Originally posted by Wulifou Personally I just moved TO Pentax. Not because it is the best or the most up-to-date-last-hype-camera maker, but simply because it perfectly meets what I was expecting from a camera. That does not mean that I won't one day switch, who knows, and more importantly, who cares ? If people choose to leave Pentax for XYZ, it's because they have a good reason to do so. It's not sad, it's not a sign for Pentax beeing out of touch, it's just a personal choice. I don't really understand why there are so many passionate debates, I mean nobody cares if someone changes from Chrysler to Honda or Mercedes, so why all this heat when someone leaves Pentax for Nikon/Canon ?
Probably because far more people leave Pentax for other brands than come over from other brands. It will only get worse too. The Nikon D40 will probably be cheaper than the K-m, which will erode Pentax' sales in the cheap and cheerful market, the K200 is outclassed by anything else in it's price range, and the K20 has just been eroded by the competition as well. They just don't get that a 3 year or longer turn around for model upgrades just isn't good enough any more (the K20 was an exception).
I can remember when Pentax was on the forefront of camera technology, and some of what we take for granted in every manufacturers cameras rolled off the Pentax assembly lines first.
Now they are at best reactionary, rather than visionary, and my honest opinion is that they are very out of touch, and this is costing them hugely.
It's not enough to have some of the best lenses in the world, the cameras have to be up to the task as well.
Right now, there is a huge disconnect between Pentax cameras and what is considered to be second tier cameras from the big players. The best that Pentax makes is comparable to the third best from Nikon & Canon, and every time they introduce new cameras, that disconnect gets larger.
Perhaps it's Hoya's uber-conservatism holding things back, it must be difficult for an optical filter/accessory manufacturer to get their heads around the camera market, but they need to take a few risks to get back in the game before the other guys are so far ahead that the game is effectively over.