[nixxo2002]

My point is today the customers are more conformable with Canikon .

[Adam]

Interesting comment Adam. Does the K-1 and 645Z sell well in North America...both in Canada and the USA ?

I'm not sure about Canada, but in the US it sure does. Up until recently the 645Z was pretty much in a league of its own price-wise.

[HYS]

Maybe it's just a " nice pictures " ?

[Paul the Sunman]

I spent over two years researching DSLR brands with no preconceptions. I wasn't happy with any of them for a long while. Almost jumped on the Nikon D90 and first Sony alpha. But eventually, the Pentax K5 was released, and it looked right. In-body stabilization, great low ISO performance, quality lenses at reasonable prices, weather resistance. That was in 2011. I haven't looked back.

[snpsht]

I spent over two years researching DSLR brands with no preconceptions. I wasn't happy with any of them for a long while. Almost jumped on the Nikon D90 and first Sony alpha. But eventually, the Pentax K5 was released, and it looked right. In-body stabilization, great low ISO performance, quality lenses at reasonable prices, weather resistance. That was in 2011. I haven't looked back.

Ditto... no preconceptions, lots of research, I needed WR.

There was one in a local shop and I held it, and for me it felt much better than the Canikons the salesmen were trying to convince me to buy. That K-5 was my first DSLR. Since then I have bought two K-3s (one went into a river, and didnt work for a while but is now working again), a heap of lenses and a K-1. Unfortunately none of them were from that store as they stopped carrying Pentax.

I just really LIKE Pentax.

I really LIKE this forum.

I really LIKE the lenses...especially all the quirky little primes.

I am happy with Pentax. My gear makes me smile.

And I don't mind at all that others look at my gear and think I am weird....until they see the pics!

[beholder3]

My point is today the customers are more conformable with Canikon .

That is just plain BS. Make your homework first.
Ferrari is not worse than Toyota just because its smaller and you get less used options and have no dealer around the corner.

Canon and Nikon customers are running away at a rate which is catastrophic for them. In a single year they lose more unhappy customers than Pentax ever had in total in the last years.
Nikon is firing 1,000 employees for a reason.

Pentax seems to be stable or at least faring much better when looking at their business reports.

Obviously Canon and Nikon need to catch up a lot, to slow the massive exodus of unhappy customers.
Sony is bleeding money and shrinking as well.
If Fuji is doing well or not is simply unclear. Their film cameras are wildly successfull, though and definitely more so than any digital they have.

[totsmuyco]

I started with "I simply want WR cameras and lenses". But when I took a look at things, the K-5II was a lot cheaper than the D7000 at that time. I did a lot of research and took the plunge with the K-5II and I was so surprised with image quality. After that, I just simply fell in love with it. Then I started to expand my system. So that would give me the following reasons:

WR
Value for money
Good image quality

Lately I kept on taking a look at other cameras and simply found the designs of Pentax cameras attractive.I won't mention some brands but some look like eggs being joined together as having no corners. Some have too many corners making them look like boxes. Some are so darn small that I think I won't be able to hold them well. Take a look at Pentax cameras. I mean, look at it them well. Scrutinize them and you will find that all Pentax cameras except for one which I won't mention to avoid quarrel with some of us, really look mean and sexy and are just the right size.

[bm75]

I spent over two years researching DSLR brands with no preconceptions. I wasn't happy with any of them for a long while. Almost jumped on the Nikon D90 and first Sony alpha. But eventually, the Pentax K5 was released, and it looked right. In-body stabilization, great low ISO performance, quality lenses at reasonable prices, weather resistance. That was in 2011. I haven't looked back.

Exactly my experience. I was a Canon shooter. Pentax is just as good as other brands or more, with some plus.
First,it offers a wide backwards compatibility with old lenses (quite like Nikon ) that Canon doesn't offer. And, while many people say old glass have some technical problems with digital sensors, I simply like the IQ and rendering of the few old primes I have .
Second now we have FF and this is what many people said Pentax is lacking in the past. We landscape men have a 36 mpx FF camera that's winning awards and is beeing really much appreciated. And we can use any kind of glass in it... Don't tell it to a Canon man... and aside from the Eos 6d the other Canon FF costs a mortgage and it's a fact that Canon sensors aren't on par with those Sony we have in our Pentax bodies. My k5 beats any FF and APSC Canon model in DR, if DXO is right... . Nikon (Apsc and FF) is another story, but still on the high price, except for D610 , but still not on par with K1.
Third: we have the Limiteds for APSC and some of them are FF . We have also all the zoom lenses we need, for Apsc and FF. People really interested in real shooting on the field, with 3 lenses (15-30; 24-70;70-200) have all is necessary . as a plus there's the 150-500. And there are primes for FF (77 isn't it? 50/100 macro aren't it? 43, 31 ltd...) for people who want travel light.
The problem is the big distibution. They do not sell Pentax. In Italy you won't find any Pentax camera in big electronic stores. You find it in local camera stores (few of them). Common customer doesn't know that Pentax is on the market. People in the age of 40 or 50 or about know Pentax from the film days , like Olympus or the dead Minolta, and they know how good it was on film and thay can presume the quality in digital. But young people (the most of it...obviously not all) dont't recognize Pentax as a major brand simply because they even cannot test a camera in big electronic stores.

That's a mess and that's what Ricoh have to fix. High quality and value is on the Pentax-Ricoh side, Ricoh has to make it visible for the customer. I hope this will happen soon.

