Originally posted by IchabodCrane $3300 is a price which will ensure failure for two reasons: There's no track record of Pentax DSLR buyers willing to pay that kind of money (645 buyers are a rare and different breed) and there's no indication that Ricoh has caught up to Canon and Nikon on full system technology. The Pentax flash system is workable but not at the same level of the other guys and 3D C-AF tracking seems to be behind Nikon at least. Ricoh is still going to have to go after the value end of any comparably spec'd camera lineup.
We will all see in a few months. But my feeling is the accepted vision of Pentax as a "value" brand is not going to apply to the FF line. There are lots of clues to this. Kenspo's continued comments that he is a pro and he did not sign up with Pentax for APS-C. The cost of the DFA*70-200 and DFA 150-450. There is no track record of Pentax users willing to pay $2,200 for a lens yet we have one. I have said many times before I do not think RIcoh is aiming the FF line at traditional (read current) Pentax users. They are focusing on attracting Pro photographers that want the best gear and can afford to pay for it. That will certainly include a lot of current users but I do not think "value" has any part in their thinking on this one. I think the APS-C line will continue at very competitive pricing and will be the "value" to attract users. The FF will be priced out of reach for many but will assure APS-C users that if they ever need it, the FF is there.
And Ricoh's definition of success may be vastly different than that held on this forum. They have stated several times, and so has Kenspo that this is a long term effort, short term thinking (such as the success or failure of any particular camera) is not valid. Think of a chess game, one move is just that, one move which sets up another move or one four moves later.
645 was a completely different situation. They found themselves with a bunch of 645 glass in inventory and the ability to deliver a camera @ $8,500 that both blows the competition out of the water and is profitable. This was possible because they really had no competition in this market segment except exotic cameras produced in low volume.
---------- Post added 08-16-15 at 05:18 PM ----------
Originally posted by cfraz Take one step back and think about it. How can a camera shop in Spain know the FF camera MSRP 3/4 of a year before it's on the market. Ricoh didn't know the MSRP in February. The change in market conditions (what can we sell a FF camera of this specification for) 9 months out can vary by a lot more than 10%. The currency exchange rates even more.
That was my point. They can't. All of my posts have simply been trying to say that this shop CANNOT know the actual release price as some others have said. The original post I replied to was stating the FF would cost 2,000 because this shop said it would. I disagreed. And apparently you do to, so why are we arguing about it?