[Lord Lucan]

there are those who buy Sony and then look for Pentax lenses is good news because Pentax are always the most sought after.

It is not good news for Pentaxians bidding to buy Pentax lenses on Ebay - the Sonikanon mirrorless crowd are pushing up the bid prices.

[Fluegel]

We have more competition. What better proof of the quality of Pentax lens designs that are now several decades old.

[maw]

It is not good news for Pentaxians bidding to buy Pentax lenses on Ebay

Why is that bad news? All the optics and Pentax bodies I bought on ebay and in physical stores around the world, doesn't that mean I believe in it?
The bad thing is to buy a Sony or other brand and then put any lens on it, this is synonymous with little attachment to the brand.
My feeling is that many young people and not, are bewildered by advertising and proselytizing that everyone wants to do the same things that others do.
You can find examples in social forums and Youtube channels, but never for a real belief.
I know you think that Pentax lenses are priced up because of this. Just today I visited ebay and the prices are always very affordable like 2/3 years ago,
of course there are lenses from 50€ and lenses from 1000/2000€ and more.

[DamienW]

My feeling is that many young people and not, are bewildered by advertising and proselytizing that everyone wants to do the same things that others do.

Is it only in middle-age that I've become a contrarian? Sometimes I think I love Pentax simply because almost everybody else uses Canikony (at least, those that own a real camera at all).

I have very little Canon gear (couple of compacts). Pentax and Olympus are my main shooters (both marginal brands, one now possibly being carved up). The most mainstream I have is a Panasonic GX9 and a couple of Panasonic lenses (also on the margins due to simply being micro four thirds - if various influencers are correct).

If Pentax was to miraculously become the market leader, would I have to pick another brand to avoid feeling like one of a gazillion sheep? Maybe it would be Nikon!

No...I do love my Pentax gear....and those old 50mm lenses have such nice Toneh!

[Lord Lucan]

Why is that [Sonikanon mirrorless owners buying Pentax lenses] bad news? All the optics and Pentax bodies I bought on ebay and in physical stores around the world, doesn't that mean I believe in it?

I think you misunderstood my point. Ebay is an auction. Think of an old fashoined auction room, and you go there because you want a certain vase or painting. The more people there who also want that painting, the higher the bid price will go. So when I am sitting in the auction room waiting for the bidding to start, my heart will sink if I see a crowd of other people arrive to bid against me. Sonikanon mirrorless owners who have joined the market for vintage Pentax lenses are like that crowd of other people arriving in the auction room to bid against me.

Of course, it is good news for anyone selling vintage Pentax lenses. And the auction principle applies in an indirect way to "Buy it Now" prices and dealer prices for vintage gear.

However much people think vintage Pentax lenses are good, it will not make Sonikanon mirrorless owners go out and buy new Pentax lenses, so it does not help the Pentax brand at all - if they buy new they will buy their own brand.

Your point seems to be that it is a nice compliment to Pentax and Pentaxians that Sonikanon owners are seeking vintage Pentax lenses, and therefore good news. Actually it fits in with the unfortunate but widely held view that Pentax was a great brand in the past but are second-rate today - a view expressed only a few days ago by none less than the editor of Amateur Photographer : What went wrong for Olympus? - Amateur Photographer (in the last paragraph, he describes Pentax as "tragic"). But I could not care less about compliments (or insults) from Sonikanon owners.

Is it only in middle-age that I've become a contrarian? Sometimes I think I love Pentax simply because almost everybody else uses Canikony

I've always been one. I chose Pentax back in the 1980's on the basis of reviews, specifications, and handling cameras in camera shops. I took little notice of personal recommendations (my boss said Olympus, and my father said Minolta) and even less of advertising to which I am somewhat allergic.

Although I knew little about the market then, it turns out I chose wisely. I would never buy Sony, partly because they scammed their customers in the Root Kit Scandal Sony BMG copy protection rootkit scandal - Wikipedia some years ago, and partly I regard them as a consumer company with no deep roots in serious photography. I regard Canon as too popular and some of their cheaper stuff is trashy, and their flagship cameras have always seemed to be a bit weird to me, at least in film days. If not for Pentax today I would go for Nikon - I can admire their cameras and worry that they could be the next victim after Olympus.

