Originally posted by Alex645 As much as many of us respect the value of a brick and mortar store presence, Pentax has the vision to know we live in an internet commerce and if they were going to survive and thrive these days, this was a luxury they could not support.
Alex, I couldn't disagree more. A decade ago the vision by some was that online would be future. Today we live in a multi-channel world where consumers expect seamless integration between physical stores, online through desktop & mobile as well telephone if that's their preference. The more channels for engagement, the more sales grow. In recent years neuroscience research has supported this. Physicality still reigns supreme - being able to see and touch something not only creates 70% deeper brand imprinting and memory recall; it drives a far greater propensity to act. Human beings are creatures of emotion driven things they can touch and interact with.
If Ricoh thinks pretty pictures and videos online are going to drive sales - then they are in the marketing space of the previous decade. Here is an example:
Prior to last Friday; I have never had any desire to purchase a K-1. I have been content with my APS-C K-5II, battery grip and bag of DA Ltd's. Forking out the extra cash for full frame seemed frivolous as I have printed awesome 24" X 36" canvases from K-5II. Last Friday I was travelling in Nova Scotia and dropped into a Henry's camera store. Henry's has a dismal selection of Pentax on a good day so my expectations were low. I asked the gent at the counter if they had any K-Mount lenses Pentax or 3rd party...the answer was "sorry we don't really carry Pentax". I thanked the chap and proceeded to walk away. Next I heard "hang on for a second, we have a K-1 if you'd like to see it". That got my attention. The chap pulled a brand new K-1 from under the counter and took it out of the box. Being the sad little store that Henry's can be for a Pentax shooter...there wasn't a lens to go on the body so I attached my HD DA 70 from my camera bag. The feel of the K-1 was amazing, control layout was perfect, balance was exceptional. It wasn't much bigger than my K-5II. Even though they didn't have a charged battery for the camera so I could take a few snaps; the imprint was the same. Now I'm reassessing my next camera body - which prior to last Friday would have most certainly been APS-C. Perhaps it will be full frame instead.