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04-05-2014, 07:40 PM   #16
JPT
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QuoteOriginally posted by Na Horuk Quote
Oh, and people saying that the K-01 only got popular after the price drop.. true, but it was because the initial price was too steep. If the initial price would have been between the first price and the reduced price, it could have stayed at that price for a long time.
It's interesting that when the blue K-01 was launched last summer in Japan, it had exactly the price you suggest. Its starting price was 49,800 yen (40XS kit), compared to 79,800 yen for the initial release in Feb 2012. This makes me think it could have been sold at that price from the beginning. The blue kit now sells for about 35-40,000 yen and it still a current product. When you consider all the extra parts a DSLR needs, and how cheap they have become, I think there must be a profit in a K-01 selling for $400.

QuoteOriginally posted by monochrome Quote
I'm glad I have one. I'll bet one day in the distant future I'll be even gladder.
There is currently a glut of K-5s in Tokyo's used camera stores, but hardly any K-01s. The K-5 is great, but ultimately it is just another DSLR which has now been superseded. It looks like people are hanging on to their K-01s, because they really are unique.

04-06-2014, 06:38 AM   #17
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QuoteOriginally posted by JPT Quote
It's interesting that when the blue K-01 was launched last summer in Japan, it had exactly the price you suggest.
Yeah, over here in EU the first price of the K-01 was a ridiculous 800euro. Its a great camera, but that price is not right, it was higher than the DSLRs with the same sensor.. And this price was a big reason why it didn't sell well at first. That made Pentax panic and they slashed the price a lot. Pentax didn't learn, though. Same thing was happening with the Q (very steep initial price, now much lower) and some of the lenses.. its much better to start with a sensible price and keep it around there than starting with a ridiculous price and then slashing it more than is profitable.
04-06-2014, 07:34 AM   #18
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QuoteOriginally posted by Na Horuk Quote
Yeah, over here in EU the first price of the K-01 was a ridiculous 800euro. Its a great camera, but that price is not right, it was higher than the DSLRs with the same sensor.. And this price was a big reason why it didn't sell well at first. That made Pentax panic and they slashed the price a lot. Pentax didn't learn, though. Same thing was happening with the Q (very steep initial price, now much lower) and some of the lenses.. its much better to start with a sensible price and keep it around there than starting with a ridiculous price and then slashing it more than is profitable.
It seems they learned their lesson with the GR and the K3. Release at the apparent street price, control production volume and manage for a long, consistent production run.
05-29-2014, 08:01 PM   #19
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I like the camera. In terms of quality feel, it is a better than the K-30 by a wide margin. None of the quirks are fatal (though the positioning of the green button is remarkably dumb). For Newson to say it was a success from the perspective of what he added and the brutal market response - he's living in a bubble. No one knows to what extent Pentax (Hoya at the time) handed over the reigns to the designer, and to what extent Newson guided the project. My guess is it was mostly cosmetic.

If Newson and Pentax agreed that the camera could do well at the high price point based on its uniqueness - while starving customers from basics like an EVF option, deciding that 1 fps RAW was plenty, and not designing a specialty lens or two that could make use of the vacant mirror space - well then they all were living in a bubble. Most likely those decisions were out of his control or even passing input. Just a little more creative technical effort could have made the concept work. It didn't. I love my little Edsel, though. It does really fine with a big old VF loupe - and is especially dorky that way. That's the only way I'd like to photograph Pee Wee Herman.

05-30-2014, 07:30 AM   #20
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If the K-01 was successful, there would've been no reason for a price drop. Example, Apple doesn't discount themselves, and they sell plenty of Macs, even in a down PC market, and they are making a healthy profit doing it. Look at the other failed MILCs (Nikon 1, EOS M, Q), would is going to pay SLR prices for a compromised design? Put a fire sale price on it, and suddenly it doesn't suck. I own both a K-01 and Nikon J1 now, and while I like both cameras, Nikon and Pentax were on something with the initial MSRP.

The K-01 sensor is capable and proven, although I'm not thrilled about the AF/video, and the design will forever be polarizing. However, for $350, I could overlook a lot of those faults.
05-30-2014, 06:45 PM   #21
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As someone who paid nearly full price at introduction (unprecedented for me), knowing where the camera most likely was heading, I still don't regret it - mostly. I got many good months of use out of it before the price dumping, learned some new skills, and expect to get several more years of use out of it. I would challenge the Apple example a bit - as it remains an outlier based on irrational devotees who have no other choices in their (conditioned) way of thinking. In digital cameras (but not lenses), prices tend to fall in a predictable way as new and better product arrives from the competition. (Lenses really don't improve, and an argument can be made that they are slowly regressing due to greater CA and declining build).

The K-01 got dumped at very low prices, rather sooner than expected. Whether it was priced too high in the first place, or just plain rejected, is academic. Ultimately, most of us appreciate the image quality and pretty much work around the various, endearing challenges. What few people mention is that it is a very stable design, and one of the most dependable k-mount digital bodies around (as well it should be with so few moving parts).
05-31-2014, 03:26 AM   #22
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The rrp when they launched here in Oz was AU$899 without a lens. I got mine after the price crash, at AU$363.
That initial price was stupid, as the brand doesn't have the cache that Nikon or Apple does. If it had launched at AU$500, with a decent marketing campaign, it would have walked off the shelves faster then they could supply them.
At the price I paid, with the price of classic lenses, its image quality gives 7D and 5D owners heartburn.

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