[creampuff]

Simple question.
Just how many Pentax users here lauding the virtues of Fuji X-Pro 1 and the Olympus OM-D (when it shows up) will actually walk the talk and fork out the money to get one... nah, just as I expected... not a lot.
Talk is cheap when you aren't prepared to shell out $1700 (body only) for the Fuji.

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Last edited by creampuff; 02-04-2012 at 05:06 PM.

[westmill]

Using just the LCD makes sense. Makes quite a lot of sense. I've just got out with my daughter and I had trouble framing images at her level by using the viewfinder. It is literally a pain in the neck.

OTOH, there is a valid criticism you can bring to the K-01 and that is the lack of an accessory EVF. While the LCD is very usable for the shorter focal lengths, it is not that usable with long focal lengths. This takes all my interest out of the K-01. It doesn't really matter if you can mount all K lenses - it is only going to be usable with the shorter focal lengths - or it will require a tripod or monopod for use with longer focal lengths.

I guess if your not very mobil or something it could poss be of benefit if it flipped up.... but it doesnt.
Its certainly not as a responsive or as quick as using an OVF that sits on the eye.
If i had a problem with low level work I would use an optical revolving veiwfinder as I did on the ETRS.
I also have no critisism of K-01.... it is what it is.... a simple compact.
I dont even see it as a camera full stop. if it doesnt have an OVF its a device that can take pics.
Even EVF to me is a joke ! this of course is just my personal opinion and my take on cameras.

[Laurentiu Cristofor]

Simple question.
Just how many Pentax users here lauding the virtues of Fuji X-Pro 1 and the Olympus OM-D (when it shows up) will actually walk the talk and fork out the money to get one... nah, just as I expected... not a lot.
Talk is cheap when you aren't prepared to shell out $1700 (body only) for the Fuji.

K-5 was $1500 on launch. FA 31 is $1000 these days. Pentax is not an inexpensive brand anymore. The problem is that it doesn't deliver even if you have money to invest in it.

And you are missing the point: it does not matter whether Pentax users buy or not buy Fuji or Olympus. What matters is whether Canon or Nikon users will buy Fuji or Olympus over anything from Pentax. And that is exactly what will happen.

Fuji won't eat Pentax's market share - they'll eat from Canon and Nikon. Winder is just pointing out that Fuji's position is what Pentax should wish to be in - coveted by Canon and Nikon users, not just catering to an existing market that is staying with them just because they don't have the budget to switch over to another brand.

[rawr]

Introducing the Olympus OM-D

What a monstrosity. Expensive too, and it will DXOMark poorly, like all 4/3.
No-one can lay any criticism against the K-01 when looking at what Olympus has done here.

[Fontan]

you are missing the point: it does not matter whether Pentax users buy or not buy Fuji or Olympus. What matters is whether Canon or Nikon users will buy Fuji or Olympus over anything from Pentax. And that is exactly what will happen.

Sorry, I had to laugh.

It is very true that what Pentax users will do is the least of Fuji's worries. Why on earth would they care about that? Pentax users are so insignificant in numbers that it does not do a whole lot to Fuji's bottom line, even if a quarter to half of us switched over.

[johnmflores]

What a monstrosity. Expensive too, and it will DXOMark poorly, like all 4/3.
No-one can lay any criticism against the K-01 when looking at what Olympus has done here.

More photos, without the additional appendages:



Still, if I want to look like a 70s hipster, I take my MX for a walk.

[bikecoboss]

And you are missing the point: it does not matter whether Pentax users buy or not buy Fuji or Olympus. What matters is whether Canon or Nikon users will buy Fuji or Olympus over anything from Pentax.

You're assuming this is a zero-sum game, that there's a certain number of camera buyers out there that companies have to compete for. There are way more non-camera owners - that's the untapped market, not the old, stuck in their ways rangefinder fans that love the new Fuji.

[Laurentiu Cristofor]

You're assuming this is a zero-sum game, that there's a certain number of camera buyers out there that companies have to compete for. There are way more non-camera owners - that's the untapped market, not the old, stuck in their ways rangefinder fans that love the new Fuji.

It is good you heard about a "zero-sum game", but I was not making any such assumptions. That untapped market does not matter simply because Pentax does not exist for it. The non-camera owners will buy stuff by word of mouth within their initially limited budget. They'll just gravitate towards what most people are using: Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Panasonic, Sony. They probably never heard about a company called Pentax or about their cameras. You know how I purchased my first Pentax - I confused the name with Contax. I never heard of them before. If I didn't purchase that camera by mistake 17 years ago, I wouldn't know anything about Pentax today.

