[Tom S.]

Ben, I'll bet dollars to donuts we'll see a full frame Pentax before you hear back from Ned.


Too bad.

Really... seriously? You are trying to get Ned to call you up and entertain your global marketing strategy by posting this?... Here?

Interesting.

How dare you?!!

[David Whiteley]

Really... seriously? You are trying to get Ned to call you up and entertain your global marketing strategy by posting this?... Here?

Interesting.

They told us to "be interesting"

Seriously, making such an offer in such a manner is a statement in itself. Bonne chance, mon ami.

[philbaum]

This post may be strange, but since doing my proposals with my Ad Agency to Pentax France of how to promote Pentax fell on deaf ears, here goes. "Ned, since I have been a consulting Creative Director for clients like Club Med, Lancome and Dim, perhaps you might be curious enough to contact me with my proposals of how I would suggest getting Pentax back on the map in a BIG way..."

I am quite serious. Being that Pentax Forums are an integral part of the Pentax experience, I thought I would make this a transparent announcement here.

We had a complete strategy and marketing plan that would have dramatically shifted the consumer mindset regarding "The Pentax Persona".

None the less, you know how to reach me.

Best Wishes
Ben

Ben,
You certainly have the photography credentials.

Its probably a long shot for Ned to contact you but you seem very down to earth. Hey, if our new President Obama could win the last election, then anything is possible.

Good luck to you and i hope he calls you. By all means, login to his blog site and leave a message!!!! I'm retired now but at one time was very high up in a Shipyard operation. When times are tough, thats when management types earn their wages, or don't :-) The smart ones look for new opportunities and ideas. I wouldn't count Ned out for being at the smart end of things, lets hope he finds a way. I like my Pentax stuff.

Good luck

[benjikan]

Ben,
You certainly have the photography credentials.

Its probably a long shot for Ned to contact you but you seem very down to earth. Hey, if our new President Obama could win the last election, then anything is possible.

Good luck to you and i hope he calls you. By all means, login to his blog site and leave a message!!!! I'm retired now but at one time was very high up in a Shipyard operation. When times are tough, thats when management types earn their wages, or don't :-) The smart ones look for new opportunities and ideas. I wouldn't count Ned out for being at the smart end of things, lets hope he finds a way. I like my Pentax stuff.

Good luck

I won't go on to his turf. I am sure with a bit of off the cuff coaxing from some of you here, that he'll get the message...

Ben

[Jonson PL]

I really don’t get why Pentax isn’t taking advantage of having a Pro shooter in the Benji’s class, in the fold. On the contrary, they seem to make it hard for him to stay; listening to photo mags instead of the Pentax community.


Olympus seems to understand the importance of having leaders in the field, show what their products are capable off :

“OK. That's fair, because obviously the format shouldn't make any difference, but for a 'pro' camera to compete against the kind of camera professionals are buying it has a lot of work to do, and our only question is whether that will be an area where you'll be actively competing?

JK: From our side, and I'll speak because I work with a lot of professional photographers in the states - not all professional photographers are looking for 'full frame'. There's a lot more to the quality of the image than the size of the sensor and the number of pixels involved, which I know you guys are well aware of. Cameras like the E-3 have been used very successfully by many professionals. In fact, right now one of our professionals is traveling around the globe with (National) Geographic, and all he's using are E-3s. He can use whatever he wants but he's choosing to use E-3 because the lens quality he feels is better, he can shoot wide open and get good sharpness at the edges, the color quality is there, the image quality is there. So to characterize any camera - whether it's an Olympus or anything else - and say 'this is a professional camera' based on one feature is an injustice to any camera. In fact we’ve got one Magnum guy out there who still uses C5050's because he thinks its the best camera ever made - for what he's doing. So I think it's the quality of the image we can deliver that's more important than the size of the sensor.”
PMA Interview: Olympus: Digital Photography Review


Sony is doing the same, showing a Pro route for the ordinary amateurs to aspire too.
This is what C&N have been doing for years. And it was the info from top shooters using Pentax, which got me in the fold, back in the film SLR days. I’ve been a happy camper since.

The amount that Benji is worth for Pentax, is big for sure. With the internet, this is how things move. The K20’s selling point is IQ, and Ben shows how it easily delivers. Pentax France apparently should be doing pretty good also.

