[Mikesul]

Thank you, Monochrome, for providing some insight into this potentially troubling news. Of all the pentaxisdoomed babble of the last few years this is the first item which seems to me to have some significance. Perhaps Adam can contact his sources and provide us with some explanation.

[rod_grant]

I have a feeling I may have to get it online

... and the stores will say that internet sales are killing their businesses.

[elho_cid]

Here in Czech republic it is quite impossible to see K-1 for sale in shop, even in stores where the Pentax is usually well supplied. The demand for pre-orders was not satisfied yed. I personally know people who already wait for several months to get a K-1 camera. It is not expected to change until 2017.

[lesmore49]

... and the stores will say that internet sales are killing their businesses.

I think there is an element of truth to that statement. My kids are 20 something...age not number of ...and they buy a lot of their stuff and it is varied...through online. Their friends who are in the same age group also do the same.

[FantasticMrFox]

I think there is an element of truth to that statement. My kids are 20 something...age not number of ...and they buy a lot of their stuff and it is varied...through online. Their friends who are in the same age group also do the same.

I'm in my 20s and conflicted. My family's business is in retail, so I tend to buy many thinks in local stores to support them - I particularly buy books locally to support bookstores over Amazon.

But when it comes to photography equipment the price difference is usually just too large. I wouldn't care if I were loaded, but I'm a student and on a typical student budget. If I can get a lens online for 30% less than in store, I'm not going to buy it in store. Plus the major advantage of a physical store is personal service and advice, which I don't need in photography, and when you buy online you can send stuff back without quoting a reason for 14 days, but you cannot do it in store. This is important when it comes to checking whether a lens you bought is at its best optically. To return it in store you need a valid reason, and they may well tell you that that decentering is within the manufacturing tolerance or something like that. Online you can just return a lens that you think underperforms, no questions asked. Although it's fair to say I have never had to do that so far, but it's good to have the option.

So in short, I have absolutely no reason to buy anything in a photography store. I pay more, have less options and can't return stuff if I don't like it. I bought one lens in store because they had the same price in their physical store as in their online store, and it was just a bit higher than the cheapest I found online, so I picked the lens up in store on my way to the airport so I could already use it on vacation.

[Dr Orloff]

How well is the K-1 doing (selling) in North America and the world ? I'm curious, given the fact that there isn't much of a Pentax presence at the camera shops around here.

To this date, I have seen, handled, tried one K-1 and only one K-1 at one dealer in my mid sized city. No one else seems to have it in stock. Camera store staff ...the ones I've talked to...regard it highly, but yes they have no K-1's...or usually anything Pentax stuff in stock..

I'm planning to get one, probably in the spring of 2017. If I do buy one, I have a feeling I may have to get it online.

It's doing at least one better in the UK since yesterday because I've just bought one.

[bilybianca]

About Pentax presence in shops or online:
I've only seen two K-1s in real life. The one I tried at the Hässleholm Nature Photo Festival, which made me pre-order one for myself. And then a second one in the store where I picked my pre-ordered one up - and that was the one I took with me home and still use.
To see a Pentax camera irl that you don't own yourself is a true privilege.

Kjell

[Gedeon]

So, k-1 seems to be a success, ok
Right, M. ricoh could you invest some cash in r&d, to give us some new lenses now ?

[bobmaxja]

We should remember all the threads who talk about lack of vision , marketing etc. from the office in Denver. Seem that Japan finally agree and simply decide to start over. And I believe this is a great new.

[John-TO]

It's great to say that the K-1 is doing this or that but does anyone really know?

If I am going to invest CA$10,000 in a new Pentax system—camera body, the compulsory triad of lenses plus macro, flash, etc.—I'd really, I mean REALLY, like to know that the K-1 has done well enough to get Tamron and Sigma to start making lenses for it and Ricoh to continue to invest in it. Does anyone really know or is this all just speculation?

Polaris has announced that they are discontinuing their VICTORY line of motorcycles. How would you feel if you were excited about the $15,000 investment you just made in your new Victory Motorcycle just to find out that, oops, your bike, heck the whole brand, is being discontinued. A complete camera system costs almost as much, at least in Canadian pseudo-dollars. And, if it's discontinued the resale will be zilch! I don't know about you but if I am going to invest that much in a new Pentax system I want to ride into the future with full confidence that it will not only be there but it will be supported by Ricoh and third party manufactures with the offering of new flash and lens choices. I love Pentax, but at this point in time I am far from having that kind of confidence.

[monochrome]

I don't really care about the 'next' K-1, or a future I cannot know. I have 'this' K-1 and I'll use it for years. Since I don't plan to sell it, secondary market value is irrelevant.

Victory cycles were stopped because Dealer orders in the spring-delivery order period last fall were abysmal. K-1 is reportedly sold out for months of future production.

It's great to say that the K-1 is doing this or that but does anyone really know?

If I am going to invest CA$10,000 in a new Pentax system—camera body, the compulsory triad of lenses plus macro, flash, etc.—I'd really, I mean REALLY, like to know that the K-1 has done well enough to get Tamron and Sigma to start making lenses for it and Ricoh to continue to invest in it. Does anyone really know or is this all just speculation?

