[jcdoss]

Congrats! I'm sure tons of people on here would love to be in your shoes right now. :-D
Looking forward to your cliff notes.

[EarlVonTapia]

Argh, I have to get ready for a weekend getaway, and I just don't have time to really flesh out my notes, so here's a quick rundown of what we talked about (I will post a more in-depth thing when I get back on Sunday)

I tried not to steer the conversation too hard, but instead just sort of let it flow naturally. I didn't want this to be an interview where I just asked him a bunch of questions.

- He asked me about why I got into Pentax. I told him the story that I posted as my first ever post on this forum.
- I mentioned to him that the colors of the Pentax cameras (Blue for K30, yellow for K01) really caught my eye.
- I told him that weather sealed primes would be a really neat thing to have in the lineup. We had a good chat about Primes.
- Regarding Full Frame news, I told him how someone posted that Japanese magazine, and people have been hilariously trying to translate it to clarify the full frame comments. He said he can't say too much of the things he knows, but he will get people to provide an official translation of that magazine article to help clarify anything that was said in it.
- We talked about the K-01. He said it's an amazing camera, but that people either love it or hate it. The K-Mount also limits what they can do with the mirrorless in the form of the K-01, and if the mirrorless trend is towards smaller, lighter, etc. then it's not a direction they're going to continue on.
- According to him the "niche" that likes the K-01 design and features is "small" and so the price was slashed to help move through the stock.
- The Q, though it got a bad rap in the beginning, is really starting to take off. Their challenge was getting over the hurdle that people perceive that smaller sensor = lower IQ, which he says is not really a direct correlation.
- The Q's portability features etc. are more in line with what other mirrorless offerings have, and that's the direction that they want to continue to go down on.
- For the past few weeks the Q has been the #1 selling MILC in Japan, and they're really happy with that. The big thing is that in Japan they have a program that allows people to customize the colors of their camera. He then asked me how receptive I would be to a customized color program here. I said VERY.

We talked some fluff stuff too, it was just really lighthearted. Friendly guy. I sent him a thank you email after, and a follow up email from one of his employees asked for me mailing address. I can only assume this means I will be getting something in the mail, but I have no clue what.

And that concludes my notes on my morning chat with an Exec VP of a multinational corp.

Cheers to you all, have a great weekend.

[Docrwm]

Well, I just finished my call. He's a nice man. I'll post up the conversation notes shortly!

Looking forward to hearing all about it.

[mattdm]

Historically, Pentax has fixed most existing problems in their new cameras that come out, if not via firmware. But this one has persisted a long time.

The entire flash system really could use a revamp. The AF360FGZ predates digital!

[Ash]

Wonderful, Earl. Well done and thanks for sharing your thoughts on the conversation with us. It's always nice to hear someone from Pentax come down to meet with the regular consumers.

[Docrwm]

Excellent summary, I look forward to more details.

I especially appreciate his offer to get an official transcript of the interview. No offense to our PF colleagues who have done great but if Pentax does it, it is more likely to reflect even the implications of the original Japanese interview.

They are dumping the K-01, that makes sense. Its a dog from a sales point of view as I have always said. That is good news in one way because Pentaxians are more likely to love it and now they can have it for pennies on the original dollar but is bad news in another way because it signals an end to that line (or not, but probably).

Glad to have the confirmation on the Q. I agree 100% with what he said, the Home market has really taken to it and its starting to gain traction here in the US with the discounting of the original Q too IMHO with Groupon, Target, ShopNBC and others selling it at <$300 with zoom.

Thanks again for the summary. I hope you get a Limited in the mail

[photoman1]

Argh, I have to get ready for a weekend getaway, and I just don't have time to really flesh out my notes, so here's a quick rundown of what we talked about (I will post a more in-depth thing when I get back on Sunday)

I tried not to steer the conversation too hard, but instead just sort of let it flow naturally. I didn't want this to be an interview where I just asked him a bunch of questions.

