[reh321]

Until I started reading this forum, I didn't even know my *ist wasn't full frame.

Even if nobody had told me, I saw in the viewfinder that 50mm on my Canon Rebel gave me a lot less "view" {was less wide angle} than the same lens gave me on the Canon film camera that the Rebel replaced.

[normhead]

Even if nobody had told me, I saw in the viewfinder that 50mm on my Canon Rebel gave me a lot less "view" {was less wide angle} than the same lens gave me on the Canon film camera that the Rebel replaced.

But you were comparing two systems. All I had was the *ist, so I didn't know, didn't care , and it wasn't relevant. But, in suggesting you saw a difference in the viewfinder, you're helping me make my point. Seeing it in the viewfinder or images is the way to go in my opinion.

I have some very good images taken on 35 mm film, and I knew that I didn't like my 50 on APS-c as much as I liked it on film, but is that something you really need to dwell on? You just reach for the lens you need for the camera in your hand, based on your experience. In my case 50 became 40, and I never gave it another thought.

[Inspireart]

I'm one of the rare members who bought the K-1 in a retail camera store, as a walk-in, without pre-ordering, as I posted upthread. My salesperson had a fairly long discussion about what lens I should mount for IMG0001. Now this guy is under 30, and he knows everything there is to know about Pentax, past and present. We talked about Tak's (no, don't have an 85/1.9); K-M-A (K50/1.2 is soft below 2.8, so except as a collector piece it isn't much different than 1.4 - but, rendering!); nope, no FA 85; oh - you have a Hollywood? (K28/2) - well there you go!! The only thing I knew that he didn't is that the battery in the box would have a partial charge (a nice touch by Ricoh, BTW). He recounted that two thoracic surgeons had recently come into the store and bought a 645z and FA55/2.8 as a 70th birthday present for their father.

They have in stock today 2 K-1's, 2 each of the Holy Trinity and a few Limiteds, and a very nice used section. No salesperson in the store was old, and they all think the K-1 is a great camera. They receive stock from Pentax once a month, so in exchange for always pre-ordering - and paying sales tax - I can deal with a photographer salesman who knows my brand and supports my choice.

I could go on and on about how nice it was to buy in a store, where the Manager congratulated me, took my statement of intent for the 24-70 in July as a good way to stage in (she said she'd call when she's making up the July order), where another young guy wants to shoot with me with my K lenses and a couple of the Tak's, because he hasn't seen many of them - what a blast. AFAIC I'll pay sales tax just for the talk! The New York on lines are great, such as they are - but a little personal service is worth a lot.

Interestingly, a Pentax manager tried to cut them off last year. That manager is no longer with Pentax.

IMHO the problem with Pentax in the USA is a few Pentax people - not just Ned Bunnell but those after him - who are gone now. Ricoh can fix that if they choose.

I called Schiller’s and they told me they do not carry Pentax. If it is Creve Coeur Camera do they accept American Express? American Express doubles the manufactures warrantee.

My reservation about Creve Coeur Camera is that every camera seems to become a demo camera. (Please correct me if I am wrong, the Bible has a lot to say about bearing false witness) I have seen an employee trying all kinds of lens on a Sony A7 to see what would work. I want a new unmolested camera without the Sigma Lens scratch. Not everyone reads the literature and instructions that come with their products. So buying an unopened and unmolested product from B and H has merit to me. I check shutter activations when I buy a new camera.

I am willing to try a local store and am humble enough to be educated.

Thanks in advance

Bruce

[monochrome]

@Inspireart [EDIT] Creve Couer Camera has been an Authorized Dealer since it opened in 1980. At this time there are 9 stores in a 120 mile radius of the suburban St. Louis lead store. As of May 24th CCC has only one K-1 in stock, at the Springfield, IL store.