Polaris has announced that they are discontinuing their VICTORY line of motorcycles. How would you feel if you were excited about the $15,000 investment you just made in your new Victory Motorcycle just to find out that, oops, your bike, heck the whole brand, is being discontinued. A complete camera system costs almost as much, at least in Canadian pseudo-dollars. And, if it's discontinued the resale will be zilch! I don't know about you but if I am going to invest that much in a new Pentax system I want to ride into the future with full confidence that it will not only be there but it will be supported by Ricoh and third party manufactures with the offering of new flash and lens choices. I love Pentax, but at this point in time I am far from having that kind of confidence.

[beholder3]

, like to know that the K-1 has done well enough to get Tamron and Sigma to start making lenses for it

There is zero statement they would. Or not. If you want to play lottery that is a better idea than making "investments" in consumer electronics devices based on wishful thinking / belief.
And that is the case with any brand and product with regards to FUTURE products. You better base decision on what is available in stores for a fact.
Nikon has their "Duke Nukem forever" play with the DL cameras, which were even announced but never materialized.

I am far from having that kind of confidence.

Customers are running away from Nikon in much larger quantities each year than Pentax ever had. Nikon fired 1000 employees due to their poor market performance. Only a fool would have "confidence" in their survival. Still why not buy their stuff? You can buy it today.
If you really think digital cameras are anything else than throw away consumer electronics gadgets, then don't buy them or try to stick with Canon only and they probably are the only brand that has some robust base to survive long term. And since they have not made any meaningful move yet in the mirrorless domain even they could kill their mount just the same as Sony abandoned their A mount.

You never know.

[Kunzite]

If I am going to invest CA$10,000 in a new Pentax system—camera body, the compulsory triad of lenses plus macro, flash, etc.—I'd really, I mean REALLY, like to know that the K-1 has done well enough to get Tamron and Sigma to start making lenses for it and Ricoh to continue to invest in it. Does anyone really know or is this all just speculation?

Try common sense.

First, there's no such thing as an absolute guarantee. You want something - buy into the brand that has that something. You want Tamron and Sigma lenses, buy into Canon/Nikon. However, there's no guarantee that Canon or Nikon would continue in the long run (though I believe they will).

OTOH it makes no sense to believe that Ricoh Imaging would discontinue the newly launched FF K-mount line. They're not fickle, and the K-1 is a success.

[normhead]

It's great to say that the K-1 is doing this or that but does anyone really know?

If I am going to invest CA$10,000 in a new Pentax system—camera body, the compulsory triad of lenses plus macro, flash, etc.—I'd really, I mean REALLY, like to know that the K-1 has done well enough to get Tamron and Sigma to start making lenses for it and Ricoh to continue to invest in it. Does anyone really know or is this all just speculation?

Polaris has announced that they are discontinuing their VICTORY line of motorcycles. How would you feel if you were excited about the $15,000 investment you just made in your new Victory Motorcycle just to find out that, oops, your bike, heck the whole brand, is being discontinued. A complete camera system costs almost as much, at least in Canadian pseudo-dollars. And, if it's discontinued the resale will be zilch! I don't know about you but if I am going to invest that much in a new Pentax system I want to ride into the future with full confidence that it will not only be there but it will be supported by Ricoh and third party manufactures with the offering of new flash and lens choices. I love Pentax, but at this point in time I am far from having that kind of confidence.

Looking at a few items around the web, Pentax is just not doing well enough yet. I personally wonder if Pentax sold every camera they are capable of producing, if it would be enough to get them back into the top 5, or high enough volume to interest Sigma or Tamron. The company has learned to survive small, and given their market share, that's what is keeping them alive.

Someone once posted that internal documents suggested it wold cost Ricoh 1.6 billion to get back on a level playing field with Canon and Nikon. At the time they decided to pass, there is no indication they've changed their minds.

If memory serves me well, there are close to 100 lenses currently available from Pentax. If that's not good enough, you probably need to buy something else.

Pentax is what it is. If something new comes out, it's not likely to be exactly what you want.

Pentax markets the K-1 as a field camera. There's not a lot of use for flashes in most of the fields I've been in.

Sometimes it pays to listen to the marketing people.

[DrBop]

I am personally thrilled with my K-1. I very recently moved to its full frame after repeatedly hitting the resolution wall with my Olympus 4/3s system (OM-D E-M1).

My brief observations about Pentax (which I've used since 1981), is that both its innovation and image quality prowess have always exceeded its marketing savvy.

This became apparent to me again recently when I became interested in the K-1 at the very time when Olympus announced its new flagship, the OM-D E-M1 Mark II. The amount of publicity for the announced but not yet released camera -- the hype, if you will -- totally swamped the amount of information I was finding for the K-1 which had been out for months!

An interesting case in point, Tony Northrup, whose videos on YouTube garners tens of thousands of views each, could not get a loaner K-1 from Ricoh \ Pentax for his intended review video of the K-1.

Northrup had to borrow a K-1 from a viewer fan of his YouTube channel to evaluate the camera. Still, Tony ended up naming the K-1 as his camera of the year and as his favorite for landscapes (for all the reasons we know and love).

Pentax, unlike all the other familiar brand names, just doesn't do the marketing thing very well. If the company is not wooing reviewers, bloggers, and so on and the overall DSLR market is shrinking (which it is) and the company is retracting its US operations... WHOA!

I want the Pentax brand to succeed. But I have to wonder about Ricoh's strategy and its execution.

In a competitive market, the best product in the world requires aggressive support in the classic five P's of marketing: Product, Placement, Promotion, Pricing, Positioning. With the K-1, Ricoh has the product and the pricing.

But the others?