[Serkevan]

Pentax is in the game and their gear is already much better than me, so I don't worry much about others "doing it better". If that were to change, my preference would be Fuji because of their nice small primes, but the EVF means I'd probably go with Nikon because the layout is more comfortable than Canon?

[totsmuyco]

Pentax is in the game and their gear is already much better than me, so I don't worry much about others "doing it better". If that were to change, my preference would be Fuji because of their nice small primes, but the EVF means I'd probably go with Nikon because the layout is more comfortable than Canon?

Oh my. If Pentax goes mirrorless, I hope that the K-mount will be used. I don't like to build up a new arsenal of lenses. It's going to be too costly. I also don't want to use an adapter. It's just not me. I want my lenses native to the mount. Secondly, I think I will really have a lot of adjustments to go to EVF. I really don't like it unless they can make the view as natural as the OVF. I don't know if what I'm saying is possible.

[DamienW]

a view expressed only a few days ago by none less than the editor of Amateur Photographer : What went wrong for Olympus? - Amateur Photographer (in the last paragraph, he describes Pentax as "tragic").

Not a bad article, but that last bit about Pentax just doesn't ring true to me. I don't know how anybody could feel that way had they held and used any of current Pentax bodies, and with a very nice new full-frame portrait prime out just now, and a few more interesting lenses on the way...I don't know, but I think it might just be that Ricoh-Pentax, with their steady-as-she-goes approach, is doing this the right way.

[devouges]

Not a bad article, but that last bit about Pentax just doesn't ring true to me. I don't know how anybody could feel that way had they held and used any of current Pentax bodies, and with a very nice new full-frame portrait prime out just now, and a few more interesting lenses on the way...I don't know, but I think it might just be that Ricoh-Pentax, with their steady-as-she-goes approach, is doing this the right way.

I fully agree: when I first took that K10 in my hands so many years ago, it was love at first sight (well...grip) . And the menus are so much easier to access rapidly..... Buttons are so well layed out and easily accessed.

[DamienW]

Oh my. If Pentax goes mirrorless, I hope that the K-mount will be used. I don't like to build up a new arsenal of lenses. It's going to be too costly. I also don't want to use an adapter. It's just not me. I want my lenses native to the mount. Secondly, I think I will really have a lot of adjustments to go to EVF. I really don't like it unless they can make the view as natural as the OVF. I don't know if what I'm saying is possible.

Can't see it happening at the moment, given how saturated the market is. The K-mount just has too great a flange to sensor distance to make a nice mirrorless camera (look at the K-01...I love mine, but I have no illusions about it's size - it's just a little...errm...portly and brick like). I think to go mirrorless they'd have to develop a new mount and lenses, or jump on board with the L-mount or M43. I just can't see Ricoh investing in that.

What would be cool one day, is a hybrid viewfinder. Sounds like the latest APS-C flagship will not be bringing that to the party though.

[Serkevan]

Oh my. If Pentax goes mirrorless, I hope that the K-mount will be used. I don't like to build up a new arsenal of lenses. It's going to be too costly. I also don't want to use an adapter. It's just not me. I want my lenses native to the mount. Secondly, I think I will really have a lot of adjustments to go to EVF. I really don't like it unless they can make the view as natural as the OVF. I don't know if what I'm saying is possible.

I forgot to quote Lord Lucan . My post was entirely hypothetical in the (unlikely) event of Pentax somehow poofing out of existence. Fuji makes nice body layouts and great lenses but they have those pesky EVF thingies that I can't stand

[wallythacker]

Hi Wal

It seems like Pentax is happy to be a bit player in the rest of the world.
They just make sure Japan is covered.

Dave

That's pretty much how all the Japanese companies got started, Sony, Panasonic, Honda, etc. They became so huge in Japan with exceptional products and quality that the rest of world clamored for the stuff. Some still have a huge worldwide presence, many don't. It's too bad Pentax is choosing to focus on Japan primarily.

I live in Canada but have traveled to Australia recently. Also, I have visited several other countries in North and Central America. I did not see any camera stores carrying Pentax, or Ricoh, while on my travels.

I just hope they can keep things going. I already have my money saved for the K3 replacement. This will be my fourth functioning and fully used unit.

