[Clicker]

In the digital age Pentax has slowly but surely started to accommodate the P&S crowd with features on their advanced cameras..."blasphemy" you say well why not

Canon then Nikon realized, there is a market for those with $$$$$ to spend on a good P&S DSLR that will impress the women after all "bigger is better" didn't happen overnight

There are many who know "diddly squat" about photography or are just lazy to turn a dial or two *points to self* but would like that "lifestyle/image" of the "pro photographer", this might be you or I

Every DSLR now seems to make it easier for the P&S crowd with all their scene modes but nary a thought on how to tweak/customize even though it's there, just fully trusting the program and either loving the results or hating the brand/camera/too.

What i have found reading many forums, here there are many who know their basics and have adapted with the digital age and dare i say tardiness of Pentax to keep up; meanwhile in the other manufacturer specific forums, although there are those that know their stuff, most are whose's got the biggest, most expensive tool (there are none here, Pentaxians being the frugal bunch...lol)

What i'm getting at is Pentax going to end up like this? Will this forum become just a group of frugal high end P&S shooters? Will Adam ban me for thinking aloud this blasphemy? Is Ned LOL because he knows it's true?

Will Clicker get the K7 tomorrow?

[reeftool]

The P&S market is huge. Probably the vast majority of digital cameras are point and shoots and for any manufacturer to ignore that would be dumb. Most of the younger crowd prefers the smaller P&S cameras. My daughter (college student) uses a Fuji bridge camera because it is small and light, has a very long zoom, macro capability and she takes it everywhere with no hassle. While she likes photography, she isn't interested in dragging an SLR around. Most of her friends feel much the same way. When I was in my late teens and early 20's, I worked and saved for my first SLR. Thes kids want high quality P&S cameras that take HD video and can fit in the pocket or purse. This is the future of photography.

[SteveM]

I don't have the link anymore, but yesterday on Yahoo there was an article on what not to buy in 2010. One of the items was a P&S camera as entry level DSLRs are dropping in price....(although for those that want a phone to drop in their pocket...they won't be changing anytime soon.

[RioRico]

... yesterday on Yahoo there was an article on what not to buy in 2010. One of the items was a P&S camera as entry level DSLRs are dropping in price....

Google News grabbed that article too, I think originally from the NY Times. Yah, don't buy CDs nor DVDs nor a landline phone nor a gas-guzzler nor ferrets. But it was noted that PNSs still cost lots less than even the cheapest dSLRs. And I can't help but recall in pre-digital times when Olympus made their glorious OM-system small SLRs, and then released the smaller XA rangefinder, which sold like HOTCAKES. And Oly dropped the SLRs and any pretense of supplying professional gear, and got rich off of XA and other PNS sales. I'm willing to bet that most of the major digicam makers get LOTS more revenue from their PNS models than from dSLRs, and that in a crunch, the corporate beancounters won't hesitate to slash less-profitable divisions. Thus, to ensure that Hoya-Pentax stays in the dSLR business, buy a few new bodies and lenses today, eh?

EDIT: As a followup, here is a newer article from Wired.Com [ http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/01/five-reasons-you-should-ditch-your-dslr/ ] about how EVIL cams will supplant dSLRs. Yah sure, all it takes is money.

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Last edited by RioRico; 01-16-2010 at 03:00 PM. Reason: addendum