[richandfleur]

Really hard to price our Pentax gear in New Zealand. As a brand it's almost unheard of and it's not available in any major chain store type retailer.

I'm not even sure I could buy anything Pentax in Palmerston North today if I tired. Maybe some glasses frames for my daughter.

[Kiwizinho]

Really hard to price our Pentax gear in New Zealand. As a brand it's almost unheard of and it's not available in any major chain store type retailer.

I'm not even sure I could buy anything Pentax in Palmerston North today if I tired. Maybe some glasses frames for my daughter.

It's a bit sad really. My camera club has an Ian R. Little trophy for something or other, that must have been donated years ago, but I don't think anyone would know that Ian R. Little are actually NZ agents for a make of camera.

I did talk to a local camera shop about Pentax in the last 5 years, but the guy came up with some FUD that modern Pentax cameras aren't compatible with old lenses, so he wouldn't have anything to do with them.
Mind you, he also told me that you could print a lower resolution image bigger than a higher resolution one as long as the file size was larger, preferably in BMP format.

Hey, I know jpg is a lossy format, but there are lossless compressed formats, and jpg does have options to reduce both compression and loss to a pretty low level.

[richandfleur]

Pricespy shows one company still selling a K-S1, which is not unusual given it's no longer sold by Pentax.

Both around $900:
Pentax K-S1 Kit 18-55 Black
Pentax K-S1 Body Black

Think the street value of this would be substantially less.

How are others picking a sale price when selling Pentax cameras?
/ How much do you think your gear is worth, and is this realistic do you think?

[Kiwi645hauler]

Really hard to price our Pentax gear in New Zealand. As a brand it's almost unheard of and it's not available in any major chain store type retailer.

I'm not even sure I could buy anything Pentax in Palmerston North today if I tired. Maybe some glasses frames for my daughter.

The big thing is most of those big chain stores dictate what they will pay for items and specify what they will and wont carry. Smaller companies such as Littles do not get a look in because the buyers for the likes of Harvey's, Noel Lemming etc will deal direct with for example Canon, who run their own operations in NZ, or a brand where the factory support is right behind the distributor in NZ.
Little's years ago tried to get Pentax into Harvey Normans, and they used the Dunedin store as a test case but from what happened here in Dunners with the brand (staff did not know about anything on the cameras as i asked lots of basic questions and they couldnt answer) didn't go very far.

---------- Post added 08-13-19 at 07:26 PM ----------

It's a bit sad really. My camera club has an Ian R. Little trophy for something or other, that must have been donated years ago, but I don't think anyone would know that Ian R. Little are actually NZ agents for a make of camera.

I did talk to a local camera shop about Pentax in the last 5 years, but the guy came up with some FUD that modern Pentax cameras aren't compatible with old lenses, so he wouldn't have anything to do with them.
Mind you, he also told me that you could print a lower resolution image bigger than a higher resolution one as long as the file size was larger, preferably in BMP format.
l.

Interesting... I have a customer with a K-1II that is using a 60's era 55mm Macro with stunning results....

---------- Post added 08-13-19 at 07:31 PM ----------

Pricespy shows one company still selling a K-S1, which is not unusual given it's no longer sold by Pentax.

Both around $900:
Pentax K-S1 Kit 18-55 Black
Pentax K-S1 Body Black

Think the street value of this would be substantially less.

How are others picking a sale price when selling Pentax cameras?
/ How much do you think your gear is worth, and is this realistic do you think?

Expert Infotech are a well known parallel importer, so they possibly have some old stock left at those sort of prices which were on the high side even when the KS-1 was a new model

[zkarj]

... some FUD that modern Pentax cameras aren't compatible with old lenses ...

Good grief! I can't imagine how much more wrong they could be!

Mind you, he also told me that you could print a lower resolution image bigger than a higher resolution one as long as the file size was larger, preferably in BMP format.

Ahhh, THAT much more wrong.

How are others picking a sale price when selling Pentax cameras?
/ How much do you think your gear is worth, and is this realistic do you think?

After much deliberation I pick a price I think is fair and that I can see some evidence of prior sales for. Then when it doesn't go for that, I lower the price. Same thing for pretty much all electronic devices I find.

[MarkJerling]

Sometimes when we're in Wellington, I visit the camera shops for fun. Pentax cameras on shelves: Zip. Nada.

It's almost like Ian R. Little's not even trying. I wonder if his game plan is to not actually sell anything Pentax? Last time I saw a Pentax on a shelf in a store was in Duty Free, Sydney International Airport.

[Transit]

Sometimes when we're in Wellington, I visit the camera shops for fun. Pentax cameras on shelves: Zip. Nada.

It's almost like Ian R. Little's not even trying. I wonder if his game plan is to not actually sell anything Pentax? Last time I saw a Pentax on a shelf in a store was in Duty Free, Sydney International Airport.

