[Alex645]

The alternative might be distributors hosting the occasional podcast or walkabout to keep the faithful feeling that Pentax really is not MIA.

I find the product line to be extensive enough for my needs and the quality to be better ( much better ) then either Nikon or Canon, especially at the price points that most of us photo buffs could live with.

Outside of Japan, many Canon, Nikon, and Sony pros are with that brand not because of any technical superiority, but simply because there is a network of camera/lens outlets in driving distance that can bail them out quickly when the need arises.

But things have an odd way of balancing out, and outside of Japan or B&H because there are no Pentaxian magnets, this forum is rich with engagement and camaraderie I don't see with Canikony forums.

[mroeder75]

My wife told me this morning that Olympus have decided to stop making cameras, there but for the grace of god.....

Sadly, your wife is correct. Olympus quits camera business after 84 years - BBC News Better them, than us.

[maw]

Sadly, your wife is correct. Olympus quits camera business after 84 years....

Not immediately but I see on the horizon 'a game' (battle) to two Canon vs Sony, I predict the final,
I hope that Pentax does not get involved, because it would come out winning.

[richard0170]

Not immediately but I see on the horizon 'a game' (battle) to two Canon vs Sony, I predict the final,
I hope that Pentax does not get involved, because it would come out winning.

I personally think you may be right about a battle between two, but I think it more likely to be between Canon and Fuji. Cameras and lenses and things photographic (along with copiers and printers in Canon's case) are these two companies' bread and butter. Sony are a consumer electronics company like Panasonic and Samsung. Their income stream is wide and they will abandon any at a whim. Think of all the Sony products and innovations that have promised so much but have fallen along the way over the years. They bought out Minolta and trashed the brand. They abandoned the DSLRs and if it suits them they will abandon their current mirrorless offerings.
I believe we are at a stage in the camera world (talking stills here) where the only improvements being made are at the marginal extreme of low light and auto focus performance. Each new offering from the various manufacturers offers marginal improvement at ever higher cost. The speed of new model releases is decreasing. At some point the manufacturers may realise that the R&D is not delivering any profits. At best I think we will see two companies dominating the professional market with expensive offerings and one or two companies providing a product for what is rapidly become a niche market for amateur stills photography, with little technical development from where we are already at, but with good quality manufacturing. Pentax actually is not badly placed for this latter category. Limited production runs of K1 and KP models without further R&D costs may allow the brand to survive. Whether or not this happens is another matter
What I would personally like to see though is something much more revolutionary:-
There is a whole ocean of legacy glass out there. The current mirrorless offerings do allow this resource to be tapped but results are mixed. I would love it if an enterprising firm would make a basic mirrorless or DSLR, FF with modest specs. MF only and reasonably well built to last. But here is the kicker. It is available in different mounts. PK, M42 and Nikon F would be a good starting point. I know it is unlikely to happen, but one can dream.

[Lord Lucan]

Sony are a consumer electronics company like Panasonic and Samsung. Their income stream is wide and they will abandon any at a whim.

I have been saying this for some time. Sony, despite having bought Minolta, are not rooted in cameras or even optics like the other makers are. Sony jumped in when digital cameras became the rage among consumers, first with P&S and then moving into DSLRs when many of the new generation of digital consumer photogs looked for something better. But most of that consumer market has now gone, and there are not a lot of pickings in the remaining pro and serious amateur camera market, not by Sony's megacorp standards. So I think Sony could jump out of cameras just like they jumped in; they will want to follow mass consumer fashion and can easily switch production and investement to something else.

Nevertheless the likelihood is that Sony will remain in cameras, but my point is that just because they outsell Canon, Nikon, etc (even all combined?) does not automatically mean they will stay. I hope they go; I'd rather Olympus had stayed, and I have had a low opinion of Sony ever since they scammed their users in the Root Kit Scandal
Sony BMG copy protection rootkit scandal - Wikipedia

[richard0170]

I have been saying this for some time. Sony, despite having bought Minolta, are not rooted in cameras or even optics like the other makers are. Sony jumped in when digital cameras became the rage among consumers, first with P&S and then moving into DSLRs when many of the new generation of digital consumer photogs looked for something better. But most of that consumer market has now gone, and there are not a lot of pickings in the remaining pro and serious amateur camera market, not by Sony's megacorp standards. So I think Sony could jump out of cameras just like they jumped in; they will want to follow mass consumer fashion and can easily switch production and investement to something else.

