[aleonx3]

I never considered the effects of a return policy. That is interesting.

Yes, it is cultural thing and people buy to own (and not to try); and people like to own new products not old. There are also big bill boards with displays of colored Pentax Q10 (my last trip early in May) and Pentax products are in every stores they sell cameras.

[treebeard]

Last year I was at a music festival in Georgetown, SC and I ran into a woman shooting a K20D and another guy shooting a K-x. Neither of them really had any idea what they were doing....in other words they had the camera in Auto mode and they were not happy with results. I educated them both the best I could and suggested they go to this forum and join. Those are the only 2 people I have run into in the past year that were shooting Pentax. Most people I see are shooting with a Canon Rebel (ugh.....) or a Nikon D3200 or D7000.

[ramseybuckeye]

Close by there is a tiny camera store that I have seen Pentax in, just cameras, never lenses. But they are not listed on the Pentax website so I am leery of that. The closest larger cities (Columbus and Dayton) that have small chain camera stores are hit and miss. I have never seen Pentax in the Dodd store in Dayton, although it's on their website and apparently in their Cleveland stores. The main Cord store in Columbus sometimes will have all of the current DSLR models and sometimes none. I've never seen much of a lens selection. Columbus also has Midwest Photo Exchange (MPEX) that carries just about everything but Pentax, even though they are now listing Tamron and Sigma lenses in Pentax mount on their web site. Those are the only places I may see a Pentax. I can go to all kinds of stores and buy entry level Canons, Nikons, and Sonys, and that's where their big market shares come from. I know a lot of people who still will not buy something that they cannot touch. Even a lot of heavy online shoppers don't buy a big ticket item they haven't seen in person. In my opinion that K-500 will never make a big splash if it's not in stores. I actually have seen more Pentax in the wild in the last year. I also think the the biggest marketing boost for Pentax in the US is pentaxforums.com, and they don't even run it.

[Dario79]

@PatH
Well Pentax is like diamonds-you can't digg them everywhere and not everybody have them around their neck
Pentax marketing sucks big time but thank God their engeniers do much better job.

[Johndav]

I go out and shoot a far bit, both video and stills. I never expect to see another Pentax SLR normally but loads of Canons (I will pop across the River for the Edinburgh Festival and should see some Pentax cameras then but it's purely down to the vast numbers of people with cameras).
When I'm shooting video with a dedicated camcorder (JVC or Sony) the situation is even more extreme, I often don't see another real camcorder at all.
Everyone seems to shoot everything with phones.
So the situation seems to have polarised - goods stills have never been better but most people seem happy to shoot video and stills with a device that gives a much lower quality result.

[magkelly]

I'm about to cheer you guys up.

I was out earlier with the K-7. There was a street fair today and I wanted to get some pics. I ran into these two guys, both also with DSLR's, a Canon and a Nikon respectively. The Nikon guy he watches me shoot for a while doesn't say much. The Canon guy he said something along the lines of "Maybe I should go offer her some help? Tell her about the club and offer her a few pointers?" Obviously he was from some local camera club and assumed, wrongly, that since I was carrying a camera that wasn't Nikon or Canon that I was an amateur. He starts forward and the guy with the Nikon just pulls him back. He says" She doesn't need your help. It looks like she knows how to use a camera." The Canon guy was a bit nonplussed but he stepped back and went back to shooting.

Twenty minutes later it starts to rain and the Canon guy just runs to hang under a building. The Nikon guy follows but he's a lot less stressed about it. I'm standing there calmly getting my last few shots of some musicians. I then walk over to where they are, stand next to them, take out a micro cloth and wipe down the K-7. The Nikon guy again he's not saying a thing. The Canon guy is looking at me like I'm half insane and then he says "Is your camera okay? You got it awfully wet there."

What can I say it was a perfect commercial of a moment, I just smiled and said "No problem, it's a Pentax...." The Nikon guy at that point he just grinned and gave me a thumbs up behind the Canon guy's back. Canon guy he was like "What?" He obviously had no clue about what I was shooting with but clearly Nikon guy did.

