[alexfoto]

I think the pentax k7d has great feautures, the most important is a good AF.

In Italy was distributed very late and in a few pieces but the success of sales has been significant.

Well, friends, the plot thickens! For the last week the K-m dual kit was number 5 in Japan!

??????????? | ??? | ??????????? BCN?????

The sky is falling, we're beginning to be too many!

Radu

[RBellavance]

Well, friends, the plot thickens! For the last week the K-m dual kit was number 5 in Japan!

Such a sales surge can only have one cause: RiceHigh's proclamation that the K-m is better than the K-7

[flyer]

Who's Rice High?

[uccemebug]

I can't read Japanese, but I get the impression that the reported ranking is for MAP Camera only? (It's still good news, since that's a large chain, AFAIK)

Map Camera has one location.

MAPCAMERA.COM-inquiry

In typical Tokyo fashion, the store occupies parts of two pencil-thin buildings on the same street. The Shinjuku Yodobashi occupies something like six buildings in the immediate area. Map's not a bad store, they sold me my first Pentax camera and lens. The basement of the main store is like a museum of the Golden Age of film photography.

[uccemebug]

Well, friends, the plot thickens! For the last week the K-m dual kit was number 5 in Japan!

??????????? | ??? | ??????????? BCN?????

The sky is falling, we're beginning to be too many!

Radu

That ranking seems a bit more meaningful. From what little I can comprehend from this page:

BCN??????? | ??????????? BCN?????

They say that they gather national* point-of-sales data on new (only?) products. My ability with Japanese is pretty bad and I'm winging it based on the kanji I recognize, but the darling graphics would seem to bear this out.

*I don't know what stores they're polling, something tells me that Bic, Yodobashi, Labi and the like might be a bit skittish about parting with sales data.

That ranking seems a bit more meaningful. From what little I can comprehend from this page:

BCN??????? | ??????????? BCN?????

They say that they gather national* point-of-sales data on new (only?) products. My ability with Japanese is pretty bad and I'm winging it based on the kanji I recognize, but the darling graphics would seem to bear this out.

*I don't know what stores they're polling, something tells me that Bic, Yodobashi, Labi and the like might be a bit skittish about parting with sales data.

Hi, Uccemebug!

I found out this about stores and webplaces that contribue to this top:

"Provide POS data store (in alphabetical order) 2009 March

Amazon Japan (Amazon.co.jp), Aiden (Aiden), Otsuka (P-Tano), Goodwill (goodwill), Kezuhorudingusu (Kezudenki), Sadouebu (Dosupara), and cherry (or cherry), Thank You (100 volts less), Joshin Denki (Joshin Denki), stream (EC current), the dot-com dream Seven (Seven - Net-Eleven), Sofmap (Sofmap), ZOA (ZOA), T, Sutoratejii ZONE (T · ZONE) , DEODEO (DEODEO), Bic Camera (Bic Camera), Pishidepokoporeshon (PC DEPOT), Best Denki (Best Denki), Electrification Midori (Midori Denka), Murauchidottokomu (Murauchidottokomu), comb unit (computer workshop, Faith, TWO TOP), Laox (Laox) = (alphabetical order) of 22 companies "

The original page is here: BCN??????? | ??????????? BCN????? and if you can extract more info I am sure many here would appreciate.
For me this is a meaningful top because it refers to the actual sales and not to units delivered to shops (and that could end up gathering dust a long time).

Regards,
Radu

[gazonk]

Well, friends, the plot thickens! For the last week the K-m dual kit was number 5 in Japan!

It's ridiculously cheap for a dual kit!

The K-7 didn't sell that well, though. I wonder if they still haven't quite ramped up production of it?

[uccemebug]

Hi, Uccemebug!

