[GordZ]

Happy New Year,
Well I made my decision and ordered a KP to augment my K5IIs. Have pretty well given up on seeing a new K3 and the KP seems a bit better than the present K3. Has a pop up fill flash but lacks the top LCD but does have tilt Back LCD and a big 24MP sensor. So I have ordered it thru an Independent Pentax Dealer about 1 1/2 hr drive from home. After not hearing from him in a week I called, he has told me it has to come from the Philippians via Purolator as the Canadian Pentax / Richo warehouse in Toronto hasn't got stock. I ordered the camera with a battery grip, 32gb card, and battery. They told me they have the battery and will call when the rest of it comes in.
What is it with PentaxRicho do they not want to sell cameras? So frustrating.
I am trying to do the right thing by supporting one of the few local independent dealers he had a K1 on the shelf and various Pentax/Sigma/Tamron Lenses Telaconveter filters etc. He also supports the Pentax over the other two + brands he carry's. It will cost me about $100 more than if I bought from Amazon or a big city dealer's in Toronto. Pentax has a great product but their marketing seems to be through this Forum only.
Any comments?

GordZ

[punkrachmaninov]

had the same problem! after mattias burling's "pentax kp: the mirrorless killer" video, i decided to give it a shot; body only at $1299 CAD no less, in spite of a sale south of the border offering up some glaring arbitrage. when i actually got down to trudging out into the canadian wilderness to order one, i was promptly laughed out of TWO major canadian camera-specific retail stores. it wasn't really worth the hassle they said... there was nothing in the warehouse they said...

it seems a trifle peculiar to me that pentax doesn't seem to want to carry stock across canada (elsewhere?) - you would think they would stock one central warehouse at very least. especially if it is such a solid camera. when i finally got a turnaround eta, it was unacceptable... 2-3 months, maybe more.

after the experience attempting to procure the KP, i have resigned myself to the reality that i am going to have to wait. until pentax wakes up and smells the mirrorless coffee, i am sticking with my k-5. the kp price will fall out of the stars soon enough... but by then i doubt it will be anymore readily available than it apparently is now. certainly not holding my breath for a used one anytime soon at a rational price.

the whole camera world is in turmoil. canikonosonic are going to fight to the death...

what say you pentaxians? did you miss me? 😘 what is with the currwnt catalogue stock issues?

[twilhelm]

I could see stock being low right now given the sales prices on the KP through the holidays. There’s quite a few of us here on the forums that purchased KPs this year.

It’s well known Pentax has forgone most marketing strategies for several years. There’s an up side and a downside to this. We don’t see the cost of marketing added to the cost of our equipment, hense sent we get a better product at a lower price. But on the other hand, it can be impossible to find one to hold and try out.

Personally I love the KP, and now that I’ve had it for a bit, I no longer miss the top LCD. Enjoy!

[punkrachmaninov]

guess i just prefer to buy from an authorized reseller instead of amazon - if we don't support our local brick and mortar camera stores we will likely be sorry in a generation. that and better customer support is always nice, although i hear alexa is pretty cool!

to be a bit more specific, i recall this was in october 2018 - well before black friday. going to have to call BS on the KP flying off the shelves...

[Merv-O]

Happy New Year,
Well I made my decision and ordered a KP to augment my K5IIs. Have pretty well given up on seeing a new K3 and the KP seems a bit better than the present K3. Has a pop up fill flash but lacks the top LCD but does have tilt Back LCD and a big 24MP sensor. So I have ordered it thru an Independent Pentax Dealer about 1 1/2 hr drive from home. After not hearing from him in a week I called, he has told me it has to come from the Philippians via Purolator as the Canadian Pentax / Richo warehouse in Toronto hasn't got stock. I ordered the camera with a battery grip, 32gb card, and battery. They told me they have the battery and will call when the rest of it comes in.
What is it with PentaxRicho do they not want to sell cameras? So frustrating.
I am trying to do the right thing by supporting one of the few local independent dealers he had a K1 on the shelf and various Pentax/Sigma/Tamron Lenses Telaconveter filters etc. He also supports the Pentax over the other two + brands he carry's. It will cost me about $100 more than if I bought from Amazon or a big city dealer's in Toronto. Pentax has a great product but their marketing seems to be through this Forum only.
Any comments?

GordZ

I bought my KP over the Black Friday sale at Adorama (they're a site supporter and based in NY/NJ). The KP is a prosumer camera with extremely high IQ. I am extremely happy with it and sold my K-3 and K-3ii in favor of the K-i ii/KP set-up. Never been happier and never have taken photos with such control and ease.
Once you receive your KP, you will not miss the top screen at all. The information is directly in the excellent viewfinder and is easy to see while composing. The triple grip set-up allows you to customize the feel and the tilt screen is very usable. Also, the firmware and the sensor are new--I find the KP's focusing is faster than the K-3/ii as well. The one downer is the buffer. the KP is a bit slower than the K-3/ii in that department, but for my needs it's plenty fast and it produces usable files up to 25,000 ISO. It's smaller than the K-3/ii series and just as waterproof...Excellent camera. Even DP Review had to give it 4.7 out of 5 stars. It has few glaring weaknesses and offers great improvements. If you miss GPS, then get the optional hot shoe attachment. The fill-in flash is usable but with the high iSO, I use it occasionally to keep white balance and tone on very dark shots.

