[cxdoo]

You guys might be right in your guess that direction Ricoh took is wrong (for whatever definition of wrong), but I don't see anything proving they misjudged or overestimated the market. They won't be a big player in total photography market anytime soon and most probably never. The niche they choose looks reasonable to me.

[yucatanPentax]

If Lemonos info is correct your feeling of it being sold out must be a local thing. There must be large markets where it underperformed.

They must have had very low expectations to start with considering the price.

I think we've seen several times over the years that Pentax' biggest market is Japan itself. I don't remember the stats right now and it's too late to start searching PF for the previous posts, but Japan was so much more than all other markets added together, it seemed it was considerate they sent a few cameras overseas to us!

The last two years have been absolutely bonkers for anyone in the mfg, distribution and sales world. Things haven't cleared up yet and may not for another year or several months at minimum. I'm not sure what conclusions could be drawn over 2020 and 2021 sales of anything, other than crazy things have been happening. Who knew I should invest in toilet paper? (missed the boat again!)

[house]

but I don't see anything proving they misjudged or overestimated the market.

How could you unless you have inside info?

[Kunzite]

How could you unless you have inside info?

Should we clarify that burden of proof thing? That is, the people making the claim - that Pentax misjudged/overestimated whatever - are the ones that MUST bring proof?

[cxdoo]

How could you unless you have inside info?

Well, exactly.

[MMVIII]

How could you unless you have inside info?

I'm with Kunzite, this seems a weird approach that a bold statement can be seen as valid without proof because it would need insider information to have that... wanna buy some Squid coin from me, they are a great investment...

[lemono]

The reason for sold out maybe not necessarily good sales, but simply limited production capacity. For example, I often talk with a dealer about sales. He told me that Pentax's production capacity this year is very low, such as DA 55-300 PLM and HD FA Limited are always out of stock. Although someone has been consulting, the actual sales volume is surprisingly low.

Ricoh's production capacity will focus on new products such as GR3x.But several dealers I asked have K3III in stock. And in order to promote sales, K3III promotion activity have also been started recently.As I know, this is a worldwide activity.

Although sales of Chinese mainland APSC DSLR are dismal, Pentax still has high hopes. According to the information I heard before, the Chinese mainland has overfulfilled its task in this year —— 130+/120

So I think Pentax may overestimate the sales volume in Japan

---

Last edited by lemono; 11-03-2021 at 02:42 AM.

[house]

I'm with Kunzite, this seems a weird approach that a bold statement can be seen as valid without proof because it would need insider information to have that... wanna buy some Squid coin from me, they are a great investment...

I've said nothing about how things are. I just pointed out that it makes no sense to point out that you've not seen evidence when you've had no opportunity to do so. Lemono claims to have inside info which you can choose to trust or not.

If you're sitting in a dark room and someone tells you they've been outside and it's raining. It makes no sense to say you've seen no evidence of rain. It does however make sense to wonder if the person has actually been outside and consider the evidence/history.

[lemono]

I've said nothing about how things are. I just pointed out that it makes no sense to point out that you've not seen evidence when you've had no opportunity to do so. Lemono claims to have inside info which you can choose to trust or not.

If you're sitting in a dark room and someone tells you they've been outside and it's raining. It makes no sense to say you've seen no evidence of rain. It does however make sense to wonder if the person has actually been outside and consider the evidence/history.

It is meaningful to raise an objection based on evidence. I can explain it according to the information I can make public or what I know.

[Rondec]

It's pretty clear that a K-1 III will come out, just not right away. My guess would be a price in the 2500 to 2600 dollar range. Once you get up to 3000 dollars the expectation would be to have A9 level auto focus performance and video and I just don't know that Pentax will get there.

As far as K-3 III sales goes, who knows? The camera was pretty high on the lists with Japanese retailers when it was released, but it is possible that it has tailed off somewhat. I do think it is telling that Pentax has not lowered their pricing on it. In the past, they often had special deals to spur sales if they were needed and we haven't really seen that yet. Maybe we'll see that getting into the Christmas season, but my guess is actually that with chip shortages they don't feel like they need to have a big jump in sales just yet.

[reh321]

I wonder if Pentax will maintain the entry level camera line... the target audience of this kind of cameras have been moving to mirrorless at a rapid pace.

Technically “entry level” is the lowest-priced lowest-tier camera body they sell.

The K-3iii could be “entry-level” if they have nothing lower to introduce folk to the brand.
I’ve been expecting them to introduce a new K-70, but I believe it’s price could range anywhere from $500 to $1000, depending on build-quality and features.

[Mistral75]

I've received the same kind of information as @lemono. Not the 'the planning of the new full frame camera has stalled' part, the 'sales of K3III are far from expected' part. My source is somebody well in the know at Ricoh Imaging Europe. Sorry for not being more specific -I hope you'll understand.

Until now I had refrained from sharing such information since it's not exactly positive. Since some people here seem to be prompt to shoot the (other) messenger, I'm coming out of the wood.

I was told sales of K-3 Mark III are below expectations, even taking into account the pandemic and its consequences. After an initial rush, albeit shorter than expected, monthly sales are lower than expected in Japan, slightly lower than expected in western Europe and much lower than expected in North America (hence, I guess, the recently launched trade-up programme over there).

[lemono]

I've received the same kind of same information as @lemono. Not the 'the planning of the new full frame camera has stalled' part, the 'sales of K3III are far from expected' part. My source is somebody well in the know at Ricoh Imaging Europe. Sorry for not being more specific -I hope you'll understand.

Until now I had refrained from sharing such information since it's not exactly positive. Since some people here seem to be prompt to shoot the (other) messenger, I'm coming out of the wood.

I was told sales of K-3 Mark III are below expectations, even taking into account the pandemic and its consequences. After an initial rush, albeit shorter than expected, monthly sales are lower than expected in Japan, slightly lower than expected in western Europe and much lower than expected in North America (hence, I guess, the recently launched trade-up programme over there).

Oh, I dare not say the details you said.

[Serkevan]

After an initial rush, albeit shorter than expected, monthly sales are lower than expected in Japan, slightly lower than expected in western Europe and much lower than expected in North America (hence, I guess, the recently launched trade-up programme over there).

I was actually thinking that these days I've seen a basically unused, in-warranty K-3iii up for sale here in the forum at a significant discount (I think ~$700 off list price, accounting for tax). It's been unsold for a while. Was kind of a "huh" moment.


I guess people willing to spend that kind of money on a camera are not the hardcore action people (who, honestly, probably left Pentax a while ago), but the serious landscape/portrait people... and those would rather go for a K-1.

[jersey]

I was told sales of K-3 Mark III are below expectations, even taking into account the pandemic and its consequences. After an initial rush, albeit shorter than expected, monthly sales are lower than expected in Japan, slightly lower than expected in western Europe and much lower than expected in North America (hence, I guess, the recently launched trade-up programme over there).

That would explain some exchange old for new programs that I saw at few shops that are offering Pentax bodies. Still a bit sad to hear but on the other hand pentaxians may be waiting for new K-1 and others go "pfff, APS-C, who wants it". FF MILC twisted people expectations and understanding of sensor formats immensely. Well, it is what it is. We will see in the next financial report how it looks like and more clearly in 2022 in yearly report.

Also would explain the "review of Pentax team" and new CEO that would push Pentax forward. All this makes me only a bit afraid of APS-C future, mostly lenses. Would be seriously irritating if Pentax abandons this format because there are not enough sales. Understandable but irritating.