[Kunzite]

You might be quite right, and if this arises it will be very bad news for the K mount ;as the entry level was the one with higher quantities sold, acting as a magnet for new pentaxists - often beginners, entering the market...

And why would anyone assume Pentax likes to shoot themselves in the foot?
If it doesn't make sense it most likely won't happen.

[glanglois]

Is the sky falling? Have the popular colors been discontinued? Are we left with chocolate brown coupled with a silver grip? (Well yes, but Walmart have that.)

This is probably just a narrowing of color choices to deplete inventory. I will assume that bodies are manufactured in batches and, at some point, Pentax do not want to order another batch of everything.

We know that few models go on forever (let's keep an eye on the D90, though) so an early end to some colors signifies little about the next 30 days. Twelve months from now? Who would expect the K-r to be in production as 2012 turns into 2013?

[LXNights]

if this is true, i wish they hadn't discontinued the K-r until they had another body ready to go. I've come to recognize that when pentax is very quiet for a prolonged period of time, something is in the works. Hope it's a good one.

[infoomatic]

i just dont get it why they discontinue it just before christmas :-/

[Aristophanes]

i just dont get it why they discontinue it just before christmas :-/

I don't get why they announced to the channel it has been discontinued before Christmas.

Pentax/Ricoh is singularly the most out-of-touch with North American/UK consumers of any Japanese company I have seen.

[eddie1960]

I don't get why they announced to the channel it has been discontinued before Christmas.

Pentax/Ricoh is singularly the most out-of-touch with North American/UK consumers of any Japanese company I have seen.

The channel usually knows well in advance of upcoming discontinued items (at least the larger players do)
Why the channel let it leak out is another story altogether. that was dumb
A lot of purchasing for big chains is planned 4-8 months out. While you're out shopping for christmas the buying groups are thinking back to school and it's only the supply chain guys managing the flow of current p.o.'s that may have been cut as far back as June

[Adam]

Just spoke with B&H again and it's pretty much official that the K-r is being discontinued. Nobody knows what's coming, but let's hope that a. come January, something new (and big) gets announced and b. stock doesn't run out before Christmas.

Adam
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[infoomatic]

Just spoke with B&H again and it's pretty much official that the K-r is being discontinued. Nobody knows what's coming, but let's hope that a. come January, something new (and big) gets announced and b. stock doesn't run out before Christmas.

That would be nice ... but the question is, who buys a camera that's discontinued?
a) People that have already bought into the Pentax system - no new customers (but at least some sales)
b) People that don't use the internet to do some research ... and since Pentax has chosen to go the internet way and not the brick&mortar shops way I guess quite some of potential customers won't buy one; price should be even lower then to attract them although Pentax would probably not have problems selling it at a higher price (for a product thats still alive)

... anyway, I think it was quite an unwise move to discontinue it before Christmas (and not in January), and hopefully I am proved wrong

[Kunzite]

c) People who wants a bargain - though I'm not sure the K-r can be considered one

[eddie1960]

That would be nice ... but the question is, who buys a camera that's discontinued?
a) People that have already bought into the Pentax system - no new customers (but at least some sales)
b) People that don't use the internet to do some research ... and since Pentax has chosen to go the internet way and not the brick&mortar shops way I guess quite some of potential customers won't buy one; price should be even lower then to attract them although Pentax would probably not have problems selling it at a higher price (for a product thats still alive)

... anyway, I think it was quite an unwise move to discontinue it before Christmas (and not in January), and hopefully I am proved wrong

the mistake was the retailers letting the cat out of the bag

In any case why not buy a discontinued product if you need it now and the price is right. did the camera all of a sudden become a POS because it was discontinued.
Generally the best value time to buy any product is the end of life cycle. the new models always come at a premium.

For someone not in a rush they might wait for a new model in the hopes it will be better featured (and odds are it will have a downgraded version of the K5 sensor if nothing else)

As has been mentioned a few times it may well be production has stopped because there are no sensors to produce it with available thanks to the Thai floods

CES Is Jan 10-13 this January so I imagine we will se a number of announcements there
Photokina is not until the end of February so that is a long time to go without an entry level model
K5 replacement may well be announced at Photokina (and who knows what else )

[Mistral75]

(...)

CES Is Jan 10-13 this January so I imagine we will se a number of announcements there
Photokina is not until the end of February so that is a long time to go without an entry level model
K5 replacement may well be announced at Photokina (and who knows what else )

Photokina 2012 is from 18th to 23rd September.

[drougge]

Well that's a bummer, and is extremely deceptive. So what is the actual resolution of the K-x screen vs the K-r screen?

It's certainly deceptive, but whoever started it probably wasn't Pentax. Everyone does it now anyway.

K-r: 640x480x3 = 921k
K-x: 320x240x3 = 230k

[Kryscendo]

Of all the interfaces, why have cameras not been graced with beautiful GUIs. Throw in an older and probably these days very affordable nVidia Tegra chip into a body and speed up some of the filter applications as well as have a spiffy interface that also travels at the speed of light.

[thibs]

Of all the interfaces, why have cameras not been graced with beautiful GUIs. Throw in an older and probably these days very affordable nVidia Tegra chip into a body and speed up some of the filter applications as well as have a spiffy interface that also travels at the speed of light.

Yeah, right... Tegra is such a b**** to cool down you'll get a camera working basicaly like a toaster.
Let's do this for mass low end market where guys buy because it is cool, not because it si good or even useful.

[Darlene]

As of very early this a.m., Pentax white and red body only at Adorama was $499. Never seen it that low. Don't know if this is just an overnight price. Looks very much like those are closing out.