[lesmore49]

I like to take photographs outdoors and outdoors is where I generally see most expensive cameras, DSLR, Mirrorless etc. About 8-10 years ago at a medium sized event (say 2-300 people) I would see around 5 -7 people (including me) walking around with a DSLR, etc. There would also be more than that number with a point and shooter. Most of the cameras would be Canon, then Nikon...then a mix of Pentax, Sony, etc.

Currently when I walk around at similar outdoor events I'll see maybe 1-3 people sporting expensive cameras. Me, invariably ...them maybe a couple more. Often I'm the only one walking around with an expensive DSLR, Mirrorless, etc. camera. Occasionally I'll see more. Last week at an event there was me (Pentax), then a man in his late 30's with wife in tow, taking pix with a newer, entry Canon DSLR and another older man with a Nikon D700. A lot and I mean a lot of people had their cell phones out snapping away...not one...during this summer had a point and shooter.

On occasion someone will ask me if I'm with the press...which I assume is due to the size of the K1/K5 with battery grip attached. I tell them no, I'm just an amateur, a hobbyist.... but it does make me think that a bigger (body + battery grip) DSLR is becoming a relative rarity out there, that the average person assumes anyone hauling around a large, professional looking camera must be a 'pro' of some sort.

Where have all the DSLRs of all makes disappeared to in the past years. About a decade ago I would walk into a camera store and there were many up here...the place would be crowded with people buying entry DSLR's and point and shooters. Now many of these camera stores have folded and the few that remain open have few customers.

I really wonder where all the DSLR, Mirrorless cameras have gone ? I wonder if many were bought with the idea of becoming a new hobby and then...the novelty wore off ...and the cameras remain in their boxes or camera cases packed away, little used, above the spare linen in a closet.

[Rondec]

Exactly! "We" are not Ricoh.

Moreover, "we" are not "we" either. Some Pentaxians say "we need better video" and other Pentaxians say "we don't care about video." Ditto on-board flash, GPS, small size, two SD cards, etc. etc.

The challenge for Ricoh is figuring about all the different types of "we" in the camera buying world and creating products that both don't cost too much design and produce and yet attract enough different "we" groups to part with enough cash to make the whole venture viable.

I think the big thing that is not mentioned in all of these discussions is that I believe when Pentax designs a new camera they do so to a specific price point -- that is to say "Let's build a 950 dollar APS-C camera. What specs can we get into that camera and still turn a profit?" This is a pretty safe way to play it, but it is quite different from sitting down with a specs sheet and highlighting all the ones you want, the sensor you need to accomplish those and then tallying up the total.

My feeling is that if Pentax was focused on getting the latest and greatest sensors, fastest processors, etc. they could probably turn out a pretty high end camera, but it would also be very pricey. Personally, I can deal with sensors that are a little older and therefore don't have the highest frame rates and things like that, but it definitely is a different mentality from that of a company like Sony.

---------- Post added 09-15-18 at 04:59 PM ----------

I like to take photographs outdoors and outdoors is where I generally see most expensive cameras, DSLR, Mirrorless etc. About 8-10 years ago at a medium sized event (say 2-300 people) I would see around 5 -7 people (including me) walking around with a DSLR, etc. There would also be more than that number with a point and shooter. Most of the cameras would be Canon, then Nikon...then a mix of Pentax, Sony, etc.

Currently when I walk around at similar outdoor events I'll see maybe 1-3 people sporting expensive cameras. Me, invariably ...them maybe a couple more. Often I'm the only one walking around with an expensive DSLR, Mirrorless, etc. camera. Occasionally I'll see more. Last week at an event there was me (Pentax), then a man in his late 30's with wife in tow, taking pix with a newer, entry Canon DSLR and another older man with a Nikon D700. A lot and I mean a lot of people had their cell phones out snapping away...not one...during this summer had a point and shooter.

On occasion someone will ask me if I'm with the press...which I assume is due to the size of the K1/K5 with battery grip attached. I tell them no, I'm just an amateur, a hobbyist.... but it does make me think that a bigger (body + battery grip) DSLR is becoming a relative rarity out there, that the average person assumes anyone hauling around a large, professional looking camera must be a 'pro' of some sort.

Where have all the DSLRs of all makes disappeared to in the past years. About a decade ago I would walk into a camera store and there were many up here...the place would be crowded with people buying entry DSLR's and point and shooters. Now many of these camera stores have folded and the few that remain open have few customers.

I really wonder where all the DSLR, Mirrorless cameras have gone ? I wonder if many were bought with the idea of becoming a new hobby and then...the novelty wore off ...and the cameras remain in their boxes or camera cases packed away, little used, above the spare linen in a closet.