FYI, that's the first time I have ever shot in anything in wet weather here and yes, the K-7 took it like a pro. Mind you it wasn't pouring, only raining a bit, but when the Nikon and Canon guys were running for cover there I was still getting my pics and THAT people is why I shoot Pentax. :P

OP, they're really not that rare. People who know cameras, who really know photography know Pentax. Mostly I get respect for my choice of gear. The Nikon and Canon guys they will kid me but they usually do it nicely. They know it's good gear and that you have to know your sh- to pick and use it...

[SpecialK]

Here is the original thread.

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-dslr-discussion/109990-we-really-rare.html

[mickey]

Did it's marketing just fail after film died?

On its market share in Asia, maybe that's right, but based on my informal observation of Japanese tourist in Oahu, Nikons seem the most popular with them.

Hard to say with the Japanese, goes without saying Canon and Nikon are favoured most...my observation whilst in Tokyo:
The marketing is exceptional in Japan.
Pentax was quite popular with college kids, especially the K-x and k-r with the kit lens.
The Q has a steady following with girls.
However, the Canon Kiss series is also hugely popular, probably the number one SLR for under 25's.
Nikon seems popular with guys in their 30's, 40's and 50's.
When I was birding, there was a big mix of mostly Canon and Nikon users. Obviously a lot has to do with the choice of long glass.
Didn't see many Sony users, and rarely saw Olympus.
I did see several Pentax film users who were old school shooters taking advantage of their cherished hard-to-find lenses on K-7's and K-5's mounted on battered old tripods.
Overall, I'd guess Canon then Nikon with Pentax trailing with a small market share in third.

[Racer X 69]

Everyone seems to shoot everything with phones.

Yes, and you see them holding the things at arm's length, rather than holding them close and using their arms up against their body for more stability.

So the situation seems to have polarised - goods stills have never been better but most people seem happy to shoot video and stills with a device that gives a much lower quality result.

Kind of like when mP3's took over music. The Lemmings simply sucked it all in and either pretended that they didn't notice the crappy quality. or really didn't now any better.

I'm about to cheer you guys up.

I was out earlier with the K-7. There was a street fair today and I wanted to get some pics. I ran into these two guys, both also with DSLR's, a Canon and a Nikon respectively. The Nikon guy he watches me shoot for a while doesn't say much. The Canon guy he said something along the lines of "Maybe I should go offer her some help? Tell her about the club and offer her a few pointers?" Obviously he was from some local camera club and assumed, wrongly, that since I was carrying a camera that wasn't Nikon or Canon that I was an amateur. He starts forward and the guy with the Nikon just pulls him back. He says" She doesn't need your help. It looks like she knows how to use a camera." The Canon guy was a bit nonplussed but he stepped back and went back to shooting.

Twenty minutes later it starts to rain and the Canon guy just runs to hang under a building. The Nikon guy follows but he's a lot less stressed about it. I'm standing there calmly getting my last few shots of some musicians. I then walk over to where they are, stand next to them, take out a micro cloth and wipe down the K-7. The Nikon guy again he's not saying a thing. The Canon guy is looking at me like I'm half insane and then he says "Is your camera okay? You got it awfully wet there."

What can I say it was a perfect commercial of a moment, I just smiled and said "No problem, it's a Pentax...." The Nikon guy at that point he just grinned and gave me a thumbs up behind the Canon guy's back. Canon guy he was like "What?" He obviously had no clue about what I was shooting with but clearly Nikon guy did.

FYI, that's the first time I have ever shot in anything in wet weather here and yes, the K-7 took it like a pro. Mind you it wasn't pouring, only raining a bit, but when the Nikon and Canon guys were running for cover there I was still getting my pics and THAT people is why I shoot Pentax. :P

OP, they're really not that rare. People who know cameras, who really know photography know Pentax. Mostly I get respect for my choice of gear. The Nikon and Canon guys they will kid me but they usually do it nicely. They know it's good gear and that you have to know your sh- to pick and use it...

That's a great story Miss Kelly. Always nice when one can demonstrate that Pentax gear is just as good and even has features that set it above the "other" stuff.

