[Richard Spencer]

I have just looked at the first 15 threads on this forum. In 7 of them there are titles with words/descriptions such as - intolerable - lighting and photo problems - mythical - scared - disgruntled - complaints about A/F and flash - K mount issues. In 2 more posts, posters are offering advice on how to market Pentax and connect Pentax to - fearless.

That is 9 threads out of 15 that`s an enormous 60% of negativity.

Way back in 2007 I started earning money with a K100d, followed by a K20d and now a K5. Each one has coped with cricket matches - (getting sharp images of a catch with a K100d is perfectly possible with the correct technique) - dog portraits,- industrial shots - a few school portrait sessions and whatever I may be asked to do. In all that time I have remained happy and contented with the three cameras and I look forward to a positive and happy future with them.
Many years ago I was taught to be with, and mix with positive people, it helps to maintain a positive attitude in oneself. In light of this present negativity, I will not be visiting here quite as often as in the past.

Richard.

[jimr-pdx]

I've stepped away from the rumor threads, which is a stew of unfulfilled wishes and broken promises that were not explicitly made. When I see a topic I like in the recent posts I will drop in but won't contribute to the frenzy. Any tech forum would be this way, and I hold no personal ill will about this - I simply cannot go there for a while.

I hope you find the proper mix for yourself here!

[paulh]

I've stepped away from the rumor threads, which is a stew of unfulfilled wishes and broken promises that were not explicitly made. When I see a topic I like in the recent posts I will drop in but won't contribute to the frenzy. Any tech forum would be this way, and I hold no personal ill will about this - I simply cannot go there for a while.

I hope you find the proper mix for yourself here!

Agree - myself, I personally avoid any topic with "Full Frame" or "FF" in the heading. I'm getting a bit weary of all the noise lately. So you don't *have* to read those posts you're not interested in. I suggest heading over to the Post Your Photos or Member Challenges & Games section - check out some excellent photos, or even post a few of your own!

[magkelly]

The explosion of negative threads regarding Pentax and the much lamented not issued at Photokina FF are a bit much I will admit. I rather wish there was some way to combine all that into one thread? But in the end I have control over what I want to read. We all do. People have a right to be negative too. Life isn't all sunshine and smiles. I don't expect this forum to be either. People need to gripe sometimes. When it all gets to be too much I generally just avoid it for a while. I go off and take some pics of squirrels or something... :P

[Clavius]

Agreed! I still don't understand why there has to be any negativity at all concerning the lack of Pentax FF. If you want FF, then just buy an FF Canon, it will mount almost any Pentax lens. Enjoy life now, not maybe some time in the future.

On the other hand, are those people demanding FF really negative? They seem to love Pentax so much, that they only want more of it! Or, they want the inventor of the SLR to reclaim it's rightfull place. Doesn't seem very negative to me. But the way they tend to bring it though, does really sound very negative.

[Lowell Goudge]

I agree with all that has been written so far in this thread.

Too many people are , for lack of a better description, techno geeks, who want the latest and greatest, and I suspect would be equally critical of any camera system they owned, it just so happens we have an equal share

I don't bother much with them, and just let them rant, because getting into a debate in the forums simply leads to frustration, because no matter how clearly things are explained, they will not be accepted.

My preference is to enter discussions which I can offer positive assistance to people, provide technical insight into how things are or can be done,

I will occasionally but, only very occasionally, enter threads regarding features I would like to see, and these are limited really to potential functional enhancements, that could be made in software, not hardware. The only exceptions to this approach are the desire to have at least one updated body wioth dual flash system (TTL and P-TTL ) like the *istD because it is useful.

As a result, I skip through but rarely enter discussions any longer in the DSLR forums, unless they pertain to technical problems, etc, and spend more time in the lens forums, and a little in the technique forum.

DO what ever you need to keep yourself happy and sane

[maxfield_photo]

Richard, I understand what you are saying, but consider something. You have owned a K100, and K20 and a K5, and presumably, you've found each camera more capable than the previous. How does that happen? It happens in part thanks to feedback from users. People tell Pentax what they want, and the Pentax decided whether it's feasible to implement such change, and what the average consumer would be willing to pay for the upgrade.

Thanks largely to the efforts of folks like Adam and the PF team and Mika and the Pentaxeros team the R&D folks at PRI are hearing our feedback, and yes, our gripes, and attempting to address them. Without a public forum like this they would be stuck with simple marketing research which can be easily misinterpreted if one asks the wrong questions. I believe this is what happened throughout the 1990s as Pentax went into a decline. In all honesty, I believe their marketing department couldn't find their arse with both hands.

I know sometimes it can seems as though people complain on these forums just to hear themselves talk, but if you look closely you may find bits of constructive criticism mixed in. I know I always try to offer some sort of suggestion for fixing the problem about which I am ranting. It's our way of showing the folks at PRI some "tough love".

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Last edited by maxfield_photo; 09-24-2012 at 07:24 AM.

[LaurenOE]

Photography has always been a part of my life. How many times do we hear that? What does that mean? As early as I can think back, I can remember a camera. A movie camera. A still camera. A brownie camera. A Polaroid. A Kodak. Finally a Pentax.

Sure, there have been others mixed in, but Pentax never disappoints.

A Pentax has been with me for the greatest memories of my life. A Pentax has traveled the planet next to me. Every single time I have taken a Pentax up to my face, I have used it to capture a memory. Every shutter click I've taken with a Pentax, has given me confidence and satisfaction that my tool is with me and can be counted on to preserve my memories and what we have seen together. Me and my Pentax.

Like any relationship - human or otherwise - I communicate openly and directly. I want both of us to continue and to achieve satisfaction. I want Pentax to continue to make cameras that I want to buy. I want to continue to see P-E-N-T-A-X on the tool that has been with me all along.