I doubt the old Japanese Pentax management would be afraid that some pop magazine tried to establish pressure, with C&N in the background.
Marketing wise, the Pentax ship is one with hardly any on the bridge. It is charming ideas they bring out, but I think they mostly appeal to us already in the fold.
Ned is a sweet guy, with a warm interest in the market and products. But (unfortunately) he is not the only one calling the shots. There need to be a more solid base established in Japan, and clear leadership shown. The creative side, and specialness of Pentax, may not impress Hoya, which is more bottomline seekers, but Olympus and Sony is doing a lot more marketing wise than Pentax. It is gonna be nice to see what the summer has in store for us. But Hoya not taking any chances or doing all they can to stay competitive, and then complaining if the numbers do not fit, then that is kind of a joke.
The support from Ben is probably worth more than all these Be Interesting adds, etc. put together. Pentax dropped the ball, time to pick it up again.


I’m quite sure that Ned knows about the equation that Ben brings into the game. From my understanding of Ned, he wouldn’t be the one particularly impressed with all the self established magazine gurus who think they via theoretical knowledge can call themselves experts. Of cause Pentax will not like if some magazine would do a campaign against them, but this negative pressure is really not something that should be given into.
Time to put differences aside and face the current situation. Pentax is not high tech gadgetry, but IQ first and foremost. What better selling point than big French fashion mags, plastered in Pentax work :
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-news-rumors/54018-spring-magazine-...ll-pentax.html


https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/everything-else/48882-actress-vahina-gioc...-magazine.html

[benjikan]

I really don’t get why Pentax isn’t taking advantage of having a Pro shooter in the Benji’s class, in the fold. On the contrary, they seem to make it hard for him to stay; listening to photo mags instead of the Pentax community.


Olympus seems to understand the importance of having leaders in the field, show what their products are capable off :

“OK. That's fair, because obviously the format shouldn't make any difference, but for a 'pro' camera to compete against the kind of camera professionals are buying it has a lot of work to do, and our only question is whether that will be an area where you'll be actively competing?

JK: From our side, and I'll speak because I work with a lot of professional photographers in the states - not all professional photographers are looking for 'full frame'. There's a lot more to the quality of the image than the size of the sensor and the number of pixels involved, which I know you guys are well aware of. Cameras like the E-3 have been used very successfully by many professionals. In fact, right now one of our professionals is traveling around the globe with (National) Geographic, and all he's using are E-3s. He can use whatever he wants but he's choosing to use E-3 because the lens quality he feels is better, he can shoot wide open and get good sharpness at the edges, the color quality is there, the image quality is there. So to characterize any camera - whether it's an Olympus or anything else - and say 'this is a professional camera' based on one feature is an injustice to any camera. In fact we’ve got one Magnum guy out there who still uses C5050's because he thinks its the best camera ever made - for what he's doing. So I think it's the quality of the image we can deliver that's more important than the size of the sensor.”
PMA Interview: Olympus: Digital Photography Review


Sony is doing the same, showing a Pro route for the ordinary amateurs to aspire too.
This is what C&N have been doing for years. And it was the info from top shooters using Pentax, which got me in the fold, back in the film SLR days. I’ve been a happy camper since.

The amount that Benji is worth for Pentax, is big for sure. With the internet, this is how things move. The K20’s selling point is IQ, and Ben shows how it easily delivers. Pentax France apparently should be doing pretty good also.

I doubt the old Japanese Pentax management would be afraid that some pop magazine tried to establish pressure, with C&N in the background.
Marketing wise, the Pentax ship is one with hardly any on the bridge. It is charming ideas they bring out, but I think they mostly appeal to us already in the fold.
Ned is a sweet guy, with a warm interest in the market and products. But (unfortunately) he is not the only one calling the shots. There need to be a more solid base established in Japan, and clear leadership shown. The creative side, and specialness of Pentax, may not impress Hoya, which is more bottomline seekers, but Olympus and Sony is doing a lot more marketing wise than Pentax. It is gonna be nice to see what the summer has in store for us. But Hoya not taking any chances or doing all they can to stay competitive, and then complaining if the numbers do not fit, then that is kind of a joke.
The support from Ben is probably worth more than all these Be Interesting adds, etc. put together. Pentax dropped the ball, time to pick it up again.