Nevertheless the likelihood is that Sony will remain in cameras, but my point is that just because they outsell Canon, Nikon, etc (even all combined?) does not automatically mean they will stay. I hope they go; I'd rather Olympus had stayed, and I have had a low opinion of Sony ever since they scammed their users in the Root Kit Scandal
Sony BMG copy protection rootkit scandal - Wikipedia

I could not agree more

[totsmuyco]

I have been saying this for some time. Sony, despite having bought Minolta, are not rooted in cameras or even optics like the other makers are. Sony jumped in when digital cameras became the rage among consumers, first with P&S and then moving into DSLRs when many of the new generation of digital consumer photogs looked for something better. But most of that consumer market has now gone, and there are not a lot of pickings in the remaining pro and serious amateur camera market, not by Sony's megacorp standards. So I think Sony could jump out of cameras just like they jumped in; they will want to follow mass consumer fashion and can easily switch production and investement to something else.

Nevertheless the likelihood is that Sony will remain in cameras, but my point is that just because they outsell Canon, Nikon, etc (even all combined?) does not automatically mean they will stay. I hope they go; I'd rather Olympus had stayed, and I have had a low opinion of Sony ever since they scammed their users in the Root Kit Scandal
Sony BMG copy protection rootkit scandal - Wikipedia

I too wish Olympus would stay. I also wished Sony maintained the Minolta brand just like Ricoh maintained Pentax. It isn't the same without those 2 brands when you've started photography as early as the 60s to the 80s. Nikon, Canon, Olympus, Pentax and Minolta where the brands to look up to. But again there is nothing permanent in life. I just hope Pentax will stay. Changing brands is just too costly for me.

[Liney]

Changing brands is just too costly for me.

I think that is the crux of the matter for so many of us, I've spent years building up my lens and body collection by buying to fill a gap in what I need. One of the reasons I stuck with Pentax was because I could reuse what I had accumulated previously!

If I looked at the resell value of what I currently have on the desk behind me it would be a pittance (being Pentax), so to start again with another make would require a significant outlay even if I could sell everything I have. To fill the lens criteria I currently use (quite a bit of macro stuff, but a broad range of options, I would need to do a lot of research to understand options, then searching and haggling to get the deals.

I can honestly say I don't want to change from Pentax, but more critically the Memsahib won't let me spend the cash...

[Lord Lucan]

If I looked at the resell value of what I currently have on the desk behind me it would be a pittance (being Pentax)

I would not agree that it is because it is Pentax. The price of vintage stuff varies widely and illogically, depending on the item. For example the Pentax K1000 fetches silly high prices while similar cameras of that era (Minolta SRT101 for example) do not. The popularity or otherwise of vintage stuff is roughly in step with the popularity it had in vintage times (because vintage stuff is mostly bought by "vintage" people? ). While there are fewer buyers of recent Pentax stuff compared with Canonikon & co, there are fewer sellers too, so it balances out. Canon have made some real tripe in modern times and the price of that stuff is deservedly low, and it does not reflect well on the brand as a whole.

, so to start again with another make would require a significant outlay .... I would need to do a lot of research to understand options, then searching and haggling to get the deals.

It is bonkers to change brands for the sake of it. All modern ICL cameras take very good pictures and the differences are only second order - like the button layout or at the extreme edges of performance, like EV range.

At the present time a lot of photogs are swapping their DSLRs for mirrorless ILCs, spending $1000s - for what? To save half-an-inch of body depth? I believe the real reason is hype by YouTubers - many are overtly or covertly sponsored "influencers", and of course Pentax/Ricoh don't do that.

