[swanlefitte]

I don't think I will agree that the KP is an entry level camera. It's quite powerful than an entry level camera.

I think you are correct but that just means Pentax loses an endorsement.

[neokind]

It is amazing that with the amount of attention Pentax gets in this type of article, that they don't have better market share. They consistently get mentioned in lists like this. You'd think more people would clue in.

Articles like this are exactly why I chose Pentax.

[biz-engineer]

It is amazing that with the amount of attention Pentax gets in this type of article, that they don't have better market share. They consistently get mentioned in lists like this. You'd think more people would clue in.

The perception of Pentax WW market share in north America is biased. I was in Japan, and on average I saw as many Pentax owners as Canon and Nikon owners there. I have seen many Pentax cameras in the hands of Asia tourists in Japan, maybe ten fold more Pentax than I have ever seen in Europe. Not saying Pentax is very successful in Japan, but it's far less negative than what can be read here in this forum. Not to mention sites such as DPR, is rather damaging for Pentax, as they don't even publish content quality/amount that's in line with actual Pentax performance and customer base. My guess is that Japanese customers don't rely on DPR but other sources of information in Japan. For Pentax, the brand image is damaged, as perceived by customers in USA/Canada, when reading forums, over the years it didn't do any good to Pentax.

[Merv-O]

I didn't see this posted anywhere on PF, but Photography Life published its 'Best Entry-Level DSLR's of 2018' and two Pentax bodies made the top ten:

Best Entry-Level DSLRs of 2018, Ranked - Photography Life

These ratings lists are rubbish....they look at price and not the actual real-life use...the KP costs more because it is more than entry-level. The Price IV processor and the 27 focus points, along with the high ISO make the camera an advanced SLR...they admit the KP has "advanced features rivaling a $3,000 pro camera", yet they complain about the $1,000 price tag....crap if you ask me.

[reh321]

These ratings lists are rubbish....they look at price and not the actual real-life use...the KP costs more because it is more than entry-level. The Price IV processor and the 27 focus points, along with the high ISO make the camera an advanced SLR...they admit the KP has "advanced features rivaling a $3,000 pro camera", yet they complain about the $1,000 price tag....crap if you ask me.

This whole matter of lists is funky, as observed in the thread
K-1 II, declared best in class - PentaxForums.com
When the KP came out, shortly after Pentax declared their intention to focus on 'premium', I thought it would become Pentax's 'entry-level' - and would replace the K-70 - and I retained that thought until this past week when Pentax appeared to hold a "fire sale" on the KP while keeping K-70 prices steady - so now, I have absolutely no idea what their lineup will look like in another year.

[Rondec]

The KP is above an entry level, but below top end cameras. I do think 1000 dollars is pretty steep for what it offers, but fortunately it isn't priced anywhere near there. Right now it seems to be selling for around 900 dollars.

Basically, the article lumps all SLRs selling for less than 1000 dollars together and tries to sort out which ones are best among them. Not surprising to me that Pentax is pretty good among that crowd.

[Merv-O]

The KP is above an entry level, but below top end cameras. I do think 1000 dollars is pretty steep for what it offers, but fortunately it isn't priced anywhere near there. Right now it seems to be selling for around 900 dollars.

Basically, the article lumps all SLRs selling for less than 1000 dollars together and tries to sort out which ones are best among them. Not surprising to me that Pentax is pretty good among that crowd.

As I said using price as a criterion alone in weighing a camera's (or any product's) value erodes the true testing. Testing comparatively should be done with objective numbers. Price is then the factor as to whether the camera performs within the price point with other cameras.

Case in point: KP sales were lukewarm until the market dictated a price adjustment--now there is a huge backorder after the Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales...

[Des]

Given the copycat tendencies of consumer electronics design, it's hard to understand why Nikon and Canon are still selling cameras that don't have WR, image stabilization or two control wheels - even the models that are much more expensive than the K-70.

The arms race in consumer cameras used to be about megapixels. Now it seems to be about AF points. With 39 or 45 AF points, the focus is bound to lock on to the nearest branch, or the nearest kid in the soccer match - just hope that's what you want to shoot.

As I said using price as a criterion alone in weighing a camera's (or any product's) value erodes the true testing. Testing comparatively should be done with objective numbers. Price is then the factor as to whether the camera performs within the price point with other cameras.

+1. That's how the better comparative reviews for any product work.

The problem here is that "Value for money" seems to be a principal, or the principal, criterion. There are three problems with that.

First, it's subjective - what the reviewer thinks is value won't necessarily reflect what the reader wants.

Second, it's not transparent. For example, the reviewer says of the KP,
"the (less expensive) Canon T7i and Nikon D5600 have equivalent or better core specifications, despite a more basic set of controls. Even Pentax’s own K-70 matches most of this camera’s specifications, despite costing just $672 instead."
You would need to analyse the "core specs" of the three cameras in detail to explain that conclusion. And it isn't clear what the reviewer regards as "core specs". Maybe it just means 24mp sensor with no AA filter plus a popup flash - who knows? The "core specs" to me would include sensor-shift IS, alloy body, weather-resistance, dual control wheels, electronic shutter, pentaprism viewfinder, pixel shift, MLU, high ISO performance, etc. If you have regard to those, I can't see how either the Nikon or the Canon could be in the same park. The real rivals for the KP would be cameras like the Nikon D7200.

Third, the value proposition changes. It depends on the available deals at the time of purchase, not the list price at the time of publication. With the recent deals on the KP, it ought to be streets ahead of the models in this review.

[Tom S.]

