Originally posted by C.W Tsorotes Pentax really needs to pull the finger out on accessories. Mainly:
The lack of new official teleconverters compatible with DA lenses
The lack of an upgrading or improved flash in quite some time. It's taken too long for a well built WR flash that actually matches the build quality of the K7 and 645D, personally I think its inexcusable. The AF540GZ is good in terms of power, but it is a flash with serious build quality issues and it isn't worthy to sit on top of any of the modern Pentax DSLSR's.
Why no official underwater housing for K7.
With these Items think Pentax would finally have a complete digital system, at this point there are too many holes in accessories which would prevent many pro's and semi pros from considering Pentax as a serious altnernative.
I agree, Pentax has a very limited lineup of everything and needs to expand it.
Since Pentax seems to be aiming for the beginner market maybe they feel that it would be a waste of time since very few would even consider buying a teleconverter (or even know what it was). Since they sell very few they may not feel it's worth the effort to upgrade them for the meager sales they would get.
Pentaxians (or at least many in this forum) are notoriously cheap. The AF540GZ is pretty expensive as it is and adding another $150 wouldn't help sales. I would also ask are the flash systems from Canon & Nikon weather sealed? I don't think they are (correct me if I'm wrong). And why would one want to use a flash in the rain anyway, all you get is the rain close to the camera being lit up.
Underwater housings are very expensive to make and as a market share the K7 is a drop in the bucket compared to the d300 or 50d. Then how many of those owners scuba dive? How many are willing to drop $3000+ on an underwater housing (see above about Pentaxians being cheap)? That is why no one makes them.
The biggest whole in the lineup is a pro body and pro lenses. Pentax whole system is geared towards the amateur and advanced amateur. They don't seem to want to chase the pro market. The K7 is a good camera, and is the most technically advanced DSLR that Pentax has made but it still falls far short of the semi-pro d300s and 7d in terms of performance, and (except for the weather sealing) is really in the range of the d90.