Originally posted by SirBismuth: Indeed, if they held a launch here, 6 of us will probably attend.
As Rick in PA so rightly pointed out the South African market is insignificant by world standards, nevertheless both Canon and Nikon promote and market their products very aggressively here.
In terms of camera bodies only, Nikon sells 20 different cameras in SA, 9 being full-frame and 11 being DX sensor cameras. Canon has 15 cameras marketed locally, 8 full frame and 7 APS-C.
Right now Pentax markets 1 full frame and 3 APS-C cameras in South Africa.
Pentax is always criticised for having a limited range of lenses compared to Canon or Nikon. In my humble opinion the Pentax lens range covers virtually all of the popular focal lengths and when you add to that the lenses available from Sigma, Tokina and the other third party manufacturers I don't see many glaring gaps in the range. The problem is not with the existence of a full range of lenses but rather lack of local availability.
Another problem relates to market exposure. There are a great many camera stores, both "bricks and mortar" and internet based, that sell Canon and Nikon but not Pentax. From where I live I have to drive over 100km there and back to get to my nearest Pentax dealer and while he has the stickers on his shop window he keeps very little in the way of stock of Pentax cameras and lenses. Anything you order takes 6 weeks while Canon and Nikon products can be obtained in a few days from Johannesburg.
Canon and Nikon are equally very good in providing upgrade paths. You can start with a beginners kit for less than R10k which includes a DSLR camera, 2 Kit lenses, a camera bag and a memory card. Nikon D3000 range or Canon EOS 700D special offers virtually run continuously in multiple stores all over South Africa. Admittedly Camera Warehouse are running a similar special with the Pentax K-50 and 2 kit lenses for R10 799, but I really had to hunt to find it. I still firmly believe that anyone who starts with a beginners kit is most likely to stick to the same brand when upgrading, particularly if they have bought a few lenses along the way. It does not take long to find that your investment in glass makes you a brand captive.
Then there is the word-of-mouth recommendation from friends you trust. Some time ago I got involved with some bird watchers. Whenever someone new joined their group and asked what camera they should get to record their sightings, they were always told to go for a Canon DSLR because they "have the fastest focusing", plus a Sigma 150-500 lens. This became a self-perpetuating story because everyone who followed the advice and spent roughly R20k on the camera and lens did get pretty good images, so they would give the same recommendation to future members... The irony was that most images were shot from a hide overlooking a pond, so the shots could be manually pre-focused. The light was always good and I got some magic images with a whole range of cameras and lenses. The same sort of thing happens with other groups of amateur photographers. How many times do you hear "Most professional photographers shoot Canon (or Nikon)" or "All the good wedding photographers shoot Canon".
On several occasions I have compared specs with Canon or Nikon owners, and have also shot images of the same scenes from the same position and compared results. Generally speaking nobody can tell the difference between the images on a computer screen and the superior specs of the Pentax cameras is disregarded. "Weather sealing doesn't bother me - I don't shoot in the rain anyway".
The fact is that both Canon and Nikon have done a great job promoting and marketing their products over many years. They have built a range of cameras, lenses and accessories that give any budding DSLR buyer a great range of choice to suit their pocket and their requirements. When they launch a new model they do not immediately drop the older model it replaces - they keep selling old models for several years, often at reduced prices, so the range on offer expands. In contrast Pentax almost immediately ceases production of the old model. On this forum its preaching to the converted to say that Pentax cameras are fantastic compared with their similarly priced opposition, but as long as Pentax and Pentax users keep this such a closely guarded secret they will never effectively compete with Canon or Nikon in terms of sales volume. And sadly low sales volumes just have to impact on the lenses and accessories stocks that camera retailers are prepared to hold.
