[pathdoc]

I bought two Pentax lenses through Amazon last year and could easily have bought more if the price had been better.

[clackers]

Pentax k mount is a dog, kudo the Ricoh if they can turn this around... but the chances are slim.

What size "Pentax is Doomed" t-shirt will you wear, BE?

I'll buy it for you.

[boriscleto]

And Pentax isn't found at any of the Pro market shows...

Where the heck are they???

World premiere show CP+2016

[boriscleto]

I bought two Pentax lenses through Amazon last year and could easily have bought more if the price had been better.

I just bought the "discontinued" 18-135 from Amazon. White box, but a great deal.

[Special K]

The way they go about advertising is definitely weird.

[btnapa]

Ah ah. Pentax were/are essentially an engineering company, they are too small to be everywhere and at the same time they continue to target the wrong market (they've already lost the pro market segment).
You could compare with RED, who have a consistent marketing: they are small but they target a precisely identified pro market. In comparison, Pentax k mount is a dog, kudo the Ricoh if they can turn this around... but the chances are slim.

I am afraid you may have valid points. I am baffled about what Pentax/Ricoh's target market is. 645Z is targeted to the high-end shooters who think $15-20k worth of body and lenses is a bargain (compared to Hassy and Phase). The entire APSc line is competing in a super competitive space dominated by players with much bigger marketing budgets and much longer sustained marketing efforts. The Pentax FF is the oddball as it does not have a strong lens line up compared to the competition. I do think the FF is partially targeted towards the 645Z owners since it does accept 645 lenses and delivers SR just short of the 645Z resolution.

A 36MP FF from Pentax is not going to rock any world outside of the Pentax sphere... even if it pulls some nifty tricks. If someone is looking for almost 645Z resolution performance, The Sony 42MP 7RII camera despite its quirky ergonomics, at a price, delivers the goods. Sony teamed up with Zeiss to address its weak lens line up. Is Pentax going to do it alone or is it going to team up with say Tamron to fill the holes in the FF lenses. Way too much stuff in play to decipher if Pentax days are numbered. If I were the marketing guy at Pentax, I would put my money on the winning hand (645Z). It seems to have stolen business from Canon and Nikon guys. I don't think the FF has the same pull.

For me as a Pentaxian with a fair number of FF lenses looking for a higher-res camera for still-life and landscape work, K1 with its projected low price is a no brainer. I have to spend a lot more to switch to another system for little gain.

[yucatanPentax]

Ah ah. Pentax were/are essentially an engineering company, they are too small to be everywhere and at the same time they continue to target the wrong market (they've already lost the pro market segment).
You could compare with RED, who have a consistent marketing: they are small but they target a precisely identified pro market. In comparison, Pentax k mount is a dog, kudo the Ricoh if they can turn this around... but the chances are slim.

"a dog", really?

I'm frequently not sure how seriously to take your commentary.

Anyway, Dooooomed~! seems to be the point of many folks here. Fans of the Dooooomed! Is that like rubber-neckers at wrecked automobile carnage?

[Rupert]

What size "Pentax is Doomed" t-shirt will you wear, BE?

I'll buy it for you.

Otis sells these on E-bay for only $12. plus shipping....beware of those shipping costs!



Regards!

[jonlg]

I absolutely am not saying Pentax is doomed. What I am saying is that their engineering, R&D and production departments are world class and are being very badly let down by their marketing and sales teams who if they worked for NASA wouldn't bother holding a press conference if they'd just built the Starship Enterprise!!!

I really have sensed a wind of change at Pentax in the past 2 years:

1. World class medium format/pro line camera - 645Z that really has taken market share off Hassy, Phase 1, Canon and Nikon, it has disrupted the market.
2. The K3 - the first Pentax camera ever tha doesn't have to bow its head for autofocus in the company of Nikon/Canon. I was at a commercial family shoot recently and they wanted pics of their dog and I really wasn't sure if trying to shoot the dog rrunning full pelt at me was going to work (It wouldn't on my K5!) - the K3 nailed focus on every one of ten shots - incredible.
3. Quirky and successful products like Theta.
4. Serious lens gaps (especially telephotos) are being filled.

I really think they have a shot at re-establishing themselves - just look at how Apple came back from nowhere because of innovations and cool products, the same is true of Jaguar cars and Land Rover, but you do need to tell the world you are back - and that is expensive so they need to find innovative ways to get exposure which don't cost much.

Jonlg

[RonHendriks1966]

How about this one. I attended CES in Las Vegas just a few weeks ago. The attendance was at all time high of 170,000 from all over the world (50,000 international attendees). Ricoh shows up to a massive show like that with their Theta and nothing else. Ricoh's CES strategy reminded me a little bit of the Infinity car launch. They went ZEN with their TV commercials. They showed flowing water and river beds and stuff like that never the cars. By the time they wake up from this ZEN state and changed AD agencies, Lexus had stolen the show and taken a lead. Infinity never recovered from that marketing strategy and they are still trailing way behind. I hope Ricoh does better with their marketing in these massively attended shows. I was shocked when I got to the show and did not see a single camera other than the Theta on display.

Theta is a product that says Ricoh as Brand. In the last financial report there was no single mention of Pentax. We get next week a new report from the quarter ending december 31th and we will see if the camera section will have the name Pentax in it or not.

Pentax is a technology driven company. It's not a creative company and there is not much knowledge about photography (in the sense of making images) within the company or it's marketing departement.

Who knows, we will see a difference with the up coming K-1. The we page for that camera promises very attractive images to make the camera popular.

[biz-engineer]

"a dog", really?

Refering to the BCG matrix: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Growth%E2%80%93share_matrix
Pentax K mount DSLR = dog
Canon + Nikon DSLR = cash cow
Sony mirroless FF = star.

[boriscleto]

the same is true of Jaguar cars and Land Rover

Pentax has invented a camera that leaks oil? I thought that was Nikon...

[monochrome]

Marketing costs money. I will ask again - how much more money per camera and lens are you personally willing to pay to tell the other guys what you already know about Pentax?

[jonlg]

Marketing costs money. I will ask again - how much more money per camera and lens are you personally willing to pay to tell the other guys what you already know about Pentax?

Monochrome,

You are right if we're talking about billboards, TV commercials and magazine advertising and I hink it's important everyone is realistic about that, however my complaint is with them not capitalising on the opportunity when they have already paid to be at a trade show. It must have cost thousands of dollars to attend CES so why only show the Theta??? It probably cost low £000's to attend SWPP so why only show 645Z? Why no T shirts, mugs, baseball caps and scarves for Pentax fans to buy???? Pentax fans are amongst the most loyal and fanatical to be found anywhere in photography and we are free - use us to spread the word - I'm willing to bet many of us would do it for free!!

Jonlg

[monochrome]

T-shirts? That does a lot.

Theta got Ricoh more press than any consumer item ever in their history, by an order of magnitude. Cameras are so yesterday, much as we love them. Ricoh brand, specifically the Theta marketing budget, paid to be at the trade show. Pentax didn't pay anything.