[Mallee Boy]

Have had a very interesting conversation with a someone from a major retailer here in Australia, and I mean major retailer.

I asked about Pentax Cameras and was told that this chain of stores did not / would not stock them because of an in-ablity to come to a satisfactory buying arrangement with the Australian Pentax importer.....however they said with a smile.....

It was suggested that I be patient for two weeks as the Samsung GX20 was going to hit the shelves at a price that was going to blow the K20D out of the water.....with a range of lenses as well.

According to my source Samsung are dead set serious about their entry into the DSLR world and want to be at the pointy end of the sales race.

I'm not sure I understand the tactic, but it would appear the Australian Pentax importer is in for a bit of a shock.

[roentarre]

Not that much shock to the importer here since they have plenty of sigma to sell here.

Will the samsung lenses work on k20d though?

[lithos]

I asked about Pentax Cameras and was told that this chain of stores did not / would not stock them because of an in-ablity to come to a satisfactory buying arrangement with the Australian Pentax importer

Sounds about bloody right.

Lemme guess...this retailer was...oh, Hardly Normal?

[mcjm78]

Two weeks from now? I wonder whether WA will get the same deal as well...... i wanna upgrade soon....maybe shoud wait.... a little..bit....... longer.......

[Maxington]

Yeah sounds like Harvey Norman to me, friend of mine works there and said they refuse to deal with CR Kennedy to get Pentax equipment.

Which sucks, since I could get discount off him!

[Arpe]

HN don't stock them here either, but we have a different importer, Ian Little or something, so they must be as bad as each other or we are under orders from the Aussie HQ.

[PentaxKangaroo]

This is why HOYA PENTAX HD... Should setup there own HQ in Australia & NZ.. Samsung have HQ in Australia with excellent sales & service. You could see people down under. Buying pentax or other K mount lenses from BH photo & Adorma!! Buy The Very well priced K Mount Samsung body Locally .. For Warranty and service. The only reason I got the K10D local was for warranty.. As Dslr's are sensitive electronics (that can stop working for no reason)

[Peter Zack]

i wonder if this will happen in other regions. I used to work for Samsung in the Electronics division. They are as serious as it gets when they have a target. Back then the goal was to outsell Sony and they did that . If they have the big 2 on the radar in DSLR's they might do that someday if they get enough products to work with.

I'd take a Samsung GX20 if it's priced a few hundred $$ under the Pentax camera. Hoytax still gets a share of the profits.

[bobrapp]

Sounds about bloody right.

Lemme guess...this retailer was...oh, Hardly Normal?

Jay Bee, Lee Bing! Now, if it were Camera House, they would be shooting themselves in the foot. In the Camera House I visit, all I have seen since the introduction of the K100 was INCREASING shelf space. The on-line retailers are stocking good levels as well.

Bob

[Falcons]

It will be interesting to see how Samsung does in this venture and it will be more interesting to see how many $$$ a Pentax user values the Pentax brand name.

If both same price I freely admit I will feel more comfortable toting around a Pentax but I reckon I would sell my loyalty for a saving of $50 or more.

On another issue CRK have got to start educating the sales staff in camera stores to what the Pentax cameras are capable of.

Dropped into Plaza Cameras in Perth the other day and asked to have a look at the K20D said I wanted to check out the live view function.
Salesperson gave me the condescending smirk and slowly explained to me that Pentax DSLR cameras don't have live view - that is for the higher speced Canon & Nikons. So I casually flicked the live view on and showed her - result, jaw dropped.

[sir_bazz]

I'm no brand whore but I think I'd always choose the Pentax over Samsung body just to be able to shoot PEF rather than DNG. It's a feature I'm happy to pay a few more dollars to have.

Will be interesting to see what range of lenses they are coming up with though.....new ones possibly ?

bazz.

[lithos]

Amen for the idea of Pentax starting its own distributor here in Aus. Either that, or Pentax uses its vast knowledge of and experience from colonoscope development to help pull CRK's head out of its-

It's a brave new world. Now, having just come back from a session of self-flagellation as punishment for using a tired cliché derived from an Aldous Huxley novel, we're seeing photography get even more democratic - far more than George Eastman could've imagined. Pentax either have to appeal to the average guy (more likely) or start hitting the pro market (highly unlikely.)

In my opinion, the Ol' Pentax hasn't been doing to well in the digital age - due to marketing, mostly. Bloody good cameras, but no one takes us that seriously.

It wouldn't surprise me if Pentax got out of the camera market altogether, giving Samsung the K-Mount, and concetrating on those endoscopes, or just dissolving into Hoya entirely.

Giving CRK the a*se would go a long way towards helping out down here. Better relations with retailers, better marketing, those all important freebies to help get the the reviewers on side - and no more crap Sigma "glass" with the optical properties dry snot to be forced upon unwilling photogs. They've got the world's largest optical glass maker behind them, the huge electronic expertise of a giant Korean zaibatsu behind them (the ability to make their own sensors is a huge boon), and the knowledge of what makes a great camera. Now they need to put them altogether.

[bobrapp]

Amen for the idea of Pentax starting its own distributor here in Aus. Either that, or Pentax uses its vast knowledge of and experience from colonoscope development to help pull CRK's head out of its-

I

Dropping CRK is very unlikely as they were Pentax's first distributors (1952) and were selling Pentax cameras in Australia long before Pentax broke into the US and European markets.

I, like most, dislike the sight of a Sigma lens on a Pentax body in sellers show case!!!!!

Bob

[Mallee Boy]

Dropping CRK is very unlikely as they were Pentax's first distributors (1952) and were selling Pentax cameras in Australia long before Pentax broke into the US and European markets.

I, like most, dislike the sight of a Sigma lens on a Pentax body in sellers show case!!!!!

Bob

There is something even sadder Bob.

Try & buy a K200D or K20D with the either the DA* 16-50 or 50-135 as a package......no one offers it (at least in Australia where I have been looking). You can buy them as seperate items and pay full price each time.

Not satisfied with this I checked with a reseller as to the why and was told that that they (the reseller) are sold the "packages" by the importer who decides what goes with what. No offer was made by the re-seller to offer me anything other than his list price.


It defies common sense and logic that the weather sealed K200 & K20 are not offered with the only weather sealed lenses in the line up, at a packaged price.

Marketing oversight or marketing stupidity?

I can understand the need to enter the market at a price point...I do that myself....but to then ignore or take for granted the top end (and a big advantage over other makes) is dumbfounding.
Cheers
Grant

[mattdm]

i wonder if this will happen in other regions. I used to work for Samsung in the Electronics division. They are as serious as it gets when they have a target. Back then the goal was to outsell Sony and they did that . If they have the big 2 on the radar in DSLR's they might do that someday if they get enough products to work with.

Looking at the total market figures for 2007 (P&S + dSLR), I believe you. Samsung went from a distant 7th place iin 2005 to 4th overall and only slightly behind 3rd-place Kodak.