I've been reading the speculation lately and most seem utterly convinced of at least one new camera slated for release on January 24th. Of course, previous speculations about prior dates were proven entirely wrong. And I'm beginning to seriously doubt the January 24th date as well. Before saying more, let me lay the foundation for this doubt.
1. On October 29th, Pentax released a letter stating the two companies, Hoya and Pentax, had reached an agreement to merge, effective March 31, 2008. Since neither company is likely to commit much to the other until that merger is a fully done deal ("effective"), there is probably very little going on right now between the two companies in regards to new products.
2. Since certainly some of the senior executives at Pentax, and some of the senior staff, will be leaving following the merger, replaced by executives and staff from the new parent company (Hoya), a number of senior Pentax personnel have little incentive now to rush the development or production of new products they will gain little from. This behavior is very common in these situations. In the USA military, for example, it's jokingly referred to as a "short-timer's attitude."
3. The actual production of a new product is very expensive, with those costs shared by the shareholders of the company. Those costs will be spread to a wider base of shareholders following the merger, reducing the share of those costs for any one shareholder. Therefore, current Pentax shareholders, to avoid bearing any further costs alone, have every reason to avoid expensive production costs for a new product until after the merger is completed.
4. I've seen nothing (news, announcements, etc) to suggest Pentax has opened a new factory, or expanded an existing one, to support the production of a new camera.
5. Telephone calls to Pentax have verified that there has been no
official announcements at this time, from Pentax to regional Pentax distributers or Pentax to the public, about a new camera such as that being discussed here
actually existing or in production, or a January 24th release date. In fact, those on the telephone were careful to stress the lack of any official announcement. If the opposite were true, non-disclosure agreements might have triggered a non-committal response, but not an outright denial.
6. Pentax has obviously not released the new camera before now, missing several important international trade shows. What is so different about January 24th and the PMA trade show? In other words, what is Pentax waiting for now that will suddenly change on January 24th? In my opinon, Pentax is waiting for the actual Pentax/Hoya merger which occurs in March, not January.
I know this idea may not prove popular, but these factors taken together (not individually) just do not bode well for the January 24th date. Indeed, if the groundwork for production or actual production itself, both requiring time, do not start until after March 31st, any new camera in the eventual works may not be announced or released until April, May, or even later.
stewart
Notes: The title was abbreviated for succinctness. If you read the last sentence again, you'll notice my comments apply equally to both the
announcement and release dates. After all, it is highly unlikely Pentax would even want to announce a product in January which might not be available for another three, four, or more months. - stewart
Last edited by stewart_photo; 12-23-2007 at 04:59 AM.