Before Pentax can get to tap the market of non-camera owners, they have to get brand recognition. Advertising is one way, but it costs lots of money and needs to be backed up by a great product line, or you're throwing money on the window. You can come up with an extremely innovative product that everyone wants to have, but that is very rare - Apple did it, but few companies can do it like that. Another way is to find an untapped segment of the market and offer a unique product, like Fuji does (and like Olympus did it before it). And if you missed your moment, it is no shame to follow a good path pointed by others if you have nothing better to offer anyway.

[Winder]

More photos, without the additional appendages:



Still, if I want to look like a 70s hipster, I take my MX for a walk.

I had not seen the silver version. I need to actually see one. I kind of like the black version. Silver is not bad. I was an Olympus 4/3 (E-3) user and I'm still pissed over the death of 4/3, but Olympus still has not found a decent sensor. The 16MP is average at best.

I think the OM-D E-5M will sell very well for Olympus. M4/3 is a very polished system right now and the new lenses will make for a tempting system. Olympus's new CDAF is very, very fast. Faster than anything Pentax makes. Olympus has some pretty good designers.

[Winder]

Simple question.
Just how many Pentax users here lauding the virtues of Fuji X-Pro 1 and the Olympus OM-D (when it shows up) will actually walk the talk and fork out the money to get one... nah, just as I expected... not a lot.
Talk is cheap when you aren't prepared to shell out $1700 (body only) for the Fuji.

How much was the K-5 at launch? $1,600..... What do you expect the K-5 replacement to sell for?
Fuji lenses are selling for $600.00 which puts it on par with Pentax lenses.

What exactly makes this more expensive than the Pentax system? I realize you are a Pentax fanboy and you want to defend the system at all cost, but that math is pretty simple to prove. The price of the Fuji system is in line with the Pentax K-5 system and lenses.

[bikecoboss]

That untapped market does not matter simply because Pentax does not exist for it. The non-camera owners will buy stuff by word of mouth within their initially limited budget. They'll just gravitate towards what most people are using: Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Panasonic, Sony. They probably never heard about a company called Pentax or about their cameras

You're right, people do tend to ask their photographer buddy what they use, and Canon and Nikon have huge advantages with their massive user base. Olympus, Panasonic and Sony? Not so much. The Pentax name does have brand recognition though - people may be surprised Pentax is still out there, but they know the name and the reputation.

The non-camera owners will buy stuff by word of mouth within their initially limited budget

I think they start with word of mouth and then do some research. And, if Pentax gets their marketing right, they should discover the K-01 is less than half the price of its only current competitor.

Key word: should. The success of the K-01 (like all consumer goods) will largely depend on Pentax getting the advertising right, something they haven't been known for in the past.

[bikecoboss]

What exactly makes this more expensive than the Pentax system? I realize you are a Pentax fanboy and you want to defend the system at all cost, but that math is pretty simple to prove. The price of the Fuji system is in line with the Pentax K-5 system and lenses.

I thought we were comparing the K-01 with the Fuji? What's the K-5 got to do with it?

[alexeyga]

Sorry fellas, I had to pitch in...

Lets assume a scenario when one needs a camera+3 primes to go on a road trip around Europe.

K-01 + DA21 + FA31 + FA77 = 749$+509$+989$+784$=3031$ (REF. B&H USA)

VS

X-Pro1 + XF18 + XF35 + XF60 = 1699$+599$+599$+649$=3546$ (REF. B&H USA)

I'm one of these stupids who'd gladly pay extra 500$ for the system that looks timeless despite years of history, the system that is just plain sexy, the system that you're not ashamed to put on a table near you while enjoying a coffee somewhere on a terrace in [type a name of any old european city here]:





Ladies and gentlemen, on the other hand, if you want to look like a Fisher Price's dork in addition of saving 500$, K-01 is your best friend!!!:





That being said, one should not forget that these two are targeting very different audiences, Fuji is a niche-product for these who want Leica, but cant quite afford one. K-01 however is a mainstream piece of plastic... epic fail design-wise nonetheless. In times when the market is super-saturated with more than capable products, releasing a piece of Lego-Volvo that looks like there's ZERO years of history behind it, is pure nonsense! Despite the fact that it's compatible with the years of history...

Sorry for being so negative, I just don't get it!

[bikecoboss]

K-01 + DA21 + FA31 + FA77 = 749$+509$+989$+784$=3031$ (REF. B&H USA)

How about a K-01 + DA21 + DA35 + DA70 = 749+509+509+509 = $2276

So now you're a stupid who paid $1270 more so you look cool at that cafe in Paris.
Plus you don't have real manual focus. Well done.

[obheng]

How about a K-01 + DA21 + DA35 + DA70 = 749+509+509+509 = $2276

So now you're a stupid who paid $1270 more so you look cool at that cafe in Paris.
Plus you don't have real manual focus. Well done.

Plus that you don't have SR which also applies to EVERY SINGLE lens you mount on the K-01.