Hi Bruce. It was Creve Couer - the SuperStore on Olive west of Mason. Mine came out of the store room in a fresh box in taped or properly folded wrappings so I am quite certain it was not used as a demo. There was one in a box on the Pentax display shelf they could have sold me, but my sales person went to the back. 314-567-3456 - Laura Deuser, Asst. Mgr. Salesperson was very helpful and happy to show me a Pentax - no cross-selling to Canon - nothing like the old days at all. DK about AMEX. I bought the Pentax Warranty.

I've never had a positive experience at Schiller's.

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Last edited by monochrome; 05-24-2016 at 03:49 PM.

[mee]

Even if nobody had told me, I saw in the viewfinder that 50mm on my Canon Rebel gave me a lot less "view" {was less wide angle} than the same lens gave me on the Canon film camera that the Rebel replaced.

As someone who never had a 35mm film body, I didn't even know there were different sensor types when I started out 6 years ago. I figured SLR is SLR is SLR.. the only different was film vs digital. Especially starting out with Pentax, where they had no digital FF SLRs, it seemed Full Frame was just old film cameras (in general) and the digitals were all APS-C.

It wasn't until some time later that I learned there were different sensor sizes even in digital.. but I was still making enjoyable images with what I had.. I really didn't care.

I had to stretch what I had before I understand what I had and didn't have.. and that's fine imo. If I had a larger sensor and nicer lenses, it probably wouldn't have aided me in learning how to compose, properly expose, or process DNGs.. so it would have been wasted money back then.

[Sean Hamilton]

+1... If such a place existed around here, I happily pay slightly higher prices to enjoy that kind of rapport and support...

I guess this is as good time as any to give a shout out to Downtown Camera in Toronto. Though they have far more Cannon and Nikon in stock, they do have several Pentax cameras and lenses in stock, in juxtaposition to Aden Camera who carry none.

I was speaking to the guy working in the repair section and he agreed that Pentax made some very competitive gear, and lamented the fact that there weren't more Pentax shooters around. They price match (within reason) so it might be a viable alternative to shopping online for those in and around the Toronto area.

That being said, though I bought my body there I ended up buying lenses online from B&H in the states and Asuka in Japan, as their prices just couldn't be beat.

[zapp]

Is anyone else a little bothered that one must wait at least a month or more if they want the new K-1? B&H is estimating the wait is until July before more are in stock. I mean, it's good that the K-1 seems to be selling better than anticipated, but if someone wanted one within days from a reputable vendor such as B&H or Adorama it sure doesn't look like that is possible at this time. Are there any legitimate vendors that have any in stock at this time that I am not aware of? Thanks

I waiting for more than a year for the 2.8/70-200 to appear after annoncement, missed it even before it was officially announced.
Somehow I am still here, waiting for new Pentax FF lenses before getting the K1.

[kaspy]

I guess this is as good time as any to give a shout out to Downtown Camera in Toronto. Though they have far more Cannon and Nikon in stock, they do have several Pentax cameras and lenses in stock, in juxtaposition to Aden Camera who carry none.

I was speaking to the guy working in the repair section and he agreed that Pentax made some very competitive gear, and lamented the fact that there weren't more Pentax shooters around. They price match (within reason) so it might be a viable alternative to shopping online for those in and around the Toronto area.

That being said, though I bought my body there I ended up buying lenses online from B&H in the states and Asuka in Japan, as their prices just couldn't be beat.

I've never posted here before since I'm new to Pentax, but I thought I'd chime in. I bought my K-1 from Aden Camera. Not sure if they normally carry Pentax or if it was a cancelled special order.

I called every camera store I could find in BC/AB and kept going east- finally Aden said they had one left. Other stores said they couldn't even fill their pre-orders so I consider myself lucky.

[jatrax]

I've never posted here before since I'm new to Pentax, but I thought I'd chime in.

Welcome, hope you stick around. There is a wealth of information and expertise on this forum. The lens database alone is worth a lot. Pentax Lenses - Pentax Lens Reviews & Lens Database

I called every camera store I could find in BC/AB and kept going east- finally Aden said they had one left. Other stores said they couldn't even fill their pre-orders

Everyone was hoping for Ricoh to get a home run out of this camera. And unless the shortage is due to production issues it looks like they did. But I hope they can keep something in the pipeline so the interest stays high.