I'm not seeing the article in a favorable light. In one of the tables at the bottom, they show the Pentax at #2 being only $38 cheaper than the #1 Nikon. Given that little difference in price (regardless of what the actual street price may workout to be), newbies, who most likely heard of Nikon but not Pentax, aren't going to look any further and will head straight to the Nikon.

[reh321]

I'm not seeing the article in a favorable light. In one of the tables at the bottom, they show the Pentax at #2 being only $38 cheaper than the #1 Nikon. Given that little difference in price (regardless of what the actual street price may workout to be), newbies, who most likely heard of Nikon but not Pentax, aren't going to look any further and will head straight to the Nikon.

At another photo discussion forum where I'm a member, periodically l see comments like "I had a Spotmatic" or "I had a K-1000", followed by "I loved that camera; I didn't know Pentax is still around". Sometimes Pentax doesn't have to come in first in order to win.

[Scintilla]

you can choose to be part of the mob rushing down the road

or choose to follow this

" . . . take the one less traveled by

And that has made all the difference. " - Robert Frost

1. The Road Not Taken. Frost, Robert. 1920. Mountain Interval

Oh not again. People really have to learn to stop citing this poem as an inspirational quote about being an independent thinker.

Just look at the entire rest of the poem before the last stanza. It clearly depicts someone who cannot make up his mind, hesitant to commit to one choice for fear of missing out on the other one, wishing he could travel both paths, despite the fact that they look about the same. How is he supposed to know which one is really less traveled?

And even in the last stanza, there's the first two lines which everyone tends to forget about but which make a huge difference to the context: "I shall be telling this with a sigh / Somewhere ages and ages hence". Those aren't the words of someone who confidently chose the unpopular opinion and has no regrets. Rather, this is someone who sees himself years down the road trying hard to justify his choice to himself and/or others, clinging onto any slight perceived difference in order to do so, asserting that there really was a "difference" to be made even though he knows there really wasn't.

It sounds more like what someone who was insecure about his choices as a consumer might say when trying to justify his camera purchase in a mature market where it's hard to make a truly bad choice anymore... which is not, I think, the image we want to convey as Pentaxians.




Why not quote those Apple "Think different" commercials from the 00s instead?

[aslyfox]

seriously


well every one is entitled to his/her opinion

[From1980]

Forty years ago is probably an over-statement. When I purchased my first Pentax 39 years ago, I knew Pentax as a leading brand and purchased it at a regular camera store. When I followed up with my Super Program 35 years ago, I was able to purchase it at a local "catalog" store called Tepe's {others here will remember Service Merchandise which was similar in concept}, which had roughly the same clientèle as K-Mart. I believe Pentax's loss of visibility occurred as they were slow first with AF and then with digital.

My comment was based on the experience of working at an independent camera store in Ontario for a while back then. Many customers were taken by advertising and showed up looking to buy a Canon and sometimes a Minolta but weren't aware of Pentax. After the "K" models were mostly gone Pentax was lacking in some areas until the LX and ME Super showed up so we often introduced a person to K mount with a Ricoh XR-1 or XR-2. These filled the K mount gaps because Pentax had nothing between the ME and MX with K1000 appealing to mostly students with a low budget.
I agree that after the line-up was rounded out somewhat, then the subsequent loss of visibility seemed largely related to that delayed AF and digital. Apparently the ad budget also remained much lower than the competitors.

[From1980]

The perception of Pentax WW market share in north America is biased. I was in Japan, and on average I saw as many Pentax owners as Canon and Nikon owners there. I have seen many Pentax cameras in the hands of Asia tourists in Japan, maybe ten fold more Pentax than I have ever seen in Europe. Not saying Pentax is very successful in Japan, but it's far less negative than what can be read here in this forum.

I have also long been aware of differences in brand perception depending on geographic area. Decades back we knew Pentax was a much higher profile brand in Japan. As a result it's been great for me. Japan is often the best source for excellent condition but difficult to find in North America lenses since there was always far more circulating there.

[Rondec]

Oh not again. People really have to learn to stop citing this poem as an inspirational quote about being an independent thinker.

Just look at the entire rest of the poem before the last stanza. It clearly depicts someone who cannot make up his mind, hesitant to commit to one choice for fear of missing out on the other one, wishing he could travel both paths, despite the fact that they look about the same. How is he supposed to know which one is really less traveled?

And even in the last stanza, there's the first two lines which everyone tends to forget about but which make a huge difference to the context: "I shall be telling this with a sigh / Somewhere ages and ages hence". Those aren't the words of someone who confidently chose the unpopular opinion and has no regrets. Rather, this is someone who sees himself years down the road trying hard to justify his choice to himself and/or others, clinging onto any slight perceived difference in order to do so, asserting that there really was a "difference" to be made even though he knows there really wasn't.

It sounds more like what someone who was insecure about his choices as a consumer might say when trying to justify his camera purchase in a mature market where it's hard to make a truly bad choice anymore... which is not, I think, the image we want to convey as Pentaxians.




Why not quote those Apple "Think different" commercials from the 00s instead?

I don't disagree with your interpretation, but I think the beauty of the poem is that it does speak to most of life's decisions. They aren't particularly right or wrong, but their impact makes all the difference in an individual's future.

In the poem, Frost says "though as for that passing there had worn them really about the same." The road taken is not one that he has to clear out with a machete as he walks down it, it just isn't quite as traveled as the other.

The focus clearly is not in independence, it is on the difficulty of choice. I do think that is the way things are in the camera market. Most cameras are good and you could do worse than choose Nikon or Canon or Fuji. But taking the road of Pentax leads to a wonderful place called the Pentax Forum and truly for me (at least) that has made all of the difference.