[boriscleto]

Not fake news. How can you write that? I was at there ... and Pentax was NOT there. Period.

Yes, Pentax had some special night-time events in a small artist workplace area at the same time as the Paris Photo Salon ... cute, but it NOT a stand at the largest photo salon of France.

Not fake news. More like a disaster IMHO.

Then sell all your Pentax gear and buy into Canikon. PentaxIsDooomed

[Jean Poitiers]

Then sell all your Pentax gear and buy into Canikon. PentaxIsDooomed

Again, shoot the messenger ...

[Kunzite]

... " so upset " ... your words.

"Upset" is not an insult. It feels like you're beyond "disappointed".

[Jean Poitiers]

"Upset" is not an insult. It feels like you're beyond "disappointed".

Whatever ...

[Kunzite]

Whatever ...

No, let's set this straight: upset means "unhappy, disappointed, or worried.". Nothing more than that, nothing nefarious.

I don't want you to have the impression you were insulted.

[Mistral75]

(...)

Pentax did NOT have a booth at the annual Paris Photo Salon/Expo.

ZERO. NADA. ... and with 100 years to celebrate as well ... ZILCH.

Who was there? Canon (huge booths), Nikon (huge), Sony (huge), Fuji, Olympus, Leica, Hassy, Tamron, Samyang, Irix, dji, French national camera chains, resellers of lighting/strobe equipment, etc., etc., etc.

NO PENTAX ... sorry to break this news to you, but it's the reality here.

This is an old piece of news, known since at least mid-September and reported multiple times here on Pentax Forums.

See for instance [18/09/2019] Vers la fin des grands salons photos ? (cliquez pour lire +)

I have given some explanations in another post:

I had the opportunity to discuss this topic with Yazid Belmadi, communication manager, Ricoh Imaging Europe. He told me that these fairs have become increasingly expensive with meagre returns.

In lieu of attending the Salon de la Photo Ricoh Imaging are organising a three-day 'Pop-Up Café' close to Place de la République in Paris, in a restaurant/bar/club named L'Atelier des Artistes from 7 to 9 November.

L'Atelier des Artistes - Restaurant / bar / club à Paris République

Note that Leica, Nikon and Olympus have confirmed they won't attend Photokina 2020.

[Larrymc]

Not fake news. How can you write that? I was at there ... and Pentax was NOT there. Period.

Yes, Pentax had some special night-time events in a small artist workplace area at the same time as the Paris Photo Salon ... cute, but it NOT a stand at the largest photo salon of France.

Not fake news. More like a disaster IMHO.

Did you attend the Pentax Show??? If not why not?? You knew where it was located didn't you? All you are doing is whining because they didn't come to your favorite show! Give it a rest please!

[Mistral75]

Sigma wasn't making enough money to justify development of new lenses. Simple as that. Pentax may actually prefer it this way.

Sigma weren't making enough money selling K-mount lenses and inventories weren't moving quickly enough to justify to keep on manufacturing their existing K-mount lenses. Like Zeiss and Voigtländer a decade ago. (Do you remember the Zeiss ZK lenses and the Voigtländer SL and SL II lenses?) Like Lensbaby recently.

[sergysergy]

Sigma stink! I hate their full frame camera
*I won't mention lusting after an art lens because that isn't in keeping with the tone of my post
Sigma are rubbish

Some of my favorite "pentax" lenses are Sigma. So I have mixed feelings too

[Fenwoodian]

.
As camera/lens tech marches forward, I do wish that Pentax marched along with it. For years now, Pentax has been left behind virtually "marching in place".

I find that the Pentax K-1 still meets my needs for stills, but Pentax lenses (with pitiful few exceptions) are not current state-of-the-art. That's why after testing hundreds of lenses in the last few years, I currently own only one Pentax lens, with the balance being non-Pentax third-party adapted lenses.

I'm not the only one here who feels this way, as I've modified and adapted many third-party lenses for a number of long time Pentax Forums members who believe as I do.

I'm not "anti-Pentax" as I'd love to see them grow profitably, but I am realistic and have no loyalty to any brand of camera (or anything else that's man made).
.

[Jean Poitiers]

Did you attend the Pentax Show??? If not why not?? You knew where it was located didn't you? All you are doing is whining because they didn't come to your favorite show! Give it a rest please!

No, I did not attend the private Pentax party, but I did get an e-mail notification from Ricoh/Pentax France.

