[normhead]

If they'll come up with a K-3II replacement, 11-22 and the 85, I'll try to look surprised.
If they give a surprise 80-400 AW that's my request. If people complain about this lens, you can blame me for that. Well, this is just my wish

Try the DA*60-250 with the 1.4 on it. The 150-450 makes an 80-400 almost redundant.
But there you have a less expensive option and a more expensive option if you're serious.
You're never going to see that kind of redundancy from a small camera company with so many gaps in their modern FF line up. There are two decent options.

[SSGGeezer]

Try the DA*60-250 with the 1.4 on it. The 150-450 makes an 80-400 almost redundant.
But there you have a less expensive option and a more expensive option if you're serious.
You're never going to see that kind of redundancy from a small camera company with so many gaps in their modern FF line up. There are two decent options.

And the 60-250 is a lovely lens! Now I just need to try a 150-450 to really get my LBA into a higher gear.

[totsmuyco]

Clang, clang. Drill, drill. Zip,zip. Squeeze, squeeze. Push, push. Zzzzzzzssst. Zzzzzsst.

OMG!!!! It's the new DA* 60-300!!!! It's as fast and as lightweight as the 55-300 PLM. OMG again!!! It's f2.8!!!
I guess that's enough dreaming and wishing for me.������

[Kunzite]

Clang, clang. Drill, drill. Zip,zip. Squeeze, squeeze. Push, push. Zzzzzzzssst. Zzzzzsst.

OMG!!!! It's the new DA* 60-300!!!! It's as fast and as lightweight as the 55-300 PLM. OMG again!!! It's f2.8!!!
I guess that's enough dreaming and wishing for me.������

It's fine, we're discussing fiction anyway

[Belnan]

I suppose since this thread concerns the demise of Pentax this would be a good insert. This isn't concerning US sales rather rentals.

Lens Rentals | Blog

Not very promising, perhaps next year we will see a turn around.

[Mikesul]

This LensRental data is not new or surprising. This is how things have been for a long while. Neither good nor bad news - just the status quo.

[ThorSanchez]

I suppose since this thread concerns the demise of Pentax this would be a good insert. This isn't concerning US sales rather rentals.

Lens Rentals | Blog

Not very promising, perhaps next year we will see a turn around.

This LensRental data is not new or surprising. This is how things have been for a long while. Neither good nor bad news - just the status quo.

I guess I'm a bit surprised/grateful that LensRentals stocks as much Pentax as they do, given the 0.49% of rentals the brand generates. By my count there are 59 Pentax-branded items available for rent, and another half-dozen non-Pentax K-mount lenses. I'm renting a K-1 at Christmas, and have rented lenses in the past.

A few weeks ago I inquired at Borrowlenses.com about getting new Pentax stock, since they only have maybe a dozen items, and they wouldn't be acquiring any more because there was no demand.

[robgski]

A few weeks ago I inquired at Borrowlenses.com about getting new Pentax stock, since they only have maybe a dozen items, and they wouldn't be acquiring any more because there was no demand.

I was given the same response, what little they will keep on-hand will be FF compatible for their sole K-1 in inventory. It's understandable, it's a niche product compared to CaNikon.

I am glad for BorrowLenses, I was referred to them by a fellow Pentaxian. I've rented a lot of Pentax gear from them in the past, as well as some lighting equipment, and I felt the cost was very reasonable.

Still, I mentioned Pentax Forums to them in a marketing survey, and so no effort to increase visibility. If they don't advertise to Pentaxians that they offer Pentax rentals, no wonder there get few inquirie , and keep stock low accordingly..

I will have to give LensRentals a try.

Oh, yes, Pentax is doomed, almost forgot

[ThorSanchez]

I was given the same response, what little they will keep on-hand will be FF compatible for their sole K-1 in inventory. It's understandable, it's a niche product compared to CaNikon.

I am glad for BorrowLenses, I was referred to them by a fellow Pentaxian. I've rented a lot of Pentax gear from them in the past, as well as some lighting equipment, and I felt the cost was very reasonable.

Still, I mentioned Pentax Forums to them in a marketing survey, and so no effort to increase visibility. If they don't advertise to Pentaxians that they offer Pentax rentals, no wonder there get few inquirie , and keep stock low accordingly..

I will have to give LensRentals a try.

Oh, yes, Pentax is doomed, almost forgot

I'd mostly moved on to LensRentals since they have three or four times as much Pentax stock. But my parents got me a Borrowlenses gift card.

One silver lining is that Borrowlenses sometimes sells their used Pentax stock at a discount. Last year a little bird whispered to my wife that they had a 40mm Limited for $118 plus tax/shipping just before last Christmas and miraculously it showed up in my stocking. I don't know if I've ever heard of an excellent condition Pentax limited for so little.

They don't have a whole lot left but I'm going to keep an eye on their used sale stuff.

