[mike.hiran]

So I heard that a store in Portland had Pentax gear (Camera World) so I wanted to get a look at what they were stocking and whether they carried any used lenses. The salesperson who was helping me (he has a k20d) said that he recently saw a Pentax lens in a newly styled box that said something like "full frame compatible." Unfortunately he didn't remember seeing what lens this was on. They had lots of lenses and bodies in stock, but the only one that was full frame compatible that I could see was the DFA 100 wr macro. I have that lens, but I don't recall it saying anything on the box about compatibility with something that doesn't exist yet. And I can't imagine this label would be on any of the other lenses they have in stock (see picture below). Has anyone else seen or heard of this?

To me, if true, this sounds like Pentax is laying the groundwork for differentiating their lenses so people know what lens is compatible with what format. But maybe he saw this on a Tamron box - I don't know, but he seemed like a bright guy.

Anyways, just wanted to throw this out there and throw some fuel on the fire as if any more flare ups were needed

Here's a picture of the lenses and bodies they had:

[mike.hiran]

I had heard in another thread that Camera World in downtown Portland was stocking Pentax gear so I decided to wander down there to see what they had. Holy crap they had a lot!!! Most of the DA*, all the current bodies (except 645d), and other DA zooms and primes. One of the salesmen there even owned a k20d! They had instant rebates on the k30, they were promoting the k30 as the Gear of the Year in Men's Magazine, and were marketing the k5iis / fa lens rebates. Of the Tamron lenses that I could see in the front case, they only had a 17-50 2.8 in Pentax mount. But there could have been more in drawers (I didn't ask - didn't want to take too much time as I wasn't buying anything just yet).



That's right... a whole case dedicated to Pentax gear!

So the pricing seems to be the Pentax Map pricing (boooo) but I asked if they would match internet pricing and they said they would be competitive with major authorized dealers on non-grey market goods. Not an explicit promise to price match, but sounds like they are willing to be in the game. Pretty dang cool if this works out!

Unfortunately, they didn't have any limiteds, but with enough support, hopefully that will change.

Looks like they are offering free classes on composition and exposure and will be doing in the field classes at the rose garden and the zoo later this year. I'm not sure who the new owners are, but I'm glad they have decided to partner up with Pentax.... They just need some of our support - hopefully there's enough of us in our area to make it worth their while.

Just remember, if you're ever in Portland, we don't have sales tax

[civiletti]

Good news. Do they have the Pentax full frame yet?

[vodanh1982]

Pentax has film FF. I will be surprised if they say digital FF.

[abmj]

Yup. All the old FA lenses are FF-compatible. I've got a couple.

On another note, it is really nice to see such a big, complete display of Pentax in a brick-and-mortar store.

[Ash]

Forget the DFA/FA lens FF compatibility - this is well recognised and doesn't indicate any FF camera on the horizon. But this photo shows that some stores still want to have a reasonably complete collection of Pentax gear to display in their feature cabinets.

And by the way, I've merged your two threads. Please just post your same idea once.

[patrick9]

After seeing that store display I am jealous. we hardly even have a camera store around here. The nearest is 50 miles away. and no Pentax .

[normhead]

The sad thing is, I went to the Pentax display at Exposure, at the Convention Centre out at the Airport, and that display kills the Pentax Canada Display, and it also kills any display I've seen in any Toronto area store, or anywhere in Canada for that matter.

[mike.hiran]

Forget the DFA/FA lens FF compatibility - this is well recognised and doesn't indicate any FF camera on the horizon. But this photo shows that some stores still want to have a reasonably complete collection of Pentax gear to display in their feature cabinets.

And by the way, I've merged your two threads. Please just post your same idea once.

The sales guy has been using Pentax for a while and he mentioned that a lens was being packaged in a newly designed box that referred to fitting full frame in a way that previously designed boxes hadn't. So while I know dfa and ff lenses fit full frame (I have some of these lenses also), if there is a newly designed box that references this as a feature, I find this interesting. But I didn't see the box, so I can't say firsthand if this is true or not. But if someone else can confirm this, then it could be important in determining the direction Pentax is going.

And regarding the 2 threads being the "same idea"... although they share the same picture, the ideas in both are completely different. One is showing a Pentax presence in Portland that has never been and from what I'm reading is a breadth of product that is very rare anywhere in North America. The other thread talks about the above new marketing on Pentax lenses that may indicate a future direction of Pentax. Two different issues with two different groups of people who might be interested which is why I broke it up into 2 different threads.

[monochrome]

Wouldn't it be interesting if the deal pricing on the FA Limiteds with the K5II were intended to clear out old packaging, not soon-to-be redundant lenses?

[Adam]

Just remember, if you're ever in Portland, we don't have sales tax

But those B&M prices are brutal!

[stevebrot]

Thanks for posting this photo of the display at Camera World. I too had heard that they were stocking Pentax and I am blown away by how well they are stocking Pentax!


Steve

[lesmore49]

The sad thing is, I went to the Pentax display at Exposure, at the Convention Centre out at the Airport, and that display kills the Pentax Canada Display, and it also kills any display I've seen in any Toronto area store, or anywhere in Canada for that matter.

Winnipeg is pretty good. There are about 8 camera stores that have fair to good displays of Pentax equipment and so far over the past 6 years I've been able to get any Pentax lens/body (K10D, K-m, K-5) I want...either in stock....or within a week or two brought in. I have three digital Pentax bodies and 9 Pentax lenses...all bought since 2007 and for the most part....not all...but most out of .....in store stock.

In the Peg...there are two western Canadian companies...one has three camera stores, one has one store with a large camera dept.....one Eastern Canadian company with three camera store branches here and one long time, local camera store.

Winnipeg has always been known for having an extremely competitive retail market ...in just about anything you want to buy.

[RockvilleBob]

I live int he Washington DC area and do not know if there is a camera dealer with a comprehensive Pentax display like the one shown above. If somebody knows of one in the Washington DC area - please let me know.

[stevebrot]

But those B&M prices are brutal!

Camera World will honor their online prices in-store and their online prices are competitive (they are part of Ritz Camera). Sooo...does this mean that Ritz will be featuring Pentax again nationwide?
Edit: Although cameraworld.com identifies the company of being part of Ritz, that information is not current. Camera World (both B&M and online) is now owned by Jack's Camera out of Philadelphia.

http://www.oregonlive.com/window-shop/index.ssf/2012/10/retail_spotlight_cameraworld.html


Steve