[Fontan]

You can sell lots of cameras but go broke as a company.

Brave new world for camera manufacturers. You can do everything right and still eat dirt. One wrong move and you maybe hosed for good. I really think that pricing thus camera right is very very important for Pentax. It’s fun speculating, but I imagine pretty scary for the prospect of getting it wrong.

[clackers]

Brave new world for camera manufacturers. You can do everything right and still eat dirt. One wrong move and you maybe hosed for good. I really think that pricing thus camera right is very very important for Pentax. It’s fun speculating, but I imagine pretty scary for the prospect of getting it wrong.

Yeah, who'd be a camera company executive? Who'd give a *loan* to a camera company, even bridging, when you can see the sales drop off the cliff as they have, with no prospect of return to 2012 levels?

[Wasp]

Let me answer the question from my perspective. Pentax cameras are not big in South Africa. The local importers also do Fujifilm and a few other, so I suppose that is what keep the lights burning. Dealers are few and far in between. Very few keep stock, but most will take your money on a pre-order basis and get you the Pentax of your dreams. The price makes my eyes water. The K70 is about the same money as the Canon EOS 90D. The KP competes against the Canon EOS 6D Mark II. If you can live life with a mirror, the EOS RP is the same price as a K70. Where that leaves the upcoming K-new remains to be seen. My best guess is that it will compete against the Nikon D780 and Canon EOS R - not a compelling proposition for anybody getting into a new system. Even a lifelong Pentaxian like myself will have to think long and hard. We are now talking about way more than a month's salary for the average South African here, which means that the market is not big. With Pentax being a very small fish in a small pond, I wouldn't be surprised if it the K-new is not even released in this part of the world. Sorry about the gloom and doom, but that's the way I see it.

[clackers]

Let me answer the question from my perspective. Pentax cameras are not big in South Africa. The local importers also do Fujifilm and a few other, so I suppose that is what keep the lights burning. Dealers are few and far in between. Very few keep stock, but most will take your money on a pre-order basis and get you the Pentax of your dreams. The price makes my eyes water. The K70 is about the same money as the Canon EOS 90D. The KP competes against the Canon EOS 6D Mark II. If you can live life with a mirror, the EOS RP is the same price as a K70. Where that leaves the upcoming K-new remains to be seen. My best guess is that it will compete against the Nikon D780 and Canon EOS R - not a compelling proposition for anybody getting into a new system. Even a lifelong Pentaxian like myself will have to think long and hard. We are now talking about way more than a month's salary for the average South African here, which means that the market is not big. With Pentax being a very small fish in a small pond, I wouldn't be surprised if it the K-new is not even released in this part of the world. Sorry about the gloom and doom, but that's the way I see it.

It may make no financial sense for Ricoh or you, Wasp. That's just how the market works.

Your situation in South Africa is different from mine, from the States, from Europe, from Japan ... each have their own scales of economy and laws to comply with, too. For instance, in Australia, the 12 month warranty would be not long enough by consumer standards, so the importer has to charge extra to cover a 2 year warranty instead.

But even in all our countries, actual 'shops' ... brick and mortar camera stores ... are an economic no-no. They make no sense, online shopping is the way of the future. Jeff Bezos would say the present.

This site has affiliated itself with two online sellers to help pay the bills, again, just the way of the world.

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Last edited by clackers; 09-26-2020 at 03:20 PM.

[dafbp]

Things (besides the unknown specs) pushing the initial price towards K1 level:
-low volume (all the reasons have been discussed here)
-differentiation (only APS DSLR manufacturer)
-moving towards premium (the "photography experience")
-fanbase desire

I wouldn't be surprised with a €/£1400-1500 initial price. Maybe more if the silver version is available at release.

[reh321]

-moving towards premium (the "photography experience")

This is only words so far.
We will have to see some action before it will affect prices any.

