[DebLewis]

I have a story the OP should enjoy...

I'm a novice and haven't had a serious camera in 30yrs.. My little PnS was getting outdated and I decided it was time to get something a little more substantial.. So I started my research and no surprise had it narrowed down to the usual entry level suspects.. Ti, D5000, K-x.. after reading a ton of info I was leaning towards the K-x..

Next step.. get my hands on all of the above to see how each one "felt".. As luck would have it about this same time there was a Photo Expo in town.. what a great way to get a good look at all these cameras! right...

Well, Cannon was there.. Nikon was there.. no Pentax.. but hey one of the major Camera outlets in my area had a booth.. they should have a variety and some information.. guess what.. they wouldn't even discuss Pentax with me because Pentax wasn't at the expo.. and further more the salesmen went on about how Pentax is going under, and how they've closed down their service centers in the US so the cameras can only be supported abroad.. etc.. Had I left it at that I would have been terrified of buying Pentax..

so not only is there not enough exposure for Pentax but it seems a lot of bad information is out there as well.. also its harder to find a Pentax.. you pretty much have to set out to find one if you want to get your hands on one.. unlike Cannon/Nikon which you can find in about any store with electronics..

I agree I love my little K-x and it should be getting a lot more attention.. If they just got it out on the counters of the major retailers I think it would rival Cannon and Nikon..

[arpaagent]

Alfisti, good suggestions, particularly with partnering with outdoor oriented companies. It would be cool to see Pentax cameras sold in stores such as REI, Great Outdoors Provisions Company, Dicks Sporting Goods Stores, etc (Not sure what's equivalent in Canada) I agree about the outdoor rugged segment, but almost seems like it's been abandoned with the K-x. Will be interesting to see if something with weather seals fills the gap between K-x and K-7.

I really like their motto "Be Interesting." I think it is a great tag line in today's world of mediocrity. X-Games, Triathalon, surfing, etc. Those are all interesting so I think they fit well. Tony Hawk is also interesting.

Also makes me wonder what the biggest demographic is for current entry level first time DSLR buyers is. Male, Female? Young, Middle-aged? Techies, Noobs? Need some sort of information like this to determine how to target the best audience.

Maybe Christian Bale (Batman Begins/Dark Knight/Terminator Salvation) would be good since he's the biggest action movie star out there right now and I think everyone probably recognizes him. Although that's probably out of the budget range for Pentax. But who wouldn't want to use the same camera as Batman?

That reminds me, did Peter Parker (Spidey) from recent spiderman trilogy have any brand loyalty? Since he was a photo-journalist that would have been a great opportunity for someone to do marketing.

[Peter Zack]

The Bat-Cam. What a great idea. Heck don't get C. Bale, Just get the rights to the costume for some ads. Do some batman stuff.

I still like the German commercial on You Tube.

DebLewis, I really didn't "enjoy" that story as it clearly shows the no rep, no ad, no store weakness of the current strategy. If every maker was strictly selling online, then fine, but to leave C/N to have all the stores to themselves, bad move.

So what made you buy a KX? After that I'm surprised you did.

[DebLewis]

Sorry for the cross post, but this pretty much answers your question Pete..

oh and to add one more to the list.. stabiliztion in the body over in the lens, just somehow made more sense to me even if I can't explain why..

The K-x got me because of a combination of things..

Price

Price and Wide Choice of both new and old Lenses

Ease of Use.. the screens just made more sense to me.. as a novice this one was important.. if its confusing and I don't understand it, I'm not going to enjoy using it.. or get the most out of it..

and I'm naturally an independent and defiant personality..


I bought just the body and my first lens was a Takumar I found on ebay for $40.. without reading much of anything I was able to get started in manual mode.. I'm quickly learning my way around and actually understanding "why" I get different results.. its a good camera to learn on and thats what I was looking for.

[Alfisti]

Also makes me wonder what the biggest demographic is for current entry level first time DSLR buyers is. Male, Female? Young, Middle-aged? Techies, Noobs? Need some sort of information like this to determine how to target the best audience.

My guess is the female head of household who wants to take photos of their kid and/or needs to keep up with the jonses.

[monochrome]

So where's the issue? It's Marketing! Marketing, marketing, marketing. Did you get that? Is anyone listening in P/H land? Marketing please.

Camera bodies sell lenses. Lenses make profit. Profit makes R&D money and marketing money available. Marketing money sells more cameras which sell more lenses which make more profits. R&D money produces SDM II and new FF bodies, new lenses we want.

See why a little $599.00 (Adorama) camera is so important to each and every one of us?

End Rant.

Believe it or not, this story is absolutely true. In St. Louis we actually have a successful B&M Camera Chain - Creve Couer Camera. 9 stores. Been in business since the 60's. Built their business on the Spotmatic.

THEY STILL CARRY, AND THEY STILL FEATURE PENTAX!!!

Last night I actually saw a Co-Op TELEVISION COMMERCIAL (30 second spot in the local slot right after the Network News) for the Pentax K-x!! featured at Creve Couer Camera.

Maybe all it takes in a local store owner (maybe a local Co-Op of single stores?) willing to take a business risk.

This is the real deal - we see Pentax commercials (and hear them on the radio) every year during the holiday season and from time to time throughout the year.

[Peter Zack]

Paul, there you go. All Pentax has to do is target some key markets as a test. Partner with a few stores, produce good TV ads like the one above and see if it has an impact on sales. If it does, then roll it out across the country. If not, I'll shut up.

[GerryL]

That pretty much is the problem, no more store presence.
This is important more specially during the Christmas holidays as when people shop, they GO TO THE STORES.
They look for what is available and buy what they see for their loved ones or for themselves.
They should take into the marketing of McDonald's...He's here, he's hungry..serve him now before he goes somewhere else.