While I don't take all the images I have ever taken along with me everywhere I go, I can take the tool that made it possible.

Relationships can be rocky at times, and sometimes negative. It's what happens over a lifetime relationship.

Don't get me started on Kawasaki.

[mee]

Like any relationship - human or otherwise - I communicate openly and directly. I want both of us to continue and to achieve satisfaction. I want Pentax to continue to make cameras that I want to buy. I want to continue to see P-E-N-T-A-X on the tool that has been with me all along.

There are a lot of "I want"s in the relationship you mention...

[GibbyTheMole]

Way back in 2007 I started earning money with a K100d, followed by a K20d and now a K5. Each one has coped with cricket matches - (getting sharp images of a catch with a K100d is perfectly possible with the correct technique) - dog portraits,- industrial shots - a few school portrait sessions and whatever I may be asked to do. In all that time I have remained happy and contented with the three cameras and I look forward to a positive and happy future with them.

I've shot a few baseball games for a friend of mine who's a coach, and a technique I use to catch the ball at the right moment (coming off the bat, entering a catcher's glove, etc.) is to frame the shot through the viewfinder and keep both eyes open (one up to the viewfinder) watching the action with both eyes to see when and where the ball is going, so you can anticipate when to fire the shutter. I get a high number of keepers that way.

If you take sucky pictures with a K100D or an *istDS or whatever, you're gonna take sucky pictures with whatever the most expensive FF Canikon DSLR is. There's nothing wrong with owning or wanting good stuff, and I'm not saying there's no difference between an entry level camera and a top tier model, but the idea that you have to own a megabuck FF camera to get professional high-quality images is just wrong. It's knowing how to use the camera, your technique, and your eye that gets the job done.

What I'm saying is, I'm in agreement with you, Richard.

[Na Horuk]

But keep in mind that this is a forum, so it makes sense that it overtly represents people who have a problem - with the equipment, with the perceived future of the brand, etc.
If you go to the Post your photos! or Photo critique forums you will get a rather different impression - one that proves what great photos Pentax gear can make.

[LaurenOE]

When humans create things, their personality and ideas make it into the product they create. A musician, a painter, a dancer. Whatever a human creates, showcases something unique about them. As such, there is an intense personality that comes with some products that are made.

Not every product can achieve a personality. Phones are phones, but to the iPhone/iPad crowd, they buy into a heap of personality - Mr. Jobs. Good or bad, the personality, or design philosophy is there in Apple products.

Few Japanese products attain personality status. In the past we had recognized leaders and some that came close. The Walkman comes to mind. Some could argue, that personality is nothing more than marketing, and the case for that is valid. However, marketing based personality only goes so far before people "wise up" to the hype.

Pentax is one of those brands/cameras that has a personality and a design philosophy. I don't know if it's the quirky nature or functionality of the camera, or the distinctly Japanese management of the company.

The personality of Pentax is unique and is going through "something". I don't know if the personality change is a "Japanese" thing or just a "New Management" thing.

I can relate to how Honda was a different company when Soichiro was alive. When he died, Honda became another company. It was subtle, but it happened. In the case of Honda, his personality "died" with him, and the popularity of Honda ascended into the Honda we have today. To the people who know Honda today, they can look to Robots, Planes and personal mobility scooters. To me, I see Honda as CVCC and V4 engines. What I held dear about Honda, is also what Soichiro did. I was in tune with Soichiro. Soichiro never wanted to make a truck. When he died, Honda had one within a year.

Pentax seems to be going through something similar, and it makes me a bit crazy. They seem to be trying to find their personality again. The Marc Newsom K-01 is "bought personality" that is anathema to what Pentax is traditionally. It's hard to see if a trend is appearing.

I haven't figured out what the Pentax personality is yet, and my relationship with Pentax seems to be changing. I am intense in staying "engaged" and sometimes that might appear negative.

As for cars, I don't buy Honda anymore. They are still great cars, but the last Honda I owned was a Honda that was "in the pipeline" when Soichiro died - the Acura Integra.

Acura was supposed to be the performance side of Honda, not the luxury side.

Ironically, the first Acura Integra I ever saw was at a racetrack, taken with my Pentax ME-Super.

I'd hate to see Pentax go the way of Honda under new management.

[D4rknezz]

Good for you The world needs more positive people...

To balance out negative people like myself . I am in love with my Pentax - so why do I complain about AF issues, or lack of FF? Well - I took a business degree, and I took a IT degree. And i was taught - hard lessons - that unless you complain, neither businesses nor IT will move for you. They simply wont. Great combo - Pentax is a business that focuses on IT product with IT issues.

So I complain to make the product better . You have to stay positive so that the business dont look like its losing all of its supporters amidst all this negativity I generated!

And so , we have a balanced world .

[Richard Spencer]

Thank you everyone for your responses, there is a lot of common sense spoken.
I can well understand peoples frustrations but, my concern is the way they handle them. I just wonder, if all this negativity is read by Pentax market researchers, they may dismiss the legitimate concerns just because of the way they are presented.

It is my belief that if your camera has a problem, you have 2 options.
It can be sorted by :-
Accepting the problem and learning a way/technique around it.
Or, not accepting the problem and changing your camera to one that does not have the problem in the first place.
There is no third (negative) option, because negativity refers to the person not the camera.
Richard.

[LaurenOE]

There are a lot of "I want"s in the relationship you mention...

LOL.

When in a relationship with me, you always know where *you* stand, by knowing *my* position.

No "head games" from me.
No guessing.
No body language.
No I say "this", but mean "that".
No cheating on my part.

Total commitment until we part our ways, and if we do, then you know why, and you know at least *I* tried.