[zapp]

Not knowing the specs and looking at the current lens lineup, 2k is the upper limit and I am almost sure, the K new price will land close to the upper price limit. A lot of talk about details that nobody reports in spec sheets that do make the difference in everyday life. A perfect viewfinder is worth much more than many think. This is costly. Gradual improvements of af and sensor performance plus the af selector joystick already make for a great camera.
Pentax wants more these days than tiny improvement steps. Whenever the camera will be presented, important features will show mayor improvements - most likely af. They delivered K1, 1.4/85, ... showing that the wait is worth it.

[MarkJerling]

Let me answer the question from my perspective. Pentax cameras are not big in South Africa. The local importers also do Fujifilm and a few other, so I suppose that is what keep the lights burning. Dealers are few and far in between. Very few keep stock, but most will take your money on a pre-order basis and get you the Pentax of your dreams. The price makes my eyes water. The K70 is about the same money as the Canon EOS 90D. The KP competes against the Canon EOS 6D Mark II. If you can live life with a mirror, the EOS RP is the same price as a K70. Where that leaves the upcoming K-new remains to be seen. My best guess is that it will compete against the Nikon D780 and Canon EOS R - not a compelling proposition for anybody getting into a new system. Even a lifelong Pentaxian like myself will have to think long and hard. We are now talking about way more than a month's salary for the average South African here, which means that the market is not big. With Pentax being a very small fish in a small pond, I wouldn't be surprised if it the K-new is not even released in this part of the world. Sorry about the gloom and doom, but that's the way I see it.

What's the import duty on electronic goods like cameras these days? I know it used to be steep, years back in RSA.

[Wasp]

What's the import duty on electronic goods like cameras these days? I know it used to be steep, years back in RSA.

These days only VAT (sales tax) at 15% gets added. I know this from importing a lens two years ago.

[Rondec]

Things (besides the unknown specs) pushing the initial price towards K1 level:
-low volume (all the reasons have been discussed here)
-differentiation (only APS DSLR manufacturer)
-moving towards premium (the "photography experience")
-fanbase desire

I wouldn't be surprised with a €/£1400-1500 initial price. Maybe more if the silver version is available at release.

It feels like a mistake to compare prices to the K-1 II, where the camera has been out for a couple of years and was based on an even older camera body and sensor. If and when Pentax releases a K-1 II sequel, with a new sensor and processing engine, I expect the price tag to be north of 2000 dollars.

Entry level camera prices may be static, but higher level camera prices are going to go up. They'll have to if brands are going to turn a profit.

[MarkJerling]

These days only VAT (sales tax) at 15% gets added. I know this from importing a lens two years ago.

In that case, the distributor should probably adjust his margins. (Like that's going to happen.)

[TerryL]

You kidding? I'm just now feeling like I've begun to figure out how to work the KP!

Me too, and it’s a fine camera.

[FozzFoster]

Just would like to comment about the current state of hardware out there...
The recently released Nvidia RTX 3080 outperforms the previous flagship RTX 2080Ti and the 3080 is about 2/3 the cost.
Also AMD is doing some fantastic things that puts Intel behind the ball.

I don't think it's too bizarre to state that the K-New could outperform a 2016 camera (D500) and even beat it on price...

[jatrax]

I don't think it's too bizarre to state that the K-New could outperform a 2016 camera (D500) and even beat it on price...

Depends on their goal and commitment. Years ago they stated that having the 'best' AF system was a goal of theirs. Mostly everyone politely ignored the statement rather than laugh. But if you look at what they have done since then, new AF sensor, accelerator chip, PLM lenses, new prism design. All of those things indicate an effort to get to a long term goal. Will the K-new reach that goal? No way to tell if it will or if its just another step on the journey.

[texandrews]

Just would like to comment about the current state of hardware out there...
The recently released Nvidia RTX 3080 outperforms the previous flagship RTX 2080Ti and the 3080 is about 2/3 the cost.
Also AMD is doing some fantastic things that puts Intel behind the ball.

I don't think it's too bizarre to state that the K-New could outperform a 2016 camera (D500) and even beat it on price...

Yeah, you've got a point there. This is very true of a bunch of computer componentry that is selling at the same time, in fact. Not sure if it directly relates here, but it would be good if it did.