Last time I looked at Little's , they sold coffee machines ...
Pentax seems to be on a suicide trip in New Zealand

[Kiwi645hauler]

Last time I looked at Little's , they sold coffee machines ...
Pentax seems to be on a suicide trip in New Zealand

Littles Website hasn't been updated for an age, last news item on their site is the arrival of the K1II in May last year.

[Kiwi645hauler]

Sometimes when we're in Wellington, I visit the camera shops for fun. Pentax cameras on shelves: Zip. Nada.

It's almost like Ian R. Little's not even trying. I wonder if his game plan is to not actually sell anything Pentax? Last time I saw a Pentax on a shelf in a store was in Duty Free, Sydney International Airport.

I almost hate to say it, but there is little in the way of any product announcements or new things coming from Pentax. The last new Pentax camera announcement i found was the KP IR announcement last month, but that seems to be very much aimed at institutions such as museums etc for historical recording. It seems that Ricoh is doing nothing with the brand as a corporate whole

[seventhdr]

I remember trying out the original Pentax *ist D at Harvey Norman’s in Porirua but at over $3,000 it was just too expensive to consider.

I’ve recently seen a K-1 in Photo Warehouse in Christchurch and some Pentax stuff at Ken’s Cameras in Christchurch but not much.

Regards

Chris

[richandfleur]

Most discussions on this get thrown out as being more of the Pentax is doomed aspect, but in all seriousness they're doing nothing at moment.
I'm sitting on a K-3 and a K-S1 and have little to tempt me to upgrade.

I'm looking at purchasing a camera for the kids and Pentax isn't featuring on any radar. I'm definitely looking at devices with good video capabilities too.
Long gone are the days where you need a separate dedicated camera for both functions.
Modern cameras are more than good enough for both roles, packing sensors much larger than older handicam devices and feature benefits like selfie screens and face tracking autofocus etc.

Stills IQ wise my Pentax cameras are great, but I don't see much of a future to be honest. That saddens me, but I don't want to get carried away in brand loyalty emotions.

[MarkJerling]

Most discussions on this get thrown out as being more of the Pentax is doomed aspect, but in all seriousness they're doing nothing at moment.
I'm sitting on a K-3 and a K-S1 and have little to tempt me to upgrade.

I'm looking at purchasing a camera for the kids and Pentax isn't featuring on any radar. I'm definitely looking at devices with good video capabilities too.
Long gone are the days where you need a separate dedicated camera for both functions.
Modern cameras are more than good enough for both roles, packing sensors much larger than older handicam devices and feature benefits like selfie screens and face tracking autofocus etc.

Stills IQ wise my Pentax cameras are great, but I don't see much of a future to be honest. That saddens me, but I don't want to get carried away in brand loyalty emotions.

The K-1II may be the only camera I ever need.

I think, in the contracting camera market, Ricoh seems to be very cautious with how they spend their money with new developments. I hope they keep bringing out brilliant cameras for years to come.

The reality is that, for the majority of the world's "photographers", the modern mobile phone is good enough. It's rare to see another DSLR user these days.

[NZ_Ross]

I'm looking at purchasing a camera for the kids and Pentax isn't featuring on any radar. I'm definitely looking at devices with good video capabilities too.
Long gone are the days where you need a separate dedicated camera for both functions.
Modern cameras are more than good enough for both roles, packing sensors much larger than older handicam devices and feature benefits like selfie screens and face tracking autofocus etc.

I was in Vanuatu last week at a major conference I attend each year. I took my Panasonic G9 along to film the trade stands as an experiment, I am very happy with the video I got. I was using a Deity D3 Pro as the mic, and very happy with that too. On Friday we went around the island for some sightseeing and I used the G9 for stills photos. It worked fine as well - I have the Panasonic Leica 12-60 f2.8-4 zoom for travel and video, so it is a good quality lens. I got plenty of nice images. Have to say I still like what the Pentax K-3 and DA20-40 give me better for stills, but I do not carry 2 cameras when travelling - so the Panasonic is it for the moment.

I am also just watching what is happening with Pentax over the next 6-12 months. Most of my FF lenses are manual focus, so I wouldn't lose very much adapting them to a FF mirrorless body. I still like the idea of a K-1 for landscapes, but time will tell

[microlight]

I have to agree; the K-3II/20-40 combo is excellent for stills, and I have no interest in changing format to a K-1 or equivalent. My video journal of NZ from last year using mainly using the same gear is as good as it needs to be, but I have to say that if I need video these days (not very often) the I use the trusty old iPhone 6+, and if critical, an iPod fitted with a Tascam PCM app and stereo mic, which I sync in post.

BTW, I’m in the Lake District of NW England and it reminds me more than a little of the South Island.

[GUB]

What is the point of a major upgrade if there is no significantly improved sensor available to upgrade to. Only recently has Sony announced their 26mp apsc and 60mp FF sensors. It will be several years for these sensors to get into the Pentax system thanks to their canny business plan. When you realise the K-1 sensor was released in 2015 (I think) and that sensor has held its own since then then it is unsurprising that they haven't been rushing new models out.