Originally posted by pentax360 I’ve doing research for getting my first DSLR, and Pentax stands out with a better feature set than the competition.
But, I live in Portland Oregon, and there are no Pentax dealers in the entire state.
Besides wanting to see one in person before purchasing, it has me a little worried about the health of Pentax as a brand.
I don’t want to invest in k mount lenses and then at some point in the future (probably 8-10 years) when I upgrade not be able to use my lenses or have them plummet in value because there are no new Pentax cameras.
How is Pentax doing as a brand, are they making enough money?
Thanks.
(ps I tried posting this in the visitors center and it wouldn't work)
After being bounced around a couple of times, Ricoh seems to have given Pentax a nice home. I'd say just HOW nice is hard to determine. But they do seem to be making a serious attempt at rebuilding and growing the brand. K mount has been around since 1975.. and all the K mount lenses fit on modern Pentax bodies.
The other things to consider are modern (sold in stores) 3rd party lens, accessory, and flash support for a brand as well as repair services. Right now, our only option for repair (USA) is Precision and they don't have the most stellar grade. There is rumor, however, that their contract for handing Pentax repair is up in the middle of the year and Ricoh wants to do something (so I assume) with getting repair in house. More news might be available at the end of next month at CP+. And, of course, the modern FF body is probably shown in detail there.
But.. Hmm.. in 8-10 years the DSLR market might not look anything as it does today for any brand.
I had to buy my first Pentax camera without handling it through an online vendor since no one around me sells Pentax cameras. On the lower end of the market, Pentax is good as the others in this regard. However, in the upper end, Pentax (imo) has the best handling and feel between Pentax, Nikon, and Canon. To me, the Pentax (K-7 K-5 K-3) feels like a pro tool -- it is solid and the dials and buttons are in logical places. Nikon and Canon felt a little hollow and plasticky.
But Canon and Nikon have much deeper lens availability in terms of modern lenses (largely from much more thorough 3rd party makers). I think this is because both brands have significantly more customers. Pentax is currently the dark horse. I think this year will really show where the brand is going.