[Jeff]

Amateur Photographer a well respected weekly photo news and review publication in the UK has just Predicted end Pentax and K1ii likely to be it's last new Camera. Article written by Andy Westlake who is Technical Editor and a former DPReview reviewer, wrote that the slow down in the release of new lenses, camera bodies and Ricoh's reluctance to enter the mirrorless market will lead to the demise of Pentax due to lack of research and development. He says quote "Pentax isn't even a company in its own right any more" pointing to Pentax just being a brand name used by Ricoh. At the end of the article he says "it will be a real shame to see Pentax disappear, but the Pentax K1 mark ii would be a fitting last hurrah"

Although we've all read the writing is on the wall for Pentax in the past it has been easy to dismiss. But to read an article by a respected publication, by a knowledgeable and respected photojournalist is a bit more concerning than random stories from the mass online media. Anyone else read the article or have any thoughts?

In the latest edition(of AP (8 December 2018) they have the K1ii and the K70 in their list of best buys in their respective categories. Even if Ricoh/Pentax marketing departments exist in name only it is good to see two Pentax cameras being promoted today. And by the very magazine that cogitated on the future of the brand! How serendipitous..!

[funkythiru]

I suppose since this thread concerns the demise of Pentax this would be a good insert. This isn't concerning US sales rather rentals.

Lens Rentals | Blog

Not very promising, perhaps next year we will see a turn around.

Sony and Panny show growth, but I think it's due to video not stills.

Pentax isn't the most popular brand of camera, but in my opinion have the best lenses, especially in consideration of what they cost compared to other mfgrs. People who just need to take pictures because they're covering a news story or some such want "quick-and-dirty get-the-job-done with the least difficulty" cameras. Basically point-and-shoot using in-camera automagic processing.

Pentax appears to me to be the camera of choice among real photographers. Even people who use Canon and Nikon in their work speak well of Pentax:
Chris Nichols' 24-70 Lens Comparison:

You Tube

You Tube

[rdenney]

Having scanned photos from forty years, I am quite convinced that digital is delivering much more sharpness than we ever got from film. If "quality" is measured by contemporary standards, then no 35mm photo would be a 'keeper', but they are what they are - records of a time we cannot return to and usually cannot replicate. People keep saying here "equipment doesn't matter", but I don't see them acting that way when facing images from the past.

They are fine if displayed as we once did, using prints generally no larger that 8x10 or optically projected onto a screen seen from a healthy distance.

Even now, though, the prints I’ve seen from 50mp full-frame cameras suggest that 12x18 (nominal) is the point at which tonality starts to suffer, even though sharpness may be fine up to larger sizes. It’s like too little butter spread over too much bread.

But few print anything, let alone making large prints. I certainly need to make more prints.

More general response to many comments leading up to the quoted post:

I said 15 years ago that digital bumps us up a format—APS-C digital is as good as 35mm film used to be, full-frame digital is as good as 645 film (though not really, back then), 645 digital is as good as 6x7, etc. I think digital actually now lives up to that.

I used 35mm a lot in the day, simply because of convenience. But we always compromise for convenience in one way or another.

My iPhone sees a lot of use, too, because of convenience. But it is only good displayed small. Seeing them blown up even to computer monitor size is always disappointing. Again, it’s more about tonality than sharpness. Detail is there but not color or tonal subtlety.

Technology has rendered the mastery to achieve technically competent results obsolete, but in so doing has redefined “good”. A technically competent photo is no longer good enough—anyone can do that.

But camera companies are not sustained by the few quality photographers who rise above producing merely technically competent photos. They are sustained by the many people who want pictures they and others will admire, mostly because of the subject.

The Canon Digital Rebel brought that to former point-n-shoot users. Camera phones have nearly caught up to that, but not if they want to photograph their kids playing soccer, or any other distant detail. For that, digital magnification is just going to an even smaller format, and quality suffers even on the small screen. There’s just no headroom for any additional magnification. Anyone with a hankering to pull in a distant subject, no matter how inexpert, will need a longer lens, if they don’t want to see that loss of quality. I don’t expect that to ever change, especially as digital displays get bigger. So interchangeable-lens cameras will persist. And as long as too pros use SLRs, they will persist with dilettantes. But pros are becoming more scarce.

Technology improves, but so do standards of excellence.

Will Pentax make it? Who knows? But they do need to see 645 as their halo product—the thing that makes them different from Canon, Sony, and Nikon—even if it’s a loss leader. And photographers interested in excellence need to start making prints and seeing more attributes than mere sharpness. Photography by photographers is as much endangered as are SLRs.

Rick “time to make some prints” Denney

[shootraw]

I really fell in love with Pentax lately, first aps c and now the K1.
Heck I even got two k1's now.
I am shocked how great files look, even with old FA lenses. And manual focus is such a joy. It's true Pentax isn't great for video or sports, but plenty of people don't need that tbh. These cameras are just such a joy to use and such a bang for the buck.
The biggest problem with Pentax is their PR etc. Barely no shops sell it, so mainstream people don't know the brand. Same goes for online presence. I for one don't care but I wouldn't want to see Pentax go as they deliver such exiting product and don't release the same camera over and over as many other brands.

[macabee]

Will Pentax survive? Who can really foresee what tomorrow will bring. I certainly hope so, a few short years ago pundits stated that film was dead, long live film! a new generation has discovered the delights of processing their photographs as opposed to 'images'.

Back in the day I used the K1000 and MX, I now have an LX for film and I have returned from only using mirrorless to a KP for digital work.

When only film was used Nikon was a brand leader, now it is Canon with digital purely due to the fact that so much has been invested in lenses.

Will Pentax survive, I think it will, so long as people like us continue to buy them.