Originally posted by Serkevan The main reason people are irked by the price is not the price 'in a vacuum', but that it costs almost three times (in Europe at least) the price of a new 'original' Tamron 70-210 in Canikon mount, because we are comparing launch price vs discounted price of a 1.5 year old release... although the comparison matters if you're in the market for one such lens *today*. After the street price goes down it will be better
Originally posted by clickclick Sometimes it feels like people think Pentax/Ricoh is a charity. They are not. If they can't make any money, they will disappear. Given that this fills a gap that's been missing for years, it only makes sense that it comes out at an initial price point that gets discounted later. If people want a "cheap consumer zoom", the 55-300 PLM is a fantastic lens. If the desire is a modern FF zoom that is something like "prosumer", then it's going to cost a bit more.
Folks (well, some of them) also want to dictate on Ricoh's behalf how much cost was attributed to the collaboration with Tamron, including cosmetic re-branding, lens coatings, WR materials / components (if different), focus limiter and firmware optimisation / testing etc.; plus, how much Ricoh should be allowed to profit from each lens after those costs
As I said in an earlier post, we'd all like the lens to be cheap or given away for free, so far as our own personal benefit is concerned. Looking at the bigger picture, though, we should want Pentax to remain a profitable and viable concern for Ricoh. There's a balance to be found...