To your marketing point, Pentax/RICOH don't have a large marketing arm, but it's also an issue of supply and demand. With low global market share (+/- 5%) many retailers are reluctant to stock Pentax products. What we at the P.Forum need to do is continue to educate and laud a brand that we are loyal to and understand its ergonomics and quality.....

[philanker2012]

Enjoy.

I also moved from K5iis (via K70) and no regrets. I think a lot of people over use the lack of top LCD as a reason not to buy KP. It is possible to set the function dial to control the rear screen. So, with one turn of the function dial you can have all the information and more that would be on the top LCD. With one more turn of the function dial the rear screen can be turned off, very useful. The tilt screen is very useful and I have vowed that I will never buy a camera without one.

The feel in your hand especially around the grip is different and does take some getting used to, I fitted the large grip straight away and have left it on. I also purchased the battery grip and use it all the time with my larger and heavier lenses. You will also find that the battery from your K5iis fits the battery grip which is a bonus and gives you amazing battery life when used with the KP battery fitted in the camera as well.

Image quality and low light performance is a step up as is the screw drive auto focus motor. I was often frustrated using a DA 55-300 on the K5iis because of the auto focus, but it performs much better on the KP.

[ramseybuckeye]

Happy New Year,
Well I made my decision and ordered a KP to augment my K5IIs. Have pretty well given up on seeing a new K3 and the KP seems a bit better than the present K3. Has a pop up fill flash but lacks the top LCD but does have tilt Back LCD and a big 24MP sensor. So I have ordered it thru an Independent Pentax Dealer about 1 1/2 hr drive from home. After not hearing from him in a week I called, he has told me it has to come from the Philippians via Purolator as the Canadian Pentax / Richo warehouse in Toronto hasn't got stock. I ordered the camera with a battery grip, 32gb card, and battery. They told me they have the battery and will call when the rest of it comes in.
What is it with PentaxRicho do they not want to sell cameras? So frustrating.
I am trying to do the right thing by supporting one of the few local independent dealers he had a K1 on the shelf and various Pentax/Sigma/Tamron Lenses Telaconveter filters etc. He also supports the Pentax over the other two + brands he carry's. It will cost me about $100 more than if I bought from Amazon or a big city dealer's in Toronto. Pentax has a great product but their marketing seems to be through this Forum only.
Any comments?

GordZ

I'd probably cancel the order from this place if they are telling you they have the battery, that is packaged with the camera. Sounds like they are trying to piece something together. Hopefully they mean the grip and can clarify that.

[ZombieArmy]

I think bigger retailers can afford to carry pentax gear over small ones. None of my local shops carry new pentax except for the 645z.

[GordZ]

I'd probably cancel the order from this place if they are telling you they have the battery, that is packaged with the camera. Sounds like they are trying to piece something together. Hopefully they mean the grip and can clarify that.

The battery is for the grip not the camera. This will give me an extra for a couple of long trips. Just talked to them they said that Pentax doesn't stock camera bodies in Canada but will purolate and will take a max of 8 days. Guess that is the way it is. The independent photo shop I try to support is one of those brick and mortar with knowledgeable photographers a father and son team do local weddings etc. Hope they stay around not many left only the big chain stores When did you see a Pentax camera in one of them. If it is a big photo chain store the clerk's avoid talking about Pentax as thy are very ill informed of the cameras merits. It is up to us to spread the virtues of the Pentax word & this great forum that we ought all to support. Thanks Adam.
All is good have had the K5IIs for years about 25,000 pictures taken.
Thanks for the encouragement I and looking with anticipation to this new camera.

[MarkJerling]

what is with the currwnt catalogue stock issues?

Henrys have stock. Henrys.com : PENTAX KP BLACK DSLR BODY - Won?t Be Beat On Price

Both BandH and Adorama offer quite good pricing at the moment.

Pentax KP DSLR Camera (Body Only, Black) 16018 B&H Photo Video

Pentax KP 24MP TTL Autofocus DSLR Camera, Silver

[mikesbike]

Happy New Year,
Well I made my decision and ordered a KP to augment my K5IIs. Have pretty well given up on seeing a new K3 and the KP seems a bit better than the present K3. Has a pop up fill flash but lacks the top LCD but does have tilt Back LCD and a big 24MP sensor. So I have ordered it thru an Independent Pentax Dealer about 1 1/2 hr drive from home. After not hearing from him in a week I called, he has told me it has to come from the Philippians via Purolator as the Canadian Pentax / Richo warehouse in Toronto hasn't got stock. I ordered the camera with a battery grip, 32gb card, and battery. They told me they have the battery and will call when the rest of it comes in.
What is it with PentaxRicho do they not want to sell cameras? So frustrating.
I am trying to do the right thing by supporting one of the few local independent dealers he had a K1 on the shelf and various Pentax/Sigma/Tamron Lenses Telaconveter filters etc. He also supports the Pentax over the other two + brands he carry's. It will cost me about $100 more than if I bought from Amazon or a big city dealer's in Toronto. Pentax has a great product but their marketing seems to be through this Forum only.
Any comments?