The odd thing to me is that while I do see a fair number SLRs when I am walking about, they tend to be older generations -- D7000, T4i, things that were released several years ago. What I don't see are mirrorless cameras. My guess is that there are areas of the world where they are sold in large numbers and places where they aren't. Either way, I just don't see them walking around parks and zoos and places like that in Virginia or elsewhere in my travels with my family.

[RonHendriks1966]

The odd thing to me is that while I do see a fair number SLRs when I am walking about, they tend to be older generations -- D7000, T4i, things that were released several years ago. What I don't see are mirrorless cameras. My guess is that there are areas of the world where they are sold in large numbers and places where they aren't. Either way, I just don't see them walking around parks and zoos and places like that in Virginia or elsewhere in my travels with my family.

Your eyes see what they should see.....

Look at this tabel from cipa about sales in the first 7 months of 2018.

http://www.cipa.jp/stats/documents/e/d-201807_e.pdf

Just to look at the three groups, compacts, dslr and mirrorless

Japan - 1 mirrorless, 2 compacts and 3 dslr
The Americas - 1 dslr, 2 mirrorless and 3 compacts

So you are right by not yet seeing many mirrorless. They sold less and have little ground from history of sales in the past years in your area.

[Lord Lucan]

If I want to use a flash, every Pentax DSLR I have ever had has a hotshoe. I can slide a nice, full featured flash into it, or, better yet, connect a cable

Agreed. Coming from film I was a bit shocked when I first saw pop-up flashes on DSLRs. I associated that with P&S cameras. I admit I find it occasionally useful on my K10-D, but as I mostly use flash for close-ups (like for ebay selling, and posting pics of mechanical bits for a practical car forum) the lens shadow ruins pop-up flash. I use a ring flash for that stuff.

Where have all the DSLRs of all makes disappeared to in the past years. ...... I wonder if many were bought with the idea of becoming a new hobby and then...the novelty wore off ...

Probably. I was in a local camera club about the time when affordable DSLRs took off. The club membership, which had been dwindling down to about eight regulars quickly shot up to about 30-35. I am not in that club now, but I doubt if those numbers were sustained because it seemed to me that many of the new members had joined to learn about handling their particular cameras rather than being interested in the "Fine Art" aspects of the subject. But there is a limit to giving talks on handling digital cameras, because beyond a certain point they are all different, and such detailed questions as "How do I get this old flash gun of my father's to work with my Nikon D50?" are better asked and answered on internet forums.

[totsmuyco]

Your eyes see what they should see.....

Look at this tabel from cipa about sales in the first 7 months of 2018.

http://www.cipa.jp/stats/documents/e/d-201807_e.pdf

Just to look at the three groups, compacts, dslr and mirrorless

Japan - 1 mirrorless, 2 compacts and 3 dslr
The Americas - 1 dslr, 2 mirrorless and 3 compacts

So you are right by not yet seeing many mirrorless. They sold less and have little ground from history of sales in the past years in your area.

Interesting report. I believe the CIPA report is correct as I live in the Philippines. There are still more DSLR users than MILC users. But I think MILC users are constantly increasing. When I do my yearly shoot during the Dinagyang festival, I can see that there is a steady increase in MILC cameras. At first I only saw about 2-4 MILC out of a hundred cameras. In 4 years it rapidly increased and I think now, 30-40 percent are MILC users.

[Rondec]

For whatever reason, MILCs seem to have take off more in Asia than elsewhere.

I guess my comment earlier was focused more on the fact that while I see ILCs when I am out, I seldom see any that were released in the last couple of years and so my feeling is that far from chasing new tech, people are pretty satisfied with a little older tech that is present on their four or five year old cameras.

[clackers]

So you think that the brand is doing things OK? i respect that, but i think the opposite, i know that we have great products and some people come looking for that, but I also feel that we need to speed up things and to be more aggressive in order to gain market share that at the end is how a brand grows..

You don't try to acquire share in a declining market, Kooks. Your spending will likely result in financial losses.

Small companies trying to copy market leaders' behaviour and products (me too!) is probably disastrous.

Let me completely fabricate some numbers to illustrate spending required in your Costa Rica. Let's say there are 1000 current owners. Would you pay $5000 more on your next Pentax in order to raise $5 million in advertising and marketing?

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Last edited by clackers; 09-17-2018 at 01:05 AM.

[ffking]

Agreed. Coming from film I was a bit shocked when I first saw pop-up flashes on DSLRs. I associated that with P&S cameras.

All the later Pentax SLRs had pop up flash, didn't they, including top end models? (Z-1, MZ-S etc)

[automorphism]

Where have all the DSLRs of all makes disappeared to in the past years. About a decade ago I would walk into a camera store and there were many up here...the place would be crowded with people buying entry DSLR's and point and shooters. Now many of these camera stores have folded and the few that remain open have few customers.

I really wonder where all the DSLR, Mirrorless cameras have gone ? I wonder if many were bought with the idea of becoming a new hobby and then...the novelty wore off ...and the cameras remain in their boxes or camera cases packed away, little used, above the spare linen in a closet.

