Originally posted by crewl1 Thanks for the link. This interview reveals more about Pentax future plans than I saw in previous interviews.
From this one I can surmise:
1.) K-01 will be a one off product
2.) We will not see the lenses that will take advantage of the empty mirror space in K-01.
3.) Any FF camera will be an (expensive) pro high spec unit, Pentax expects APS-C to cover the entry and mid level spots as the image quality is excellent for this use
4.) No more SDM for new lenses, will use DC
5.) The Q will be supported going forward
6.) Japan market is the product focus target for Pentax, whatever that market deems desirable is how the roadmap will pan out. - Global trends are secondary
In summary, if you like what Pentax produces enjoy it in good health.
If you think your suggestions/petitions/complaints have any bearing on what Pentax does you will be disappointed.
For clues as to where Pentax is going next, rely on Japan market trends and get a good translator so you can read the Japanese photography forums.
For quite a while, a similar idea has be rattling around in the back of my mind. I tend to think that this speculation is right, but possibly out on the edge of the diving board. In some way I could (and still can't) fathom, how Pentax could let a Japan centric train of thought run the company so completely. I think that is the single largest mis-understanding that we here in the US have been missing. That said, it does - to me, start to explain a lot of their actions and approach to markets outside Japan. Pentax, I am observing is a much more Japanese company than Canon, Nikon or Olympus, or that any of us really understand.
We in some respects look at Pentax's lack of marketing and shake our heads at missing opportunities. They don't care - pure and simple. They are focused on Japan, and what we are seeing is the export of a Japanese product to the rest of the world. Take it or leave it - we are the left overs. We have taken the products (excess supply), purchased and use them. In terms of expanding the markets in our respectively local geographic regions - fine, knock yourself out - just don't cost us anything or bother to try to change Pentax Corporate perspectives. Think about it a bit - that has been what has been occurring up to now. Pentax has not been taking a Nissan or Toyota global approach.
Originally posted by cfraz I didn't pick this up at all, though it's clear that in the past Pentax has been much more Japan-market-centric than Nikon and Canon. But appointing Mr. Noboru Akahane, Pentax Ricoh Imaging President, as P-USA President, and appointing a VP of P-USA that has been involved in the Ricoh/Pentax integration, and who directly reports to Mr. Akahane sends a completely unambiguous message that Pentax management intends to take the USA market seriously.
There is no way they would make that move without intending to elevate P-USA performance - there is too much at stake for Mr. Akahane's reputation and therby his influence in the company for it to be a half-hearted move.
In taking the thought process from above a bit further and fleshing it out some more, I am thinking that P-USA is being looked upon not quite as you have described. I think / surmise that we are looking from the outside in, at a tug of war of wills. In some ways, I am looking at Ned in somewhat of a kinder light. I think that he was trying to leverage Pentax out of their Japan centric focus - and finally lost. I am not looking at this as a positive, I am looking at Pentax's President personally pulling a regional company back from having gone rogue (in his view), and administering some corporate discipline on an unruly / defiant teenager. I believe that this is a regressive action. I do not think that sufficient opportunities existed (finance$) were/are available for P-USA, so Ned's experiment was doomed from the beginning. A real clash of corporate cultures. Ricoh is the wild card here. A while ago Ricoh and Pentax's MAP actions, were described by a past US employee, as typical Ricoh. That coupled with the re-badging and overpricing of the Tamron lens, lends me to think that Ricoh itself, does not currently understand the Japan centric focus of Pentax, and it is just overlaying their focus and policies on Pentax. That may in our view (from the US and else where), may make the appearances a bit worse. Pentax still has not really announced anything more about MAP - just gone silent - other than the management change.
Am, I being overly pessimistic? Possibly, but to me, it explains quite a bit. Going forward, the only thing that counts is their announcements and follow through actions. I believe that the real indication of any change will be in marketing. If the current prevailing attitude on marketing changes, that will be an indication of change - hopefully for the better. If Ricoh is going to have a significant return on their investment, they need to sell more product, and marketing is the key ingredient here.