I wonder if Mr. Nikon clued in Mr. Cannon later on?

For me, I rarely see other photographers out shooting. What I experience is when the camera shooters see me taking pictures and they ask me if I am a professional. I make no effort to conceal the brand of my gear, something that they fail to notice. Often the comment is something like, "Wow! Nice camera!", or, "Wow, I bet that cost a lot of money!"

I just smile and continue shooting.

[c.a.m]

Why are Pentax DSLR's so rare?

The large urban centres in Canada are fairly well served by Pentax retail outlets. The largest 25 metropolitan areas have at least one authorized dealer (i.e., a real store) and more than two-thirds of the Canadian population of 34 million live within 100 km of a Pentax dealer. Several of the large cities are served by several dealers.

Surprisingly, I see few other Pentax shooters in my area. Perhaps it reflects the domination of the other brands, especially in the display cases - my local dealers stock the most common Pentax gear, but it is all located in the far corner of the display area and not very obvious to the casual shopper. They are probably attracted instead to the big yellow signage.

Craig

[Pat_H]

I did see several Pentax film users who were old school shooters taking advantage of their cherished hard-to-find lenses on K-7's and K-5's mounted on battered old tripods.

The ability to keep using those old lenses is what caused me to stick with Pentax when I went digital, after having been definitively told by a Canon user that this was "impossible."

But, beyond that, I simply love the camera. It's been great.

[Pat_H]

The large urban centres in Canada are fairly well served by Pentax retail outlets. The largest 25 metropolitan areas have at least one authorized dealer (i.e., a real store) and more than two-thirds of the Canadian population of 34 million live within 100 km of a Pentax dealer. Several of the large cities are served by several dealers.

Surprisingly, I see few other Pentax shooters in my area. Perhaps it reflects the domination of the other brands, especially in the display cases - my local dealers stock the most common Pentax gear, but it is all located in the far corner of the display area and not very obvious to the casual shopper. They are probably attracted instead to the big yellow signage.

Craig

I live in the rural West and the only Pentax cameras I've ever seen on display were: 1) a Best Buy display, to my surprise; and 2) a retail outlet in Jackson Hole Wyoming that specialized in Pentax. Having said that, I didn't see any Pentax's in use in Jackson Hole, other than mine.

[Pat_H]

By the way, my Pentax actually came from Best Buy. My wife special ordered it in as a gift. They'll get Pentax gear for you hear, but they no longer keep it on display.

[mdodrill]

Close by there is a tiny camera store that I have seen Pentax in, just cameras, never lenses. But they are not listed on the Pentax website so I am leery of that. The closest larger cities (Columbus and Dayton) that have small chain camera stores are hit and miss. I have never seen Pentax in the Dodd store in Dayton, although it's on their website and apparently in their Cleveland stores. The main Cord store in Columbus sometimes will have all of the current DSLR models and sometimes none. I've never seen much of a lens selection. Columbus also has Midwest Photo Exchange (MPEX) that carries just about everything but Pentax, even though they are now listing Tamron and Sigma lenses in Pentax mount on their web site. Those are the only places I may see a Pentax. I can go to all kinds of stores and buy entry level Canons, Nikons, and Sonys, and that's where their big market shares come from. I know a lot of people who still will not buy something that they cannot touch. Even a lot of heavy online shoppers don't buy a big ticket item they haven't seen in person. In my opinion that K-500 will never make a big splash if it's not in stores. I actually have seen more Pentax in the wild in the last year. I also think the the biggest marketing boost for Pentax in the US is pentaxforums.com, and they don't even run it.

The guy that owns Mack camera in Lima is a good guy. I bought a K-r for my neice from Mack; they didn't have it in stock but he ordered it for me. He currently has the K-30 in stock. The guy is a big Pentax fan.

[ramseybuckeye]

The guy that owns Mack camera in Lima is a good guy. I bought a K-r for my neice from Mack; they didn't have it in stock but he ordered it for me. He currently has the K-30 in stock. The guy is a big Pentax fan.

Sounds like he could get lenses too, that's good to know.