Lots of stuff moved online, and P&S cameras have all but disappeared because of smartphones.

There are still lots of stuff in stores though. The Toronto Henry's store was doing pretty well and full of customers when I was there last. An employee was even demonstrating the use of a flashgun to someone.

[reh321]

On occasion someone will ask me if I'm with the press...which I assume is due to the size of the K1/K5 with battery grip attached. I tell them no, I'm just an amateur, a hobbyist.... but it does make me think that a bigger (body + battery grip) DSLR is becoming a relative rarity out there, that the average person assumes anyone hauling around a large, professional looking camera must be a 'pro' of some sort.

Questions like that is precisely why I got a blue K-30 - it looks so much less "professional". My style often depends on my being ignored by others - I don't want my camera to affect the scene I'm photographing, and that includes people. I'm hoping to get a silver KP as my next camera, for the same reason.

[clickclick]

On occasion someone will ask me if I'm with the press...which I assume is due to the size of the K1/K5 with battery grip attached. I tell them no, I'm just an amateur, a hobbyist.... but it does make me think that a bigger (body + battery grip) DSLR is becoming a relative rarity out there, that the average person assumes anyone hauling around a large, professional looking camera must be a 'pro' of some sort.

I don't want my camera to affect the scene I'm photographing, and that includes people.

I just went through this taking prom pictures at a community pier a few months ago. I was using my K-1 with the 24-70, and the next thing I knew, I had people coming up to me wanting to know how to get copies of the photos. If only I'd been quicker on my feet, maybe could have finally made a buck.

[lesmore49]

Lots of stuff moved online, and P&S cameras have all but disappeared because of smartphones.

There are still lots of stuff in stores though. The Toronto Henry's store was doing pretty well and full of customers when I was there last. An employee was even demonstrating the use of a flashgun to someone.

In my burg, two of the three Henry;s closed down in the last couple of years. There's one left here, now.

---------- Post added 09-17-18 at 07:25 PM ----------

I just went through this taking prom pictures at a community pier a few months ago. I was using my K-1 with the 24-70, and the next thing I knew, I had people coming up to me wanting to know how to get copies of the photos. If only I'd been quicker on my feet, maybe could have finally made a buck.

You probably could make a buck or two at both proms and grad ceremonies. You might have to have a sign advertising your service and approval from the organizations running those proms/grads. Another place to make some moolah would be at bowling alleys. Take pictures of teams, etc...again prior approval from the owner of the alley.

Your K1 and 24-70 look the part of a pro camera as they are suited for professional work....but the size and appearance of the K1/24-70 appeals to people as they realize a picture from that outfit is going to be better than their cell phone...and these are photographs they want to frame, cherish because of the significance of the event in their lives.

[normhead]

In my burg, two of the three Henry;s closed down in the last couple of years. There's one left here, now.

You only need one....

[lesmore49]

You only need one....

That's very true and I hope Henry's maintains their presence here.

I order all my camera equipment through them and they order from Pentax. They've provided great service, advice and although they don't carry Pentax stock in this store, I'm at the point where I have a good idea on what I want and what it will do. I don't feel I have to try it out first, although that would still be nice to be able to do. But I can live with it.

I used to rely on getting information from magazines such as Modern Photography, Popular Photography, Shutterbug (print magazine has shut down this year) , camera stores and other photographers (still do this one)...but now find online webs such as Pentax Forum the go to place to 'keep up' with the latest on Pentax equipment. The great thing about forums is that I can get a plethora of good info quickly and it is nice to be a participant with other Pentax enthusiasts on a computer forum.

Fifty, forty, thirty even twenty years ago...I wouldn't of dreamed that the photography world would of changed so much, but as with all things there are pluses and minuses to change and in the case of photography for me, the digital camera world has been a change for the better, compared to the old film days.

[h.butz]

I've seen disparaging reviews about Pentax whose major gripes were they didn't have features which everyone else had. Like... I don't see the need for a touch screen LCD. Maybe they're useful. Or, 4k video. Again, never saw the need to shoot video with my DSLR at all and would rather use a video camera to shoot video, myself.

Not adding "me too" features keeps the cost down. Major camera companies are insisting you need higher burst rates to shoot wildlife. Suddenly there's a whole flock of photographers standing in a field shooting poor photographs of birds, center of frame, against a blank sky, to justify their really expensive cameras; but, you weren't taking wildlife photography before. What made you suddenly take up wildlife photography? or, sports photography?

The oddest negative comment I've seen in a review of Pentax was, "They're late to the party." (and that makes it a bad thing)

Perhaps some of these reviewers get their advertising dollars from the companies with the larger market shares.

I switched to Pentax for all the great features in their consumer grade cameras when I was in college and kept buying Pentax because of the unmatched customer service by a company who cares about their customers.