The only real reason I can see for changing from Pentax is for fast focussing, because Pentax are currently a bit behind with this. As someone said on YouTube, no sport or wildlife photos were ever taken before Sony introduced the A7 I'm not interested in fast focussing myself, but if you are, you really need something like a Nikon D6; they only cost around $6000.

[totsmuyco]

Pentax isn't as good AF. However, ou can work your way around it and achieve good results. Still it's best that they improve the AF system. A tall wish that I hope will come true. After all, they've done it with the 55-300 PLM.

[Fluegel]

For some of us who do not have strong demands for fast AF and high ISO with low noise there is an excellent opportunity to grab a couple of K10d bodies.
Till word gets out with other shooters what a nice camera the K10d is these bodies can still picked up around 60 USD.
Right now I own three of them, one fitted with a 50 mm A macro lens for table top shots, the second with my newly discovered 18-200 Sigma walk around lens, the third fitted with the Sigma 17-50/2.8 for available light work in pubs and other obscure places.
Unless all three of them decide to give up they will last me at least the next 5 years.

Do I stick with older technology without looking at new developments? No, I am eagerly waiting for the new APSC flagship.
When that body gives real improvements over the older cameras I use that will be my next Pentax camera.

[normhead]

Pentax isn't as good AF. However, ou can work your way around it and achieve good results. Still it's best that they improve the AF system. A tall wish that I hope will come true. After all, they've done it with the 55-300 PLM.

Only in some situations. IN the situation I often find myself in. where fast focus confirmation is required, Pentax is faster than any but the fastest 3.

For shots like this, where I'm set up, pre-focused single point focus and only need focus confirm before the shutter goes (just waiting for the right pose) Pentax is twice as fast as most of it's competitors, and faster than any camera set up for tracking or with more than one focus point being used. But shooters of other brands can work around that hoping for good results.

I seriously question how so many claim to know how bad Pentax is at some things without taking the time to find out what things Pentax is better than. Look up AF on Imaging Resources and you can find the documerntaion on how fast their single point AF is. And the 3 or 4 cameras that are better are only hundredths of a second better.

[totsmuyco]

Only in some situations. IN the situation I often find myself in. where fast focus confirmation is required, Pentax is faster than any but the fastest 3.

For shots like this, where I'm set up, pre-focused single point focus and only need focus confirm before the shutter goes (just waiting for the right pose) Pentax is twice as fast as most of it's competitors, and faster than any camera set up for tracking or with more than one focus point being used. But shooters of other brands can work around that hoping for good results.

I seriously question how so many claim to know how bad Pentax is at some things without taking the time to find out what things Pentax is better than. Look up AF on Imaging Resources and you can find the documerntaion on how fast their single point AF is. And the 3 or 4 cameras that are better are only hundredths of a second better.

True Norm. That's how I would go around the deficiency. Single AF. I find the camera to be picking up the back ground more than the subject when I shoot with multiple points. I have the HD 55-300 WR and at times it hunts. So yes, I would pre focus if necessary and then I can track action shots. But the tests and reviews of the PLM version shows that Pentax can improve things. And as I said, I wish they will.

[clackers]

Not immediately but I see on the horizon 'a game' (battle) to two Canon vs Sony, I predict the final,
I hope that Pentax does not get involved, because it would come out winning.

Yes, best to stay out of that battle, which is now being fought for FF mirrorless.

Ultimately, Sony will 'blink first'. The fall in profits for FF mirrorless (which is all Sony is really interested in, they have discontinued DSLRs and nearly all APS-C development) really hurts them. They recently moved their camera unit into a separate division of consumer electronics, where the board will be free to sell them off like Olympus has done.

Poor Nikon, they're just a mess.

[totsmuyco]

There are some of us here who came from 4/3 when Olympus abandoned the mount. For sure there was a hefty amount of users who left Olympus not going into m4/3. I wonder if there are a lot who shifted from Sony when they decided to abandon the A-mount. Well, they mustn't have felt it that much as those who shifted from full frame DSLRs and wanted full frame mirrorless went to them early on.