[Jonathan Mac]

I remember quite a few years ago (ten or so) when I connected to the forum for my daily dose of image sharing, photographic gossip etc there would be roughly 900 to 1000 new posts since my visit the previous day. Now there are around 350.

When I first noticed this decrease I jokingly put it down to all the FF enthusiasts no longer having anything to complain about now the K1 was out, but there must be many reasons. I've noticed recently that the lens clubs are far less active than they used to be (though this is a subjective impression that I get), at least the ones I frequent (Taks, M, K, DA Limited...). I'm sure there are lots of other clubs I'm not involved in (K1, DFA etc). Whatever the precise reasons, and without wanting to turn this into another doom-and-gloom thread, it seems hard to draw any conclusions that don't involve a downturn in Pentax use. Of course that's true across the whole market as people use phones more and buy fewer cameras and lenses. Or maybe there's less to complain about in Pentax-land these days, or less to discuss with the slow release schedule of gear.

I just wondered if others have noticed the same.

Hmmm...ten years ago you say…when did FB become very popular? I know it killed off a movie forum I used to post on because the regulars just “friended” each other and carried on chatting there and some started their own FB pages.

[c.a.m]

I just wondered if others have noticed the same.

I usually visit PF daily for my 'social media' fix and to keep current with Pentax developments, user experiences, and tips, and to enjoy members' images. I haven't really noticed a significant drop in activity -- the 'New Posts' listing has more than enough threads to keep me busy! However, I have noticed that a number of previously-prolific members have quietly decreased, suspended, or ceased their activity.

- Craig

[jcdoss]

I think there's been a drop in activity also, but I'm not sure if it's due to decreased Pentax ownership or simply a decrease in use of this forum.

[Lord Lucan]

but I'm not sure if it's due to decreased Pentax ownership or simply a decrease in use of this forum

There are always new arrivals in the "Welcomes & Introductions" forum, but most are never seen again. I have also noticed an apparent reduction in posts lately, but perhaps only in the sub-forums I am more interested in.

I think there is significant and increasing dilution of posts caused by the broad spread in the Mini-Challenges, Games, and Photo Stories subforum, which has long departed from the original stated and more limited intent, which was " sub-forums to run any sort of photo-related games, events, or contests". In fact it is now mainly a straightforward picture gallery with hundreds(?) of sub-sub-forums, many of which largely duplicate each other. For example there is one on Trees and also one on Lonely Trees. I do look and post in some of those, but don't often look in the others; I don't want to have to trawl through all of them.

There is also dilution caused by the camera oriented "Post Your K-whatever Pictures" sub-forums. Do I post my latest shot in my own K-whatever camera subforum, or in one of the possible mini-challenge sub-forums it could fit into, and which one of those? I don't really care which camera model was used to take the photo when I am looking for the sake of pictures (unless it was a film camera for which we need to make some allowances). I'd rather the camera specific forums were confined to their particular technical issues.

[iheiramo]

I've noticed recently that the lens clubs are far less active than they used to be (though this is a subjective impression that I get), at least the ones I frequent (Taks, M, K, DA Limited...). I'm sure there are lots of other clubs I'm not involved in (K1, DFA etc).

I feel bad for neglecting M club. It's just that DFA*85 has been almost glued to my K1ii, so I have had very little to share.

[Adam]

What we're mainly seeing is the impact on the number of casual and professional Pentax users due to the focused product offering and longer release cycle. At the same time, we've also seen an increase in engagement from enthusiast Pentax users. This somewhat makes up for the drop in new posting activity, from a quality over quantity perspective, if you will.

Adam
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[Rondec]

I think times when there have been more frequent news releases and rumors are more busy times. The release dates on K mount gear have spaced out quite a bit and I really think that has dropped the traffic in news and rumors, which was one of the biggest activity areas.