- He asked me about why I got into Pentax. I told him the story that I posted as my first ever post on this forum.
- I mentioned to him that the colors of the Pentax cameras (Blue for K30, yellow for K01) really caught my eye.
- I told him that weather sealed primes would be a really neat thing to have in the lineup. We had a good chat about Primes.
- Regarding Full Frame news, I told him how someone posted that Japanese magazine, and people have been hilariously trying to translate it to clarify the full frame comments. He said he can't say too much of the things he knows, but he will get people to provide an official translation of that magazine article to help clarify anything that was said in it.
- We talked about the K-01. He said it's an amazing camera, but that people either love it or hate it. The K-Mount also limits what they can do with the mirrorless in the form of the K-01, and if the mirrorless trend is towards smaller, lighter, etc. then it's not a direction they're going to continue on.
- According to him the "niche" that likes the K-01 design and features is "small" and so the price was slashed to help move through the stock.
- The Q, though it got a bad rap in the beginning, is really starting to take off. Their challenge was getting over the hurdle that people perceive that smaller sensor = lower IQ, which he says is not really a direct correlation.
- The Q's portability features etc. are more in line with what other mirrorless offerings have, and that's the direction that they want to continue to go down on.
- For the past few weeks the Q has been the #1 selling MILC in Japan, and they're really happy with that. The big thing is that in Japan they have a program that allows people to customize the colors of their camera. He then asked me how receptive I would be to a customized color program here. I said VERY.

We talked some fluff stuff too, it was just really lighthearted. Friendly guy. I sent him a thank you email after, and a follow up email from one of his employees asked for me mailing address. I can only assume this means I will be getting something in the mail, but I have no clue what.

And that concludes my notes on my morning chat with an Exec VP of a multinational corp.

Cheers to you all, have a great weekend.

sounds interesting...
I think that Pentax did not respond to me because I said i was a HS student and there is some legal business since I'm under 18. somewhat upset as I was looking forward to talking with them

Interesting that the Q is #1 in Japan, did not even know about the color program. The Q is quirky, which is what the Japanese like.
Wonder what you'll get in the mail.

[GabrielFFontes]

sounds interesting...
I think that Pentax did not respond to me because I said i was a HS student and there is some legal business since I'm under 18. somewhat upset as I was looking forward to talking with them

Interesting that the Q is #1 in Japan, did not even know about the color program. Wonder what you'll get in the mail.

Well, i'm fifteen, hehe.
I'm really looking forward to my call...I scheduled for jan 2

[Ash]

Gabriel, let us know how you go

[photoman1]

Well, i'm fifteen, hehe.
I'm really looking forward to my call...I scheduled for jan 2

Did you say you were 15? I think that might have scared them away from me. Good luck!

[GabrielFFontes]

Thank you for the support!
I will let you guys know how it went for sure
Yes yes, i am 15 hehehe.
I will talk about how they are missing a big market here in South America, specially here in Brazil.
They don't have even a representative company here, so it's tough to get/repair equipment.
I plan to talk a little bit about economic opportunities , and will talk about that safari video, because if they commit to do something like that (give and/or sell cameras to humble communities), i'm sure the brazilian government could give some kind of fiscal advantage.
What do you guys think about that?
Also, if you have anything in mind, just post here and i'll ask it for you.
See you all later!

[lightbulb]

Wr pan cake primes. ..... The day pentax do it will be the day Canon and nikon poo their pants. .....

[Docrwm]

Wr pan cake primes. ..... The day pentax do it will be the day Canon and nikon poo their pants. .....

No, they'll just copy it, like the "new" 40 pancake from Canon.

[Ash]

Gabriel, I've mentioned it before, but there's a concern about P-TTL not being consistent and the flash system as a whole not performing on par with say the E-TTL of Nikon. Perhaps ask what the plans are for a new flash system to address this.

[photoman1]

Thank you for the support!
I will let you guys know how it went for sure
Yes yes, i am 15 hehehe.
I will talk about how they are missing a big market here in South America, specially here in Brazil.
They don't have even a representative company here, so it's tough to get/repair equipment.
I plan to talk a little bit about economic opportunities , and will talk about that safari video, because if they commit to do something like that (give and/or sell cameras to humble communities), i'm sure the brazilian government could give some kind of fiscal advantage.
What do you guys think about that?
Also, if you have anything in mind, just post here and i'll ask it for you.
See you all later!

+1
could they un-cripple the k-mount and put the feeler ring back?