Originally posted by monochrome For Apple, maybe - but does that extend to Pentax?
The entire and only point of custom colors and eventually expanded BTO is to stimulate sales of K-mounts (they don't really care about cameras, they care about K-mounts) to increase the installed base of mounts (of course the same applies to Q).
The installed base of mounts drives everything - lens sales, accessory sales, third-party lens sales (which add credibility), custmoer identification and retention, B&M support, ad penetration - everything. Colors and BTO drives purchases of a second or third body in a household, impulse gift giving (cameras in school colors - really!!) and can conceivably drive purpose built cameras - and multiple mounts in a household.. If Build-to-Order can be done effectively and cost-efficiently it may well increase the installed base of mounts in the marketplace.
Technology has allowed me to customize my practice while simultaneously allowing me to increase my capacity several hundred percent over the last five years. Granted, I am in a knowledge business - but why can't that in principle transfer to consumer electronics (cameras)?
The Q has almost vanished from the BCN rankings in Japan, by far its stronghold. The highest Q kit is at 66 or something whereas a year ago they were all over the top 10. Maybe its day is over?
It's not immediately obvious that BTO is going to increase the sales of K-mounts. Why would all these customers suddenly switch to BTO instead of walking into a shop, buying a camera and walking out with it rather than waiting for several weeks (as at the moment with the Pentax colour build system, anyway) and taking a chance on something they haven't seen or handled? In the near future, what will increase the sales of K-mounts are some solid, competitively specced and priced cameras in a shop near you with marketing to match, or so I would guess anyway. I suppose I don't see how Ricoh can switch to BTO without, in effect, ditching their B&M operations in which case their cameras will become almost impossible to find or handle. Chances are the slack won't be taken up by BTO but by new sales for Nikon and Canon.
I can see that BTO would stand a much better chance of working in Japan. But I'd guess that about three people on this forum live in Japan.
In the meantime, I'm looking forward to some conventional cameras conventionally launched later this year.
I'm tempted to offer a magnum no a jereboam of virtual champagne to the person who can show that I'm completely mistaken - that in future there will be no conventional cameras sold in shops from Ricoh, just a BTO operation with some pretty pictures of what you're about to pay $$$$ for.
Bossa's suggestion of a fully modular high-end 645 system sounds much more likely, imho.
Last edited by mecrox; 09-18-2013 at 03:59 PM.