Why? Because I live in Poitiers, not Paris. I am pretty far away.

You miss the point, in my opinion ... the place to be was at the major show like any other reasonable manufacturer.

And all the more reason to be present in front of thousands of people at a four-day international photo salon to celebrate 100 YEAR ANNIVERSARY ... as opposed to night renting a small venue "art workshop" for a somewhat private party for the small few that can attend.

[c.a.m]

I told the rep that I was not happy at all that Sigma had stopped supporting Pentax ... to which the rep replied, "We didn't stop supporting Pentax, Pentax stopped supporting themselves."Then he added, "Where are they?" ... to which he was quite right.Pentax did NOT have a booth at the annual Paris Photo Salon/Expo.

Jean, thank you for your report. Hope you saw some interesting things at the expo.

The reply from the Sigma rep is interesting, but it is hard to guess what he meant by "Pentax stopped supporting themselves." Perhaps it suggests that Sigma tried to get technical information recently from Ricoh, which Ricoh declined ("sour grapes" as we say in English.). Or, perhaps Sigma does not see a strong enough market for the Pentax mount, so they made a business decision. Maybe there has been a long-standing friction between the companies, and Sigma decided they had enough. I don't know.

Concerning the absence of Ricoh at the Salon, in my opinion -- selon moi -- I think we need to ask: What is the real practical impact of not attending these shows?

For the visitors to the expo, it means that they can't see or experience any of the company's products. But is that a real problem? My impression (not backed up with any facts) is that people tend to buy their equipment online without always trying the gear in a shop.

On the other hand, I attended the recent Salon de la Photo in Montreal with the objective to try out mirrorless EVFs. I could have tried the cameras at a local camera shop, but the expo provided a one-stop opportunity, and I got to look at some secondary gear such as tripods and lighting. I didn't spend much time talking with the reps.

For the company that decides to not attend an expo, what are they losing or missing?

In Ricoh's case, they don't have new products to display, so it is questionable whether they would attract much new business because of an expo display. I think they are taking a different approach than most of the other brands -- Ricoh might not see a big return on their investment for shows/expos, so they don't attend. They are a relatively small player, and expos in themselves are not likely to result in a big increase in business for them. So, they need to seriously consider value for the cost. I think the other brands might believe that they must 'wave their flag' at these expos to continue to be seen as major players. This is not the case with Ricoh.

In Canada, Ricoh is attending three camera expos in November 2019 in Quebec, Montreal, and Toronto. At the Montreal show, they had a small booth, which seemed to be attracting a small but steady stream of visitors, but not as popular as the other vendors.

For me, I can purchase Pentax equipment regardless of whether Ricoh attends any trade expos or not. So, in a practical sense from my perspective, their absence would not affect my gear acquisitions or photo experience.


Anyways, thanks again for your comments and hope you picked up some free goodies at the show.

- Craig

[VSTAR]

How many photo stores have Pentax dslr cameras in stock to show customers? Almost zero. Yet Pentax is still selling cameras. The GRiii as I understand is selling worldwide quite well, and how much advertising has been done, how many stores have product on hand? Almost zero, and yet it still sells. Would be nice to have Ricoh/Pentax at the show, but with a limited budget and no new products, not at the top of their list. When their new camera comes out I am sure they will spend more dollars on showing it.

Can we please keep a running count of how many times internet sites and comments have stated that Pentax is dying or dead. Wait....I think dpreview does that every year!

[Jean Poitiers]

That's a huge exaggeration. Trade shows are becoming increasingly irrelevant. Sony, arguably the most healthy large camera company, recently skipped a big show in New York City. Many other past exhibitors, including Pentax/Ricoh, also skipped the show. The show is only around 67% of its former size, and likely to keep shrinking.

The internet lets companies distribute product information faster, cheaper, and with wider reach than running around to trade shows. It's the case for most trade shows, not just photography.

Maybe the answer is in your response ... manufacturers are not attending shows that are losing attendance. Makes perfect business sense if there is not enough "return on the investment/cost" of having a stand.

The Paris Photo Salon/Expo was very well attended last Saturday and I was told that it is doing well ... again, look at the long list of those manufactures that exhibited during this four-day salon.

[Roadboat24]

So, Pentax wasn't at the show, Interesting. I wasn't there either. Guess I missed, missing them.