[TaoMaas]

I know I have said this about three times now. But I will try again. The majority of the population under 60 shops on the internet, or at least does their research there. So dropping $1,800 sight unseen is not really an issue. Certainly there are plenty of people who want to touch and feel something before buying it, but I suspect, at least in that age group, they are a minority.

Oh, I get what you're saying...and you're wrong about it being an "under 60" thing. My 90 yr. old mom does a ton of her shopping via the internet. But here's the thing...this isn't a new concept. You only seem to think it's new. People have been using castoff mail-order catelogs in their outhouses since before there was indoor plumbing. All that's changed is the ability to order electronically instead of snail-mail. And if internet ordering were the ideal business model, why bother to have brick and mortar stores for anything? I believe it's because most people like to have first-hand confirmation before they buy. That's where I think Pentax is failing.

[reh321]

Oh, I get what you're saying...and you're wrong about it being an "under 60" thing. My 90 yr. old mom does a ton of her shopping via the internet. But here's the thing...this isn't a new concept. You only seem to think it's new. People have been using castoff mail-order catelogs in their outhouses since before there was indoor plumbing. All that's changed is the ability to order electronically instead of snail-mail. And if internet ordering were the ideal business model, why bother to have brick and mortar stores for anything? I believe it's because most people like to have first-hand confirmation before they buy. That's where I think Pentax is failing.

Is this the work of Pentax, or of the dealer network making decisions that benefit them?? {how do we know which it is??} And what do you expect Pentax to do about this situation??

[Adam]

Is this the work of Pentax, or of the dealer network making decisions that benefit them?? {how do we know which it is??} And what do you expect Pentax to do about this situation??

I know that Pentax is pushing an e-commerce marketing strategy in the US. But that doesn't mean they couldn't make their products more visible IRL.

[Sean Hamilton]

I know that Pentax is pushing an e-commerce marketing strategy in the US. But that doesn't mean they couldn't make their products more visible IRL.

One thing's for sure, they need to make their brand more visible. Unfortunately in my opinion they have very poor positioning at the moment. Regardless of whether in-store or on-line, people need to know the brand exists to include them in their comparison shopping efforts (most of which IS done online through forums, review sites etc.)

I bought my Pentax based on the features offered, as in my opinion at my price-point they were superior to the competitors; however, I only knew to research Pentax cameras as my Dad used to shoot with one way back in the day. When you say 'camera' to someone the first thing that pops into their head is either 1. Nikkon or 2. Cannon. Ricoh needs to make people aware that there is another viable choice through marketing.

What strategy they would use during marketing efforts is beyond my humble ability to figure out, but it definitely needs a clear direction, AND a bigger budget.

Perhaps differentiate their product as HIP / Cool and target Millennials, while implying Cannon / Nikkon is for old folks?

[reh321]

One thing I do remember from back in the early 1990's, when I was preparing to switch from Pentax to Canon, is that Canon was sponsoring a Formula One car driven by Nigel Mansell, who was one of the top drivers of that time. I'm not suggesting that Pentax should do something that expensive {although space on an IndyCar spoiler might be fairly cheap these days}, but I suppose something like that could at least remind people about the brand.

[totsmuyco]

Pentax cameras are made here in the Philippines and we have an exclusive carrier which is camerahuas. So far, I don't see a lot of Pentax products being purchased. For one, the prices are ridiculously high. I can't even believe that the D7200 is much cheaper than the K-3II. And as for the service, well it ain't that great either. You have to quarrel to get back what is yours. LOL! Now I'm just laughing about it. But at that time, I was so annoyed!

I still believe they need to push the brand. Before I shifted from Olympus, I did some research with what I wanted from a system. I was suppose to go for the Nikon D7000 but ended up with a K-5II. And I love it even up to now.

I'd still say, Pentax should use both, online and brick and mortar stores. Both have advantages and disadvantages. But, value for money and good service is what people look for.