GordZ

I have had my K-5 IIs for a number of years, and the KP for a couple of years. For me, the two cameras are a complementary to one another, and are particularly suited for certain circumstances. The K-5 IIs is no slouch as a fine IQ producer, and its controls setup is tops. It has a deeper buffer than the KP, better for shooting burst shots. I have no plans to get rid of mine. The KP, on the other hand, brings many updates, has excellent metering and IQ, and I think the best slim-designed compact DSLR available. It is now my most often-used body.

I'm afraid Amazon and other very large world-wide sellers are the way things are going in general. I cannot count how many are the independent small camera stores I have seen close their doors over the last decade, but they are many.

Congrats on your getting your order placed- I have no doubt you will be pleased after putting the KP in service. If you sometimes shoot time-saving JPEGs, the KP's output is exceptionally good. Just be sure to implement Fine Sharpening in the Custom Image menus.

[ramseybuckeye]

The battery is for the grip not the camera. This will give me an extra for a couple of long trips. Just talked to them they said that Pentax doesn't stock camera bodies in Canada but will purolate and will take a max of 8 days.
Thanks for the encouragement I and looking with anticipation to this new camera.

Good! Very glad you can support the dealer. I have a large B&M a couple hours away, but they don't stock Pentax. I've still bought quite a few accessories like bags and tripods from them. And they did order a lens for me once.

[Merv-O]

Enjoy.

I also moved from K5iis (via K70) and no regrets. I think a lot of people over use the lack of top LCD as a reason not to buy KP. It is possible to set the function dial to control the rear screen. So, with one turn of the function dial you can have all the information and more that would be on the top LCD. With one more turn of the function dial the rear screen can be turned off, very useful. The tilt screen is very useful and I have vowed that I will never buy a camera without one.

The feel in your hand especially around the grip is different and does take some getting used to, I fitted the large grip straight away and have left it on. I also purchased the battery grip and use it all the time with my larger and heavier lenses. You will also find that the battery from your K5iis fits the battery grip which is a bonus and gives you amazing battery life when used with the KP battery fitted in the camera as well.

Image quality and low light performance is a step up as is the screw drive auto focus motor. I was often frustrated using a DA 55-300 on the K5iis because of the auto focus, but it performs much better on the KP.

As stated in my previous post, I sold my K-3 and K-3ii and bought a K-1 ii and KP (using the K-S2 as a backup) instead. The AF on the KP is just so far ahead of the K-5 and the new 24mp sensor is an upgrade from the K-3/ii as the ISO and image quality is superior to both previous "flagship models".
For me the biggest surprise is the size of the KP. Here is a photo of my KP (with large grip installed--I have fat hands and like the feel of it) next to my new Leica CL (considered the compact Leica). When you view these side by side (the Leica has a leather half-case w/grip attached), the KP is about the same size and, I love the definition. In fact, as great as the imaging is on the K-1 ii, I find myself grabbing the KP over my Leicas and my other bodies--I simply love the image quality....Period. The KP is a winner and the build quality is superb.

[acoufap]

As stated in my previous post, I sold my K-3 and K-3ii and bought a K-1 ii and KP (using the K-S2 as a backup) instead. The AF on the KP is just so far ahead of the K-5 and the new 24mp sensor is an upgrade from the K-3/ii as the ISO and image quality is superior to both previous "flagship models".
For me the biggest surprise is the size of the KP. Here is a photo of my KP (with large grip installed--I have fat hands and like the feel of it) next to my new Leica CL (considered the compact Leica). When you view these side by side (the Leica has a leather half-case w/grip attached), the KP is about the same size and, I love the definition. In fact, as great as the imaging is on the K-1 ii, I find myself grabbing the KP over my Leicas and my other bodies--I simply love the image quality....Period. The KP is a winner and the build quality is superb.

Yep, the KP is a really great camera and I‘d back up nealy everything you said. It‘s nearly unbelievable that we often can shoot up to ISO25.600.

I have small to middle sized hands. From the beginning I liked to use the small grip. You simply have to hold it more like an old analog camera without grip like a ME Super by example. Compared to the K-1 I miss the top display a little bit. Shooting style I guess.

When I‘m walking around I‘m searching for a nice subject and frame without the camera in front of my eyes. If I found a nice scenery I look down on the top display and (mostly) preselect aperture and/or time according my perception. Then I put the camera up to my eyes, reframe and trigger the shot. Sometimes I also have to adjust some parameters. When I’m shooting using OVF I always deactivate the back display to save battery. That‘s my working style without tripod and/or liveview with K-1 and K-5. Using the KP I‘m forced to change this process a bit.

By the way - I bought the KP after the K-1 ... horses for courses. It was not a decision APS-C against FF / K-1!

[rogerstg]

I also moved from K5iis (via K70) and no regrets. ... With one more turn of the function dial the rear screen can be turned off, very useful.

Can this be done with the KP? I've been through the manual and could not find it,though my wife tells me that I suffer from refrigerator blindness ;-).