Plus, the more production that Pentax has, the lenses and camera unit prices will go down too!

[monochrome]

No one cares about this except Pentax fan-boys and haters. Entry level buyers want to use the live view LCD screen for composition anyways, until they learn that optical viewfinder is way better after they buy the camera.

Agree and disagree

68deluxe, Sorry I disagree. Do you really think that a new or entry level buyer cares one bit if there's a red dot in the center of the screen? Nope not at all. They don't even know that some cameras have this.

Not all entry-leel cmaera buyers are Soccer Moms!!

Agree.

True story - had Thanksgiving dinner with my son's girlfriend's family (separate story there). I really like this family - they are a lot like mine in almost all ways.

Had my Digital AF "kit" in the trunk of the car, but didn't bring it in the House. Family is upper-middle-class USA, guy retired at 55 from corporate executive world and is starting a new business. VERY smart, successful guy.

Guy brings out the Sony DSC-HX1 for the after-dinner pictures. Flash auto-raises in a fully-lighted room. He used the rear LCD to compose - agree w/ aarpagent on this.

DSC-HX1

My son tells him I'm a camera guy.

So I have to look this over. and I'm actually impressed with the tiny thing and the quality of the EVIL viewfinder, but the interface sucks for me. I never even looked at LV - just went straight to VF. I comment on the EVIL VF - he tells me he tried it but he would rather not squint to take pictures - so I disagree w/ aarpagent on part 2

I bring my camera bag in - K10D w/ battery grip, FA35/2 mounted, FA50/1.4, DA 55~300 and A35~105 in the slots. Let him play with mine while I played with his.

Turns out he got the camera to carry in his briefcase for his business and he thinks it is the cat's meow. Thinks mine is way too heavy - I took the BG off - and wouldn't want to change lenses all the time. Asked how to turn on my LCD. Literally asked what the red dot is for!!

Actually, at the end he said something like if you want to use a digital like an old film camera he could see the point, but why would anyone want to do that?

[DebLewis]

Monochrome.. sounds like your friend just isn't a DSLR kinda guy.. he probably would say the same about a D5000 or Ti..

[Peter Zack]

Monochrome, Yes very true. Explaining DOF to him would be (no matter how smart) like explaining a DNA sequence. He just doesn't care or get the reason for a DSLR.

Consider that the hottest camera on the market isn't a camera. It's a cell phone. There are more of those than anything.

At one time I would shoot for my local newspaper with an LX and all prime lenses. They would reject a lot of the shots for various quality reasons. Today on the national news, they show crappy cell phone stills and video. The world has changed drastically.

The KX is built for this market. Small , colourful, video.....

[Peter Zack]

Plus, the more production that Pentax has, the lenses and camera unit prices will go down too!

Don't count on that but with luck we will get a few more choices and a new SDM system. I'd love to see a prime around 100mm and another around 150mm (fast please <f2.0 and macro doesn't count)

[Silat Shooter]

Well I noticed the KX and have been a long time FF Canon shooter but was in the market for a smaller less obtrusive camera to carry around. I really wanted to buy the K7 especially now with the rebate but I prefer to shoot available light and often find myself at 1600 and 3200 ISO. So couldn't get myslef to pull the trigger on the K7 and its sensor, everything else seem soo positive. So I just ordered a KX with the 2 lens kit withe 55-300.

I really wanted in-body stabilization because I prefer primes and drool over the Pentax pancake primes. So intend on adding a few to my bag to frankly replace the 18-55 zoom. Canon's and Nikon's offerings don't match up in my opinion and I own Canon.

Unfortuantely, noone in my area sells the brand so had to order it sight unseen and based on what I have read. That's a major problem for Pentax. There's a new generation of photographers that know nothing of the brand.

I'll report my findings but very eager to get my hands on it. I tried the Panasonic G1 and the Micro 4/3rd and dynamic range of that sensor is a joke. That's a big fuss over an undeserving product. So disappointed, got rid of it to fund this KX purchase.

Keep your fingers crossed for me!!

[legacyb4]

Agreed; a buddy of mine in Hawaii was primed to get the K-x (on my suggestion) but because he needed it for an upcoming weekend trip, it was a no go because he couldn't get his hands on one...

There is no store presence, that's the problem ... no one has a clue who Pentax is besides nerds like us.

[Peter Zack]

Well I noticed the KX and have been a long time FF Canon shooter but was in the market for a smaller less obtrusive camera to carry around. I really wanted to buy the K7 especially now with the rebate but I prefer to shoot available light and often find myself at 1600 and 3200 ISO. So couldn't get myslef to pull the trigger on the K7 and its sensor, everything else seem soo positive. So I just ordered a KX with the 2 lens kit withe 55-300.

I really wanted in-body stabilization because I prefer primes and drool over the Pentax pancake primes. So intend on adding a few to my bag to frankly replace the 18-55 zoom. Canon's and Nikon's offerings don't match up in my opinion and I own Canon.

Unfortuantely, noone in my area sells the brand so had to order it sight unseen and based on what I have read. That's a major problem for Pentax. There's a new generation of photographers that know nothing of the brand.

I'll report my findings but very eager to get my hands on it. I tried the Panasonic G1 and the Micro 4/3rd and dynamic range of that sensor is a joke. That's a big fuss over an undeserving product. So disappointed, got rid of it to fund this KX purchase.

Keep your fingers crossed for me!!

Welcome to Pentax and the forums,
that's great and being a dual brand shooter, it will be interesting to hear your thoughts. I'm not dissing Canon or any other brand, just wishing Pentax would get it's marketing act together.