When preparing to buy my KP in 2019, I also prepared a document of lenses I might want to buy with it. This included the prices at that time.

So, in March 2019, I observed the following:

Pentax 70-200mm Lens: $2199.00. Current price: $2939.00


Pentax 150-450mm Lens: $3145.00. Current Price : $3632.00

This is in a 22-month period of relatively low inflation. I could currently import the 150-450mm lense from an authorised dealer in the US - with shipment and tax included, for under $AU3000.00. Even a 15% off sale here in Australia (which happens very infrequently here) would not get the price down below the price of importing from the US.

But I face the likelihood that the local official importer would not recognise any warranty of a lens bought from an official retailer in the States.

Makes it hard for Pentax Enthusiasts in Australia who are not in a high income bracket.

[ffking]

£300 is about AU$525 at present, to buy a new FA 31mm in AU at present is $1,647

sorry - mistype - meant to say by not 'but' - the 31Ltd here is £1,349, the 70-200, as I mentioned it, is £2,079 (launched a £1,799 IIRC)

[beachgardener]

£1,349

man that is way over price, AU$2360
sorry, got holy trinity mixed up with 3 amigo's

[BROO]

The AUD had a short dip against both the USD and the JPY around that time. Now, it’s up around 0.75USD and the exchange rate against the Yen has pretty much followed the same path.

CRK’s price for the 150-450 in October 2020 was $2,950 with a 15% discount so the price has risen by a bit over $200 in that short time. It’s not a disaster but it’s clear that the stronger AUD hasn’t brought a downward correction so far, so I don’t expect one soon.

I shan’t be trading my Sigma 150-500 OIS in for a while, it seems.

I noticed the silver edition K-1 with battery grip is actually cheaper than the black version without battery grip. I think as a result of the higher AUD.
I think there will be a correction soon.

[ffking]

sorry, got holy trinity mixed up with 3 amigo's

not normally a problem outside of church

Incidentally, we pay 20% VAT here, which does inflate prices quite a bit

[zapp]

Pentax really increased prices on some if not most lenses. I think they are trying to establish higher prices. Ltds became VERY expensive in Europe. The older the design gets, the more they cost. Let’s see where prices will settle, for the last two years, prices went up. Only newly introduces lenses showed some price drop.
The market is shrinking, prices will go up, as long as we are willing to pay. The K3iii will be launched in an expensive price bracket as well. Pentax is becoming a premium brand.

[Michail_P]

Pentax really increased prices on some if not most lenses. I think they are trying to establish higher prices. Ltds became VERY expensive in Europe. The older the design gets, the more they cost. Let’s see where prices will settle, for the last two years, prices went up. Only newly introduces lenses showed some price drop.
The market is shrinking, prices will go up, as long as we are willing to pay. The K3iii will be launched in an expensive price bracket as well. Pentax is becoming a premium brand.

That’s sad. Premium means pricy. Ricoh is not helping us nor themselves. Unless we all imagine to be Leica dedicated supporters with a deep wallet.

[Eebll]

Wow, at those sort of price differences it's probably worth taking the chance on a warranty claim. Fortunately I've got all the gear I want, but CRK aren't making it easy for Pentax.

CRK have the monopoly here, both on sales and on repairs unfortunately. It's annoying having to send gear over to the east for repairs.

[K2 to K50]

Sounds like a great trip Peter. A contingency plan in case the DFA 150-450 doesn't turn up at a decent discount would be to look for an alternative lens for the trip. DA*300 + TC would be a good option and a lot cheaper. Or a Bigma if you want a zoom.

I have toyed with the idea of getting a 150-450 but it's mighty expensive and quite heavy. You could get a Nikon D500 with a 200-500 f5.6 second hand for significantly less. Just sayin'.

Thanks Des - I already have the 55-300mm PLM zoom, so I would see little value in investing in a 300mm prime. However, I did some thinking on your suggestion of a Nikon body with the Nikkor 200-500mm zoom.

Are there Nikkor or Canon to Pentax K mount adapters that preserve autofocus? If I bought a Tamron 150-600 for either Canon or Nikon, is there an adopter to use such on a KP?

Otherwise, I have discovered for between $3200 to $3500 I could buy brand new a Nikon D5600, or D7500 body, plus a brand new Nikkor 200-500mm lens. So for less money than the Pentax 150-450, I get a (brand new) second camera body and slightly longer (brand new) telephoto lens. I could keep the Nikon loaded with the telephoto, and my KP with my F2.8 100mm Macro - no lens swapping needed when changing from bird photography to insect/flower photography!
If I waited until Easter or June/July I could probably do even better on the Nikon combo on discount offers.

Anybody have any comments on image quality re Pentax 150-450 vs Nikkor 200-500mm?

[Sandy Hancock]

The prices will come down again. It all depends on how patient you can be.

I have no patience, so usually end up paying the early adopters premium....

