Originally posted by bikecoboss Olympus, Panasonic and Sony? Not so much.
They might not know that Olympus has a history in SLRs and that Sony purchased Minolta. They might not even know that Minolta used to make cameras. But they do know about the Pen, Lumix, and NEX cameras.
Originally posted by bikecoboss 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.
Are we still talking about people that have no camera? What age group do you think they are and how do you think they've found out about Pentax? And what impression do you think they would get about their reputation? The latter will definitely depend on whether they'll find a Pentax user or they'll stumble into a Canon or Nikon one.
Originally posted by bikecoboss 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.
I don't know which camera you think is the only competitor of the K-01, but the E-PM1 kit sells for $500 and with the price difference you can get an EVF, an adapter, and a few inexpensive manual lenses from ebay. And you get SR too.
Originally posted by bikecoboss 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.
The K-01 will probably do well as a K-r replacement for the Pentax user base. It seems to be more solidly built, so that's a plus. I don't think it's a product designed to attract new people. Some may like the idea, but they'll ask their current camera maker for the same thing rather than switching over for a consumer level product.