Originally posted by tomwil People complain about the lens prices, because Ricoh has decided to be like the razor/shaver and printer companies.
Ricoh/Pentax decreases the price of their cameras, knowing that once you get hooked on their system, you have to buy their expensive lenses knowing that a camera alone is worthless. The razor/shaver and printer companies do the same thing, selling cheap razors and printers, and fleecing their customers with the overpriced consumables such as razor replacement heads and ink/toner cartridges.
Getting a K-30 is not such a great steal, once you factor in the inflated lens prices.
This anology doesn't hold up. A printer is useless without ink, a razor is worthless without blades. A K-30 with a WR 18-55 can be used for years without changing anything. Some of the best lenses for Pentax are made by other manufacturers. Tamron 90maco and 17-50, Sigma 70-200 2.8. You can have an awesome lens lineup without spending a penny on Pentax lenses. So many of us have legacy glass, that we could buy a K-30 just for SAFOX and not need another thing. Lots of people buy basic Pentax kit without ever buying another thing. ANd even on the forum.. the first lens often recommended after that is the 35 2.4, hardly a huge profit maker.
Saying prices are exorbitant ignores the 55-300 $479, the 35 2.4 $199, DA L-50-200 - $99, 40 XS 249$ , DA 50 1.8 $249. I'm not sure how any of these lenses qualify as "price gougers", I'd say more likely a response to cut rate pricing from other companies.
So I guess you could say Pentax is going to sell you any combination of those 5 and then "price gouge" you on the rest. In there they have a couple telephoto options, a couple of wide aperture options, 2 zooms, 3 primes and quite a bit of choice in selecting your starter kit.
You could argue, none of these are actually "quality lenses" you can argue whatever you want. Everyone's entitled to an opinion, but if 95% of the people who read your opinion just say pffft and read the next post....
My first digital kit... the 18-55 with a Sigma 70-300 macro kept me happy for years. My canon printer sits unused because it costs me $230 every time I want to start with a fresh set of inks. The two experiences are the exact opposite.