[Rondec]

I think it was Henry Ford who said that half the money he spent on advertising was wasted, he just wasn't sure which half. Pentax does do some advertising -- just not so much in the States, where they tend to be an internet based company, selling through large outlets like Adorama, B and H, and Amazon. But for a lot of Americans, there aren't a whole lot of local camera stores with good collections of gear anyway. Closest one for me would be over an hour's drive away and in that scenario, Pentax is on equal footing with Nikon and Canon.

As to why I personally chose Pentax -- mostly for the glass -- it is top notch and tends to be unusual in its size/focal lengths. Weather sealing is nice. In body image stabilization is something that isn't offered by other SLR makers. Little features like astro tracer and pixel shift seem to push the envelope. Overall, their camera bodies are very nicely priced as well -- a camera like the K-1 matches up pretty well against the D810 but is priced considerably less.

I think it is important to remember that Pentax doesn't need to sell on the volume of Nikon and Canon. They have less over head, a smaller production force and are geared to generate a profit while selling a tenth the number of cameras. To me, the brand is probably the most stable it has been in years. Ricoh has put money into it and has elected to attempt a strategy which involves slow but steady growth. Maybe a little conservative, but we have seen nicely targeted, strong cameras hit the marketplace over the last couple of years and I'm not worried.

On an individual level, if your camera takes good photos and you know how to use it, I am not certain how having a particular brand name printed on it makes a hill of beans difference to your overall satisfaction. As I have grown as a photographer, my images have gotten better -- I can't say that if I shot Canon or Nikon it would be any different, but certainly shooting a Pentax hasn't stood in my way.

[kenspo]

Ricoh has very little interest in building the brand outside of Japan.

Not true anymore. They want and will build the brand all over. Just here in the nordic + the baltic countries, its expanding nicely. So dont come with statements like that when its more your personal opinion then facts. But its not done over the night.

[k22]

I had some old glass - Russian and M - and I wanted WR and in-body SR. When I held the K-S2 it felt solid, although heavier and less megapixels than a D5300.

[aslyfox]

The first "advanced" camera I can remember my dad had was a Yashica SLR. Then he switched at some time to Pentax. I started with a range finder and went to Pentax SLR. I claimed some of his lenses then and got his camera gear later. I transitioned from film to dslr and kept with Pentax because of the lenses I had. I did not upgrade my film lenses. Last fall I moved up to a used K 5 II and began to upgrade lenses from film legacy to digital and now have a K 3 as well.

I don't care about following the masses - and I am lazy - why switch when I know what I like?? If I change, what do I do with the equipment I have now?

_________________________________________

unfortunately, since I like to support local businesses, my local camera shop rarely has Pentax equipment and when they do, they never go on sale. I usually can find the same items cheaper on the net. They have an "experienced equipment" selection but not much in Pentax or even other manufacturers' Pentax capable items.

I wish it was different, I know how lucky it is to have a dedicated photography store in my town:

I read recently that a Kansas City photography store (about 75 miles away) closed after years of operation. The third generation of the family owned business had no interest in taking it over due to the internet competition. They could find no other buyers who would commit to keeping the shop going. Apparently, according to the article, that leaves 1 photography store (as opposed to box stores) in the entire Kansas City Mo and Kansas City KS vicinity still operating.

[Kunzite]

Hi.
Recently I start asking myself why PENTAX ?

Why not?

I also chose Pentax some time ago - before the digital craze. I didn't knew much back then, but Pentax was one of the major brands and it seemed like a good idea. Also, Nikon was very poorly represented and Canon wasn't much better (that changed a lot).
Time passed, and I found out that I liked Pentax; I still do. Yes, I'm losing some performance but I get so much more in return. So we made a deal: they continue to make products I'd like, and I continue to buy them

One key aspect was that I never really needed more than Pentax had; if that happened I would've jumped ship - let's say if I needed a fast AF, or/and a FF camera way before the K-1. Also, when Hoya was leading Pentax nowhere...
But that's in the past, Pentax is once more growing and evolving.

By the way, if there's no significant disadvantage I'd rather support the smaller brand. Why? Because we'd all lose when a brand and its unique characteristics would disappear. We lost Minolta, which was perhaps the camera maker closest to Pentax; Sony is not the same.
Following the crowd is not my style

[pathdoc]

We lost Minolta, which was perhaps the camera maker closest to Pentax; Sony is not the same.

Amen to that. I have fond memories of my Dynax (Maxxum) 3xi; it may have been a base-ish model, but I took it round the world once and it did good work. I almost moved up to one of their high-end models, but given what happened to Minolta in the end, I'm sort of glad I didn't. And no, Sony is nowhere near the same.

[biz-engineer]

Why Pentax ? Hi. Recently I start asking myself why PENTAX ? I choose Pentax long time ago . But why people still going for Pentax in the world of ( canon and nikon ). You going to any big nation wide retail store you will find any model , beside Pentax. Advertising all about Canon ,Nikon even Sony sells more than Pentax. Lens and parts supply are in lowest level possible , same as the support and services . For the past few years Fuji made a huge step with mirrorless cameras , and they sell a lot. I fully understand why the previous owner going for Pentax and upgrading to new equipment . But how Pentax want to get the new customers , from new generation , or it's not a Pentax problem now ? Ricoh maybe need to step up . Thanks

Why Pentax? It's easy, the K1 with Sony 36Mp sensor costs 2000 euros, the Canon 5DIV with Canon 30Mpixels sensor cost 3500 euros, and the D810 cost 3000 euros. Go for Canon or Nikon and pay 30% more.