[Jean Poitiers]

Shame, because it's a fun and capable little camera. I think this again points to the failure of inadequate marketing. We know about it because we follow Pentax, but does anyone else who isn't already committed to the brand?

Good point ... and decent "marketing/store shelf presence" has been the brand's Achilles' heel a lot more than the lack of a FF and/or an expanded lens catalog, IMHO ... J

[jtkratzer]

Good point ... and decent "marketing/store shelf presence" has been the brand's Achilles' heel a lot more than the lack of a FF and/or an expanded lens catalog, IMHO ... J

That's my biggest gripe about the brand. I can't buy without getting a look at anything first and have to depend on online vendors' good customer service and return policy in the event something doesn't work out.

I don't have the funds or really the desire to run multiple systems, except maybe one of the tiny Fuji systems, so the compare and contrast for camera bodies was most important when I bought my first DSLR. Unfortunately for that store, they were charging more than $400 over the online prices and over MSRP. They had nothing but good things to say about the capabilities and soecs, but also griped about the marketing as it made it more difficult for them to sell Pentax.

[Jean Poitiers]

That's my biggest gripe about the brand. I can't buy without getting a look at anything first and have to depend on online vendors' good customer service and return policy in the event something doesn't work out.

I don't have the funds or really the desire to run multiple systems, except maybe one of the tiny Fuji systems, so the compare and contrast for camera bodies was most important when I bought my first DSLR. Unfortunately for that store, they were charging more than $400 over the online prices and over MSRP. They had nothing but good things to say about the capabilities and soecs, but also griped about the marketing as it made it more difficult for them to sell Pentax.

Yes ... it's not an optimal situation for a lot of the Pentax customer base. Luckily, I have a B&M store/chain at Poitiers, but the prices are not cheap, read elevated somewhat ... Sometimes tempted to buy on-line in the US and have shipped to me in France via family ... but that's risky for a lot of other reasons. J

[dax82]

it s fun capable camera

[Steve.Ledger]

Not a great success as a product ... the fire sale has been "on" since the beginning of the month and is here :

Pentax MX-1 Closeout Sale - Pentax Deals - PentaxForums.com

Only now $199.00, plus free shipping and additional 4% discount card in the States ... flop.

Can you show me the official figures that support your conclusions, please.

[Tony Belding]

Will putting on a Ricoh nameplate in a new version increase sales? Would the MX-1 have sold better if it had an optional EVF like the competition and had faster write times?

An EVF accessory is something that would be nice to see in the future -- one that isn't model-specific, but could work interchangeably on future Ricoh/Pentax cameras. BTW, I think the same about batteries, but they keep coming up with a new-and-incompatible battery for every camera!

Anyhow... I think the MX-1's shortcomings were more with marketing than with design. The MX-1 doesn't cater to preconceived notions about compact cameras. That's not a bad thing in itself, but it does mean marketing has to work harder to get the message across, to explain who this is for and what its purpose is. Pentax -- now Ricoh -- is not known for great marketing savvy. (Neither are most camera companies, actually. They all pretty much fail at software too.)

[Steve.Ledger]

Pentax -- now Ricoh -- is not known for great marketing savvy.

I think RICOH know a thing or two about Marketting.

You Tube

You Tube

[Jean Poitiers]

Can you show me the official figures that support your conclusions, please.

Well, now that you have put me on the spot ... I have no figures ... go figure. Do I need them to post here?

Just some common sense observations IMHO.

(1.) "Close out" = bad term: the product is not moving well plus I have not seen any announcement for a successor of the camera (Edit: MX-1 discountenance was announced in the PF sale post), which would lead the common person to read "fire sale" close out. Do you see a success here? (Edit: I have not seen many companies discontinue successful selling products, as a general rule.)

(2.) If you have the figures, what's the "delta" between the introduction price and the $199.00 current price point? I think it's quite large and would again lead to the conclusion of an unsuccessful product ... why give it away if it's so good and still relatively young in its product life cycle?

I could go on, but what's the point. It got, at best, luke warm reviews in the French photo press and was way, way too expensive at the beginning of its life cycle for the value that it conveyed IMHO. I have never handled one, but Pentax sure never created any desire for me to try it out either ... and I'm a pretty big "fan boy", if you wish to use that term. J

[Steve.Ledger]

I can understand why it seems like common sense to you, but I take a wider view.

JohnSchick over at PU put it well:

MX-1 discontinued?:
I wouldn't trust the B and H website for that....they've declared other items as discontinued in the past when they weren't. It might be more about lack of availability. I have a suspicion Ricoh/Pentax prioritise the markets where they perform better, and I think Japan, Australia and Europe are probably bigger for them than the USA currently.

Pentax/Ricoh make no mention of this product being discontinued on any of their global websites (I checked US/UK/Au/JP - all still have it available).
Stores do not announce discontinued cameras, camera manufacturers do so first.

Also note that the $199 sale isn't global, (I'd have another one by now if they were ) So I can't arrive at the same conclusions from this alone.

I seem to recall similar talk about the Q (which was also perceived as over priced at release), but it's actually a heck of a success the sales of which have spawned more bodies and lenses. And who's to say another 'retro' brassy compact isn't in the wings? What I do see is Ricoh seem to have a much different marketing and model turn-around approach than previous Pentax owners did.

[Jean Poitiers]

I can understand why it seems like common sense to you, but I take a wider view. ...

OK ... thanks for your reply and points well taken ... I guess we will see soon enough how the cards play-out here ... J