Threads which have to do with photo posting seem steady, same as always. Unfortunately, they don't always generate a whole lot of conversation. Seems like the most you get there is "nice photo -- thanks for sharing." All well and good, but nothing that encourages ongoing discussions.

[GUB]

I have noticed a drop off in discussions about techniques and understanding digital photography.
I guess you can only have a discussion on a given subject so many times. (think equivalence here!)
Adam do you have info on casual visits to the threads - ie from a search engine?
Is the forums performing well as a resource?

[The Squirrel Mafia]

I blame social media.

[Adam]

I have noticed a drop off in discussions about techniques and understanding digital photography.
I guess you can only have a discussion on a given subject so many times. (think equivalence here!)
Adam do you have info on casual visits to the threads - ie from a search engine?
Is the forums performing well as a resource?

The majority of search traffic is for technical / photography / gear questions - and much less for things like photo sharing.

I blame social media.

I blame smartphones!

[RobA_Oz]

Pentax Forums has a presence on Facebook, although there’s possibly more traffic brought back here by reference to articles and reviews etc than from postings there. I don’t recall seeing anything on Instagram. On the other hand, there are many Pentax postings on Flickr (and possibly other general photo-sharing sites, but Flickr’s the only one I inhabit). FB and Instagram compress the life out of many photos, I find, so I don’t post many of my photos there. Paradoxically, I find Flickr’s app to do the same (although the web version doesn’t), but I digress.

Subjectively, I find the discussions here to be less combative than previously, which may have excluded some people whose personal style suited that sort of debate (self-exclusion, as well as banning ) but I think they’re more informative, overall.

As said elsewhere, we used to have a number of people complaining about the lack of a 35mm full-frame body (and some of those continually talking up other brands that had one or more such) and thankfully most of the more gratuitous commentary in that vein seems to have abated recently. The lack of a MILC body doesn’t seem to generate as much in response, these days – maybe the FF debate exhausted many of us.

Of more concern is what I perceive to be the age profile here. While grey hair does generally denote experience, and occasionally wisdom, more fresh voices would be welcome. Still, vinyl records and film photography seem to have re-established themselves among younger groups, so maybe DSLRs will do likewise. One can only live in hope.

[Not a Number]

There is a drop overall on participation of Bulletin Board style formats. Younger generations consider the format outdated ("so 90s"). Facebook, Discord, Reddit are the preferred platforms.

Personally I dislike the one giant thread format of those platforms, but what do you expect from an old stinker who has been using BBS systems since the 80s.

[mroeder75]

Here is another explanation:

I experienced the mirror flap issue with my K3 a few weeks ago. I thought it had something to do with the battery running down, but then I noticed the mirror would flap again like a machine gun when I put the newly charged battery in it, after a couple shutter actuations, as well. It seemed to be just one of my two battery packs causing this, not both, and it happened to be a generic battery pack that was not even close to being fully charged when installed in the camera.

I immediately came here to post a new thread to test out my suspicion whether my camera needed replacing, or was it the battery pack. Upon arrival here, instead of posting about it, and having the appearance of a dumb bell, I searched using key words across all fora, and found one or two threads on the topic from 6 and 7-years ago.

The fact that collectively we (mostly you folks upon whom I rely) developed some history with this forum, there isn't always a need to start a new thread on every subject.

After reading past threads, my solution was to buy a new Pentax battery pack from B & H Photo, which arrived today in a gigantic box with a little battery. I took the old generic battery pack to someone in town who recycles lithium batteries.

---------- Post added 09-27-22 at 09:55 PM ----------

I feel bad for neglecting M club. It's just that DFA*85 has been almost glued to my K1ii, so I have had very little to share.

You are not ignoring the M club. You are our most prolific poster, and I enjoy your posts even though I don't respond to each one.

[iheiramo]

You are not ignoring the M club. You are our most prolific poster, and I enjoy your posts even though I don't respond to each one.

I used to post a lot more during the 3 years I shot thru the M primes in Single In Challenge.