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01-11-2008, 12:32 PM   #1
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Pentax takes #3 in Japanese market!

Yes, it's true. Pentax sold 6.3% of DSLRs in Japan in 2007:

'Big two' continue to dominate Japan: Digital Photography Review

01-11-2008, 12:35 PM   #2
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I was hoping for a slightly higher percentage.
01-11-2008, 01:35 PM   #3
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That's 10,000% better...

QuoteOriginally posted by ftpaddict Quote
I was hoping for a slightly higher percentage.
than what they sold in 2003...

Things are heading the right way; if they would just make a ******* camera as good as their lenses, that percentage would skyrocket. And it has been the same since the 80's, unfortunately.

Let's hope things are about to change. They almost did it with the K1D in 2001, were about to take a BIG lead in the DSLR field, but the sensor maker screwed up bigtime. That put them about 5 years behind the eight ball. Fortunately, they survived.

That same disasterous sensor killed Contax. Pentax were at least wise enough to bail.

Good things coming up, let's trust in the force, the exhalted Benmeister!

Where is he, anyway? Shooting more nudey shots? Come on, Ben, we need to talk to you!



Cheers,
Cameron
01-11-2008, 02:16 PM   #4
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QuoteOriginally posted by Cambo Quote
than what they sold in 2003...

Things are heading the right way; if they would just make a ******* camera as good as their lenses, that percentage would skyrocket. And it has been the same since the 80's, unfortunately.
In the 1980's it was not a question of making a "good camera" they made one, the LX. the problem in the 1980's is that they got the M series flu. everythig had to be smaller and cheaper, they then started cutting the performance of the lenses, the M series 135 was an F3.5 as opposed to F2.5 for the K. In reality they really missed the market. then in the 1990's they tried to come back, and made some good cameras, like the PZ-1 but didn't have all the system parts around it. and they didn't have the pros for the prestige factor.

Althouth we all joke about thier lack of marketing, they have one, they just misread things at each step. Look at the present situation. what limits the camera sales today is lack of lenses. A second problem is they under estimated thepopularity of the cameras, and didn't gear up enough to meet the market.

I think most will agree there are fery few pentax cameras sitting on shelves. most stores sell out very quickly.

01-11-2008, 03:35 PM   #5
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QuoteOriginally posted by Cambo Quote
...but the sensor maker screwed up bigtime. That put them about 5 years behind the eight ball. Fortunately, they survived.

That same disasterous sensor killed Contax. Pentax were at least wise enough to bail.
I seem to be out of the loop. What is that story about?

I'm ashamed of not knowing
01-11-2008, 03:44 PM   #6
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Saying they missed the market with the M-series completely misses the mark

The M-series cameras are among the most sold in history selling many millions....
01-11-2008, 04:50 PM   #7
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QuoteOriginally posted by ftpaddict Quote
I was hoping for a slightly higher percentage.
From 6.7 to 17.8 percent here in France since last year at the same time...

01-11-2008, 05:12 PM   #8
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I know that from one of my sister's friends, who bought a K100D super from France a couple of months ago. They're selling like cupcakes there. Over here as well.

I've also talked to the official Pentax suppliers for Romania, and they said that they only got one K10D into servicing EVER, and the issue was minor. I'm pretty confident about their build quality, now.
01-11-2008, 05:40 PM   #9
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The K10D with a broken flash? That was the only one?
01-11-2008, 06:08 PM   #10
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Yep. Either we got a good batch, or we didn't sell many. I know for a fact that we sold many.
The flash problem was a 1 hour fix, and all covered by warranty. Apparently, a wire was placed the wrong way inside the body. That's it.


(The clean record was made without taking into account all the clumsy people who dropped their cameras into the toilet)
01-11-2008, 06:08 PM   #11
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QuoteOriginally posted by ftpaddict Quote
I know that from one of my sister's friends, who bought a K100D super from France a couple of months ago. They're selling like cupcakes there. Over here as well.

I've also talked to the official Pentax suppliers for Romania, and they said that they only got one K10D into servicing EVER, and the issue was minor. I'm pretty confident about their build quality, now.
Oh why oh why did you say cupcakes?? I have not had one in a long time and thinking of running out and buying a dozen or two

mmmm.... cupcakes....
01-11-2008, 06:13 PM   #12
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ftpaddict: But I tought they replaced that camera; or maybe it's not the only case
01-11-2008, 06:16 PM   #13
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QuoteOriginally posted by Kunzite Quote
ftpaddict: But I tought they replaced that camera; or maybe it's not the only case
Nope. That is absolutely the only case they had of a faulty camera. No need to replace it.
01-11-2008, 06:40 PM   #14
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Young-un...

QuoteOriginally posted by ftpaddict Quote
I seem to be out of the loop. What is that story about?

I'm ashamed of not knowing
Eh, sonny? (raising ear-trumpet to my one good ear).

Back in my day, we took pictures on FILM, and it cost a lot of money! And we had to walk 30 miles through the snow, butt-nekkid, to the darkroom.

Etc....

Cheers,

Cameron
01-11-2008, 07:02 PM   #15
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QuoteOriginally posted by ftpaddict Quote
I seem to be out of the loop. What is that story about?

I'm ashamed of not knowing
It was an early full frame sensor.......
Contax N Digital - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
however, its characteristics made for an ultimately unsuccessful camera, since at sensitivities higher than 100 ISO—or with exposures longer than 1 second—it showed noise in its images to a degree many photographers considered unacceptable in comparison to the competition.

Other problems reported included very poor battery life (on the order of 80 shots), poor flash metering, and poor autofocus performance.

Photographers able to work within the camera's limitations found it produced excellent results for certain types of work (well-lit studio photography, for example).

The camera was quietly withdrawn from the market by Contax within a year of introduction.
Contax N Digital Review

Pentax MZ-D - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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