I found out this about stores and webplaces that contribue to this top:

"Provide POS data store (in alphabetical order) 2009 March

Amazon Japan (Amazon.co.jp), Aiden (Aiden), Otsuka (P-Tano), Goodwill (goodwill), Kezuhorudingusu (Kezudenki), Sadouebu (Dosupara), and cherry (or cherry), Thank You (100 volts less), Joshin Denki (Joshin Denki), stream (EC current), the dot-com dream Seven (Seven - Net-Eleven), Sofmap (Sofmap), ZOA (ZOA), T, Sutoratejii ZONE (T · ZONE) , DEODEO (DEODEO), Bic Camera (Bic Camera), Pishidepokoporeshon (PC DEPOT), Best Denki (Best Denki), Electrification Midori (Midori Denka), Murauchidottokomu (Murauchidottokomu), comb unit (computer workshop, Faith, TWO TOP), Laox (Laox) = (alphabetical order) of 22 companies "

Oooh, well done. Bic, Laox, DEODEO, and Sofmap are all significant chains. It's quite a good roundup, actually. Only Yodobashi and Labi are obvious absences. Yodobashi and Bic are really the two big ones.

It's ridiculously cheap for a dual kit!

The K-7 didn't sell that well, though. I wonder if they still haven't quite ramped up production of it?

Hi, Espen!

Before you say that K-m is cheap for a dual kit you may want to check out this one: ??? ?200 W????????? DSLR-A200W | BCN????? or this: ????? E-520 ????????? E-520????????? | BCN?????. I guess cameras with in body stabilization have the inherent advantage of less expensive lenses (if the kit is to include IS capability). And K-m has no LiIon battery and charger unlike the others so the price seems about right.
Furthermore, the price is about the same as in the US (550 USD) or Germany (400Euro +VAT) and knowing Hoya's philosophy I bet they make at least a dime at every sell

Regards,
Radu

[uccemebug]

The basement of the main store is like a museum of the Golden Age of film photography.

Just found a pic of the place while browing a fellow Tokyo-gaijin's website:

an ongoing diary #1385

[gazonk]

Map Camera has one location.

MAPCAMERA.COM-inquiry

In typical Tokyo fashion, the store occupies parts of two pencil-thin buildings on the same street. The Shinjuku Yodobashi occupies something like six buildings in the immediate area. Map's not a bad store, they sold me my first Pentax camera and lens. The basement of the main store is like a museum of the Golden Age of film photography.

Ah, thanks for clarifying, it's such a big store that I automatically thought that it had to be a chain. The Shinjuku Yodobashi is like a big labyrinth :-) The Osaka (Umeda) store is more impressive (I bought my K10d in Shinjuku and my DA70 in Umeda).

[falconeye]

22 companies

Radu, thanks for this detail.

However, for Pentax it probably means missing a lot of sales, more than for other brands. At least it would be so for Germany.

In Germany, Pentax is different from other vendors in that a few online stores which specialized on Pentax represent a majority of sales for higher priced Pentax gear. While K-m sales may still be well represented by a poll like BCN's, I am not sure for early adopter K-7 sales, though.

[gazonk]

While K-m sales may still be well represented by a poll like BCN's, I am not sure for early adopter K-7 sales, though.

It's interesting that the K-7 is a winner at MAP Camera, while not selling that much in the BCN ranking. I wonder if Pentax has been carefully supplying the first batches to just a few shops in each country?

Radu, thanks for this detail.

However, for Pentax it probably means missing a lot of sales, more than for other brands. At least it would be so for Germany.

In Germany, Pentax is different from other vendors in that a few online stores which specialized on Pentax represent a majority of sales for higher priced Pentax gear. While K-m sales may still be well represented by a poll like BCN's, I am not sure for early adopter K-7 sales, though.

No problem Falk!

I like hard numbers as opposed to the usual alarmist threads so I study these (available) numbers to see some trends. And right now the trend is as up as possible.

About the K-7 I think Pentax wanted to extract full mark up first by pushing the body only initially with the kit version starting to become fully available at amazon.jp late last week. I think we will see soon the kit and dual kit versions being pushed aggressively in Japan also.

Radu