Originally posted by derekkite So if you were Ricoh, and had to invest to gain market share, what would you do?
Excellent question!
I would get Pentax their sense of direction back and stick with it this time. And get some guts to go with it. Who knows what "the Pentax speciality" currently is? If you ask this to 30 different Pentaxians you get 30 different answers depending on which date they joined Pentax.
Just an example. In my case it was the high quality, durability and affordability in a small package. They were long famed for that. But suddenly they stopped all progress in that area. Who would have guessed Pentax would let that niche be taken over by a different brand? But now you can carry a complete full frame system in your jacket pocket, whilst the APS-C camera of the brand that is know for its compactness needs to be carried seperately. The old Pentax would never pass on a niche that fitted them like a glove.
Other users remember Pentax for being THE standard in quality. Others again for being THE mainstream camera. And some for them being the most innovitive. More recently they are known for their fun colours and gimmick gear. It's like they're shooting in all kinds of directions but keep abandoning before they even see if it works.
Originally posted by derekkite I find it interesting that there are folks here who got impatient with Pentax and bought a D800 or similar to get what they wanted. Now with the K-3 that decision is in question.
Is it? The K-3 has high IQ... but not the highest. It is compact... but not the most compact. It's innovative, but not the most innovative. It has a good bang for the buck, but not the best. It's a very very conservative camera. It's a K-5 with buffed up features. Don't get me wrong though, I love it, it's very good, but so was (and still is) the K-5 classic! The current Pentax gear only really shines in one feature that shows Pentax current course: indecisiveness.
Originally posted by derekkite It is about taking very nice pictures. Nothing more nothing less. And for Pentax Ricoh to sell you and me what I want to take those nice pictures. Every time I hear someone from Ricoh or Pentax talk, I understand that they get that.
Actions speak louder then talk. The Q and its lens cap lens or toy lens surely don't represent the need to take very nice pictures. Neither does the K-50 in thousands of colours. Very high IQ lenses certainly would though. And so would increased resolution, format and mobility.