I’m quite sure that Ned knows about the equation that Ben brings into the game. From my understanding of Ned, he wouldn’t be the one particularly impressed with all the self established magazine gurus who think they via theoretical knowledge can call themselves experts. Of cause Pentax will not like if some magazine would do a campaign against them, but this negative pressure is really not something that should be given into.
Time to put differences aside and face the current situation. Pentax is not high tech gadgetry, but IQ first and foremost. What better selling point than big French fashion mags, plastered in Pentax work :
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-news-rumors/54018-spring-magazine-...ll-pentax.html


https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/everything-else/48882-actress-vahina-gioc...-magazine.html

Thanks for that, appreciated...

Vahina Giocante shootée par Benjamin Kanarek pour Spring Magazine Paris | olaphoto*com

[Shashinki]

I heard that once, the only Norwegian Olympus sponsored pro photographer (at the time) admitted that he only used Hasselblad cameras when he was doing his work (other than Olympus paid promo-work).

Nikon sponsored pro's on the other hand, usually have sign an agreement not to use other than Nikon cameras for their work.

I don't take Olympus "pro photographers" very seriously after that statement.... Wonder why

[Clicker]

The old 67 was a staple of a lot of North American fashion/portrait shooters somewhere along the way they lost out to Mamiya and Hasselblad :ugh:

[Shashinki]

Still is, you just have to talk to really, really old guys.. :P

(You still cool though old guys! hehe)

[ytterbium]

Are they also planning to do something about RiceHigh?

Most people i know, before buying their first DSLR usually do few month research on the internet. Guess whats te majority of various Pentax "reviews", which describe real life usage google returns.
And it all sounds like terrifying underexposure, slow and inaccurate AF, yellow wb, mediocre to useless SR and almost unavailable lenses.. almost bought a Canon, because from what you can read Pentax doesnt sound like an option at all.
Lucky for me i was not ordering in internet and had the chance to try both k100ds and 400d. And was i surprised by the well defined image quality, same WB as others, lens choice with multiple options in most FL's and excellent, but affordable Limiteds. It has the ability to get sharp images even at 1/60 with Sig.70-300@300. Came with hood and a decent kit, nice, soft and well made neck strap. 400d felt like hand crippling, plastic tunnel vision camera having no usefull aditional features, having just the bare minimum with a mirror box to work.

[vinzer]

Well, Pentax retains the endorsement of Kerrick James and some other photographer, if I recall correctly. I'm not sure which Pentax subsidiary hired those two, if it's only Pentax USA or the mothership in Japan. I think Ben's agreement was with Pentax France (feel free to correct me Ben).

It may be the case that the marketing budget for Pentax USA (Ned's territory) might not have enough budget for now to make a big marketing splash (that's how I understand Ben's idea), or to retain the services of Ben himself, with the economy screwed as it is now.

Now if Ben's idea is something that's relatively cheap and cost-effective to implement, then by all means, I hope he gets to talk with Ned.

[jeffkrol]

Are they also planning to do something about RiceHigh?

We don't talk about that here...

[Clicker]

Ned reads this forum.

[Blue]

Are they also planning to do something about RiceHigh?

Most people i know, before buying their first DSLR usually do few month research on the internet. Guess whats te majority of various Pentax "reviews", which describe real life usage google returns.
And it all sounds like terrifying underexposure, slow and inaccurate AF, yellow wb, mediocre to useless SR and almost unavailable lenses.. almost bought a Canon, because from what you can read Pentax doesnt sound like an option at all.
Lucky for me i was not ordering in internet and had the chance to try both k100ds and 400d. And was i surprised by the well defined image quality, same WB as others, lens choice with multiple options in most FL's and excellent, but affordable Limiteds. It has the ability to get sharp images even at 1/60 with Sig.70-300@300. Came with hood and a decent kit, nice, soft and well made neck strap. 400d felt like hand crippling, plastic tunnel vision camera having no usefull aditional features, having just the bare minimum with a mirror box to work.

I agree. RH acts like he has thoroughly evaluated the gear. More often than not, he has merely handled the items for 5 or 10 minutes at a shop. He then gets on his blog and as many sites as he can with his low mouthing of Pentax gear.