[RobA_Oz]

CRK have the monopoly here, both on sales and on repairs unfortunately. It's annoying having to send gear over to the east for repairs.

Warranty repairs, I assume you mean. There are any repairs that can be done elsewhere. Anyway, I don't see how sending a lens away for a trained specialist to repair can be a big problem in this country. Melbournites have it better than the rest of us in that regard, but then they have to live in Melbourne!

Having had dealings with CRK for both sales and repairs, I can only say that we’re very fortunate to have them undertaking those roles, based on my own experience and judging by the reports we read here of the service in other countries.

[noelpolar]

I must admit.... I'd rather my gear go to a central repair facility that is more likely to have the appropiately skilled techs (they would see more similar faults which helps with equipment familuarity) then lesser experienced state based repair centres.

I've had 3 items visit their Melbourne repair facility.... service was good in each case.

[Des]

I have nothing but praise for CRK as well. They have serviced and cleaned my cameras and they brought my first copy of the PLM back from the dead twice. Very good to deal with.

Thanks Des - I already have the 55-300mm PLM zoom, so I would see little value in investing in a 300mm prime.

Many of us have both, because they serve different functions. The DA*300 f4 with teleconverter gives you an effective 420mm f5.6 with much less weight and at half the cost of the DFA 150-450 (even with the high cost of the DA TC), and with comparable image quality. If the birds are hopping around nearby, use the PLM. Have a look in the 300mm+ thread and you will see a lot of fine images taken with this combination. Even without the TC, the extra resolution from the 300 means that images can withstand a lot of cropping, and you gain 1.3 stops of aperture compared to the PLM at 300mm. The main downside of the DA*300 is its autofocus (performance and reliability).

I did some thinking on your suggestion of a Nikon body with the Nikkor 200-500mm zoom.Are there Nikkor or Canon to Pentax K mount adapters that preserve autofocus?

No.

If I bought a Tamron 150-600 for either Canon or Nikon, is there an adopter to use such on a KP?

No. Same goes for the Sigma 150--600 models. (IIRC, Sigma used to offer mount conversion, so that if you switched from say Canon to Sony you could get the mount changed at a reasonable price. But they only did it for mounts they supported for the particular lens - not K-mount for the 150-600.)

Anybody have any comments on image quality re Pentax 150-450 vs Nikkor 200-500mm?

I can't comment on this Peter. The 200-500 is at the cheap end of the Nikon range, but it is very popular. I do see a lot of images taken with it in the Birdlife magazine so that is something! There are millions of images with this lens on Flickr, so you can form your own view.

You might be interested in the comments of one user who switched to Nikon here: https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/122-lens-clubs/55946-300mm-plus-lens-clu...ml#post4455801 He later got a Nikkor 500mm f4 PF; see his comments here: https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/122-lens-clubs/55946-300mm-plus-lens-clu...ml#post4727514

Otherwise, I have discovered for between $3200 to $3500 I could buy brand new a Nikon D5600, or D7500 body, plus a brand new Nikkor 200-500mm lens. So for less money than the Pentax 150-450, I get a (brand new) second camera body and slightly longer (brand new) telephoto lens. I could keep the Nikon loaded with the telephoto, and my KP with my F2.8 100mm Macro - no lens swapping needed when changing from bird photography to insect/flower photography!If I waited until Easter or June/July I could probably do even better on the Nikon combo on discount offers.

If I were getting serious about birding I would be tempted to go that route myself (although I would personally go for a second hand D500/200-500, or maybe one of the 150-600 lenses, in good condition). It is handy to dedicate one body to telephoto duties (I used to use my K-3 that way), ready to go when you see an interesting bird! Isn't your mate a Nikon shooter too? So you could share lenses and learn some tricks from him.

But you might also want to keep an eye on the launch of the K-3iii, which seems to be aimed at sports/wildlife shooters. Who knows, maybe they will offer a deal with the DFA 150-450? That might turn out to be a really outstanding combination.

[Foma2]

The most annoying thing about Pentax is that they keep ignoring video mode. Codecs, AF, etc.

[carlb]

The most annoying thing about Pentax is that they keep ignoring video mode. Codecs, AF, etc.

I'm struggling to see how this relates to a discussion about a price increase.

[K2 to K50]

I'm struggling to see how this relates to a discussion about a price increase.

Getting back on to that topic, I just noticed that the Pentax 1.4x Tele-converter has recently rocketed up to $A692.00 here in Australia - an option I had considered pairing with my Pentax 55-300mm PLM lens as a cheaper (?) way to get some extra reach!!

I personally think the jury is still out as to whether that gets you a result that is any better than cropping an original image taken with the 55-300mm PLM, although there are some impressive images taken with that combo in these forums. I suppose,with birding, it allows you to keep a greater distance to get a shot. My Nikon friend has some remarkable bird pics taken with the Nikon 1.4x and a Nikon 300mm (admittedly a Prime 300mm, not a zoom). But then, he is shooting with a 45 megapixel Nikon Z7!