Originally posted by LFLee I can probably consider myself a fan of Pentax cameras. But I am worry about the brand, and how it stand out in the crowd to survive.
The strengths of Pentax that make it unique, are slowly gone....
1. Smaller DSLR - gone, not considering the mirrorless, it is not the smallest DSLR anymore.
2. Weather seal - gone, many have gone this route, the new Fuji's X-T1 is weather seal, even the Sony A7 is.
3. K-mount - access to thousands of cheap, old lenses, gone, mirrorless essentially make a 'universal' mount;
4. In-body stabilization - OK, I give PENTAX this.
5. buttons, wheels, ease of access - gone, look at the direct controls these new cameras got.
6. "Best in value", long gone.
7. SMC? gone, everyone have one and even now we replace it with that stupid "HD" designation.
Video certainly not the best, flash system not the best, ISO performance no longer claim the best in APSC (like K5), ergonomics is a personal things.
What else is left?
The K-3, the only really special, shock the camera world worthy thing about it is the sensor-shake AA filter thing.
No, this is not a PENTAX is doom thread.... seriously what exactly is our unique point?
We are like that boy in the class who is not doing very bad, but not very good either, do everything in moderate... usually very quiet, may sometime surprise you with some innovations but not really ground breaking either... we just kind of hang around in the middle, always playing catch up.
I guess just one of those day when you see other camera company brings out exciting product and all your camera company brings out is a teleconverter they promise 5 yrs ago....
Good points made, and if no 'chest thumping' occurs, this can make a fine discussion/thread.
I too have some of these doubts, but I think things can change very fast.
The points you mentioned also look better (worse for Pentax) in parts, but they are not a whole.
No brands have a system that is better at all the points you have mentioned.
1. Smaller DSLR - gone, not considering the mirrorless, it is not the smallest DSLR anymore.
>> Still one of the smallest DSLR systems, considering features and performance thrown in.
MILC is MILC with its type of AF which still needs improvement (maybe except m4/3)
Laggy shutter response for some (improved to the point of being as good for some, still some way to go for others)
EVF (some better, some not too good; some folks just hate it no matter what)
2. Weather seal - gone, many have gone this route, the new Fuji's X-T1 is weather seal, even the Sony A7 is.
>> I am surprised how fast and how many makers are taking this up too.
I had thought no one else would be bothered with it as a selling point.
Seems like one should never sit on his laurels.
Pentax still has the variety of cheap sealed lenses as well as the expensive high end ones. (no one has that for now)
3. K-mount - access to thousands of cheap, old lenses, gone, mirrorless essentially make a 'universal' mount;
>> True.
I think a camera like the A7/r has most other cameras for use of adapted lenses irrelevant.
Even the 5D series which had the shortest flange distance and could take the most lenses does not come close to the easy of adapting lenses on MILCs.
However, on a Pentax, we do get wide open operation (ie. brighter viewfinder or less gained up EVF)
We have a more troublesome green button metering though....
4. In-body stabilization - OK, I give PENTAX this.
5. buttons, wheels, ease of access - gone, look at the direct controls these new cameras got.
>> Still there imho.
I had the 5D (old camera perhaps unfair); G3; have the A7.
Pentax still comes out tops in terms of handling, interface and features.
Sony just doesn't seem to know how a photographer uses the camera (the 'flow' and buttons just seem 'wrong')
Canon is better, still Pentax is better.
MILCs like the G3,OMD, A7, are generally more button cramped.
6. "Best in value", long gone.
>> Could certainly be better
Still I think what is on offer is at the least commensurate with what the buyer gets.
Take the limiteds for example.
Size, build, performance, all excellent.
If it was some other brand (esp. Zeiss or Leica) its not going to be this sort of price.
Another example would be the Nikon 58/1.4.
Its roughly the same idea as the DA55/1.4, but Nikon marketing can praise it to the high heavens that its something unique and worth the buyers money.
7. SMC? gone, everyone have one and even now we replace it with that stupid "HD" designation.
>> Still one one of the best coatings around, but this would be hard to prove.
There are challenges every year and no one is staying put.
Unfortunately, Pentax stood still for a good 3 years due to all the change in ownerships.
There were lots of missed opportunities when rivals faltered. (XP1 poor AF/handling; D600 sensor stain; No MILC response from Canikon; Canon lack of sensor innovation).
The bright side is this.
2013 saw some of the best cameras in their class from Pentax/Ricoh.
Q7 (smallest ILC and a compact pns alternative); GR; K3.
Seems like Pentax/Ricoh aims for being slow to launch, but very good when they do.