up to speed in AF, touch-screens, AF joystick, and other goodies”. Keep pace with the D500 and D850...

I am holding out for in-camera heater for extreme winter conditions and appropriate 5-pole flash fittings on both bodies and flash and/or built-in flash RF TX support in both bodies and flash. Oh...K-cup support as an add-on for the camera heater feature.

Hey PENTAX / RICOH: Are You Listening?

BTW...have they gotten back to you yet?


Steve

[Poit]

But perhaps you are all correct, there just isn’t the revenue these days.

Pentax is...doome...

No I can’t bring myself to say it

[stevebrot]

Sure, it’s easy to say “just change brands”, but that’s not viable for someone with shallow pockets.

Are you actively needing more features (listed above in the original post) and would you buy a new model this Spring if they were offered? My pockets are pretty shallow too, but when I bought my K-3 four years ago, it met my needs and still does. If a new top-model crop-sensor body with touch screen, joy stick, and auto-intuitive AF were to debut in the new future, this is one customer that would sort of shrug.


Steve

[disconnekt]

I would like Pentax to be on a (semi) level playing field with others.

Why? Because it will attract more customers. More customers = more revenue. More revenue = more R & D. More R & D = better cameras for us Pentaxians.

Simple

Same thing I'm thinking, they dont have to match the d500 or d850 & equiv cameras from other brands spec for spec, but stepping up their game a bit to have them somewhat comparible (dual ush-II card slots, bigger buffer, more af points/spread out, improved tethering, improved af, general improvement of video (doesn't have to be 4k), higher synch speed) would make alot of people here very happy and gain more interest from other people/keep people with the brand.