Originally posted by Asahiflex Then they should quickly get their act together, because Sony is aiming for that market now as well (see the super expensive Sony 500mm f/4 they just released - built to order).
thing is sony's approach is doomed at the price and availability. If Pentax is at the opposite end of the spectrum and launches a K5 replacement with faster AF and 24mp a kid getting into the business has an affordable start point ( a lot of pro sports shooters started out shooting sports in school where there is just no chance of shooting with thee canikon glass unless you come from a 1% family
- an affordable (package of a 560 a 60-250 and a 24mp apsc with fast AF for less than the price of a D800 and 70-200 2.8 would be a big sell feature (reality is you could probably get the 16-50,60-200,560and K3 for the price of a D800 with a top 70-200 2.8 and if there is a FF upgrade option on the roadmap you have them (even tough these are all DA lenses) Once they start with the brand they are far more likely too be here for the long term (which is how canikon get them even though most start with DX and APSC gear), when the FF launches then you have a 2 year FF roadmap that starts filling the upgrade holes for when they actually start making money
You aren't going to draw the current shooters from their systems but you are building the long term base with an eye to long term dominance. This of course doesn't immediately satifsy the people here who may be ready for the higher level, but the long term view is the important one. Canon certainly had to rebuild when they launched EF mount and the EOS line because they did lose a number of shooters over the abandoned mount (and gave Minolta a big bump that was mismanaged) Nikon gained as well by keeping some compatibility. By the time Digital hit Canon had recovered and they got aggressive in Digital very quickly, Nikon slow start lost them a lot of users to Canon (I know several personally who had very full Nikon kits who switched as soon as the 5D came out starting with just a 24-70 and 70-200 and slowly filling out the holes while using their Older nikons still for some shots since they had the prime selection there. once they bough a fast 85 for the Canon the nikon system pretty much gathered dust - and even the hassy setup a lot of them had .