[RonHendriks1966]

Don't know if it is a competition, but I have a jewel. The nearest Pentax store is about 10 km away from me. I went there in analogue time and also bought some memory card years ago. I was there in march this year. Some years ago they still had a K-x and K20D laying around, but those were the big days. Time has stopped overthere. No Pentax anymore in the k-mount section. Then I saw one Pentax.......yes it was a left over compact. Very good he said. It was on sale price........

https://www.pentaxforums.com/camerareviews/pentax-optio-p70.html

So that little gem is now 7 years in the store.....

I guess they don't sell many (of any brand)

[beholder3]

I live in Germany and within 30 minutes I can reach 4 brick and mortar stores with a number of Pentax cameras, within 30 min extra at least three more.

But I usually do not go there (even though at least two of them have a lot available there), simply because I have to wait in a queue to get my hands on anything and then I have to test products in a dimly lit store with no usable subjects and only 10 minutes. They do not even offer free 1 day rentals to try lenses out even for customers who spent a lot of money there.

If I order the same stuff in the internet, it arrives here latest 2 days later and I can test it out in the wilderness to my hearts desires (not abuse) for two full weeks and then send it back if I do not like it (at zero cost or maximum shipping cost), simply an EU law for anything bought remotely.
With enough liquidity, to avoid decentering issues, I order 2 or three lenses of the same type in different stores and keep the best, sending back the poor ones.

The brick and mortar stores here simply do not offer any extra value to me. The actually offer significant drawbacks.

[JimJohnson]

The thing is lesmore, at our age, we don't owe Pentax anything. But, where I live the nearest Canikon camera store is 120 clicks away. I'm on-line for most things anyway.

Maybe I'm the market Pentax is cultivating. The guys so far from any store, we don't get any marketing or service from anyone. It gives Pentax a fighting chance out here.

But like you I've always been a tactile shopper, I want to hold it in my hands..

I am only about 100km from Ontario - unfortunately the water is too deep to drive across the border in that direction. However, I have a lot more luck finding A- a camera store with dSLR equipment (I don't count the big box stores that only carry only entry level Canikon kits) and B- something that actually says 'Pentax' on my visits to Ontario than I do almost anywhere in the United States. That said, it has literally been a decade that I've seen any Pentax gear in stock that either I wanted, or I could afford - it was all entry level or top of the line at list price.

AND - I remember the days when quality accessories were available through Pentax. Aside from a grip, I see nothing.

[surfar]

My closest is over an hours drive away but the operator is a lens technician too.His little shop was allocated 8 FFs on release because hes been a Pentaxian for over 50 years.As a Canon agent, he sells lots of that brand but rates the K1 better than the Cs that are double to triple the price!

[Wheatfield]

2.2 miles and 7 minutes driving time.
Life is good.

[normhead]

2.2 miles and 7 minutes driving time.
Life is good.

Some guys just can't help rubbing it in....

[bobmaxja]

1 mile and they have K-1 in stock
Gosselin Photo in Laval

[Tekmongoose]

Oxford UK here, since Jessops bought up almost all the independant camera shops and then went bust, I don't have a local camera shop of any kind that I know of, Pentax stockist or no. Unless you count Curries that is, but they make Jessops look like photographers heaven.

When I want a camera shop, I drive to Watford (about 1.5 hours) to SRS Microsystems. They are 100% worth the drive, with a great selection on the shelf and really good knowledgable staff, and very competitive pricing. They may not always beat the internet, but they usually come close enough that I'm willing to pay the difference for the service. They also do lens and body rental on Pentax gear, which is something I'm not aware of anywhere else, and very fair trade in prices on old kit.

[fromunderthebridge]

Hmm. 7.6km drive at 9 mins as per google maps. Not bad. I actually shop in the store as the folk are nice and prices are right when comparing to local prices even online. The shop space is tiny and stacked full of all kinds of stuff (and you can see the stacked Pentax body boxes on the walls).. comfy.

[EricBrown]

I'm lucky enough to have 3 camera stores in Northern Virginia outside of DC. District Camera, Ace Photo and Dominion Camera. Ace owns Dominion but they have separate locations. All three are very good the staff is very helpful and carry good line of Pentax gear! I got my DFA 24-70 from Dominion when they had their semi-annual sale.

[JimJohnson]

I'm lucky enough to have 3 camera stores in Northern Virginia outside of DC. District Camera, Ace Photo and Dominion Camera. Ace owns Dominion but they have separate locations. All three are very good the staff is very helpful and carry good line of Pentax gear! I got my DFA 24-70 from Dominion when they had their semi-annual sale.

Real live camera shops with gear and not just photo frames, selfie sticks and teeny camera bags? And not locked into the Canikon world? And actually carry Pentax gear? And not located in Manhattan? Wow. Don't tour most of the rest of the United States before getting a Pentax fix.

[totsmuyco]

The way Pentax is being sold where I live, I wouldn't see much support from Ricoh. I don't see much Pentax followers here. I chatted with one of the employees of the camera store that carries Pentax and he said that for the entire 2016, they only sold one KS-2. From what I learned from Mr. Northrup on his video about mistakes by camera companies, Pentax isn't that bad at all. Pentax has a 1.5 crop compared to Canon which has 1.6. Mr. Northrup said that Nikon doesn't do well on live mode because of its old mount format. Still, people just can't seem to understand Pentax. I guess one must really understand Pentax if one should go into it.

[pepperberry farm]

living out here in the midwest, I've never seen any Pentax camera in a store - the only stores out here that sell cameras are the usual electronics stores: Best Buy, etc.... and there are no Pentaxes there...

so when I bought my K-50 (and K-3), it was sight-unseen and had never handled it before it arrived in the post from B&H....

I'm glad I took the chance on Pentax...

[ccc_]

I have around twenty thousand dollars (msrp) worth of pentax gear in this room.
I paid about four thousand dollars for it all.
only one of the bodies cost anything close to current retail.

we had two very good outlets that tried once again to offer ricoh/pentax products.
this time ricoh was offering a much higher level of support.

most consumers weren't interested.
so as the pentax inventory was sold it was not replaced.
fortunately for me i'd pick up gear as they gave up trying to move it.

it seems here in the states only more "mature" consumers are interested in pentax.
retailers can't justify carrying unwanted inventory, so they don't.

it all goes with question, "when is the last time you saw a pentax in the wild?"

we spent a month in tourist-rich (not rich tourist) environments.
I saw four pentax cameras and they were all in MY pelican box.

I saw hundreds of Nikons, hundreds of canons, a few sony products, a couple of fujis and I swear a million smartphones.
the funny thing is the Nikon users I spoke with had rented their gear while the canon shooters seemed to own theirs.

universally the question I got was "why pentax?'

I suppose that is why I don't have any dealers nearby.

[normhead]

I spent some time in Fredericks of St. Catherine's, St. Catherines' Ontario, Canada, recently. He currently has used 50-135, DA 300 ƒ3 and DA HD 1.4 TC on his shelves along with various pieces of not so good K-moount glass, and a brand new K-70. He's sold at least one already.

I should have taken a picture.