It doesn't seem that long ago when I lived in Oakville that all the independent stores carried Pentax, (Burlington Camera, Oakville Camera, Duncan & Wright in Burlington, Henry's, ALL the Toronto grey market vendors) THEN you had the chains, Japan Camera, Black's (they were HUGE) carried Pentax, and finally even department stores, K-Mart, Eaton's Sears, Robinson's all generally had a camera department with a full time attendant and always had the big 3, Canon, Nikon, Pentax, and sometimes oddballs like Mamiya or Topcons.

Think of all the sales opportunities that existed with all those point of sale locations. Cameras were obviosly brisk enough back then to support the many locations.

Wow, thinking of this makes me realize the world as I knew it it long gone.

[Lord Lucan]

Not a bad article [from Amateur Photographer], but that last bit about Pentax just doesn't ring true to me. I don't know how anybody could feel that way had they held and used any of current Pentax bodies

It is more than a matter of feeling, or ringing true, the guy is factually incorrect. He said :-

It would be tragic if Olympus were to go the way of Pentax, a brand with a once proud heritage that now exists in name only ..

He is factually wrong because Pentax does not exist "in name only" - they make and sell cameras. If Pentax had any sort of management presence in the UK they should sue the man for libel. His statement could mislead potential buyers to think that Pentax had ceased to make cameras, so causing loss of sales.

The guy could have said that Pentax is a minority brand now (a fact) or even that it is a shadow of its former self (an opinion), but what he wrote is a falsehood. As editor of a major magazine he should be ashamed of himself.

In addition to that, to describe going the way of Pentax as "tragic", while arguably an opinion, is nonsense. Pentax were bought by a rich instrument making company, Ricoh, with a camera making history themselves, and they have supported the continued production of Pentax cameras ever since. Such a scenario would be the very best thing that could happen to Olympus - if I were invested in Olympus I'd be praying for it, and all the sane commentators concerned for Olympus are hoping the same.

Oh my. If Pentax goes mirrorless, I hope that the K-mount will be used.

That is unlikely because one of the main advantages of mirrorless is that it allows a reduced lens flange to sensor distance, allowing a smaller body, something not taken advantage of in the K-01 if I understand it correctly. The reduced flange distance also allows simpler optical design of wide angle lenses.

The mount may be similar in its postioning of things like electrical contacts, and probably will be, but if it were identical but with reduced flange distance, and you put a existing K-mount lens on it, you would not be able to focus. What would be available is an adaptor which passed through the electrical connections but which was otherwise a plain extension tube equivalent to the depth of a DSLR mirro box. It might be a fairly plain tube, but no doubt an expensive one

[Alex645]

Oh my. If Pentax goes mirrorless, I hope that the K-mount will be used. I don't like to build up a new arsenal of lenses. It's going to be too costly. I also don't want to use an adapter. It's just not me. I want my lenses native to the mount. Secondly, I think I will really have a lot of adjustments to go to EVF. I really don't like it unless they can make the view as natural as the OVF. I don't know if what I'm saying is possible.

+1 agreed. Pentax mirrorless exists and it's called Ricoh. And because Pentaprisms are part of the Pentax legacy, if Pentax DSLRs became mirrorless, I would suggest they call it Ex-Lax. If there's a trademark issue with GSK, then they can just go to X-Lacks.

[maw]

I think you misunderstood my point. Ebay is an auction....

e-bay, is made up not only of sellers who auction, but of many small & medium retailers, who have physical stores and sell for greater visibility and revenue.
Last year I bought a lot of material in Japan, Germany, Great Britain and USA, Italy of course.
But the focus was on the fact that it doesn't make sense for me to buy a camera body with just the kit lens and then buy Pentax lenses or other brands.
Then after a few months, ''more rarely years'' you resell everything with a considerable loss of value.
This concept is incomprehensible to me, the professional who shoots with Canon / Nikon knows that the SLRs (mostly) can pay back in a few work sessions,
but a simple enthusiast spent the first infatuation for the photo and / or video will have to reckon with his bank account.

As far as the article is concerned it's perfectly in line and I'm not shocked, already a long time ago they gave for dead Pentax, remember Samsung, Hoya,
they were together but none of them died as far as I know. However, thank you for the answer and sorry for the language, I do not speak English fluently.

M.A.W.