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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
10-05-2011, 01:48 AM
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Pathetic. There are many instances of smaller companies biting the heels of larger ones. They are usually far faster to respond to consumer demand and often have their fingers on the pulse more so then big ones. You tend to get better value for money as well. You've already said Pentax IQ is superb and better then your Canon, then you go onto to say you cant recommend them? Thats a real contradiction.
Look at the car market, companies such as Kia and Hyundai have foreced people like GM (whats left of it) and Ford to increase the reliabilty and offer greater warrenties on thier cars and keep costs down. For a few years now Hyundai have offered a 7 year warrenty, yet GM (vauxhall/Opel) have only just started offering 3 years ones.
30 years ago Kodak and Minolta were the Kings. Where are they now? Kodak in dire straights financially, Minolta now Sony (2% to 12% market share in 3 years and they were an underdog too) and yet Canon were teeny by comparison.
Despite being part of Hoya and perhaps a bit cash starved, they came out with the superb K5, Kr and award winning 645D, do you really think they have just been sitting there doing nothing for the last 6 months? If they had, there would be little or no reason for Ricoh to buy them other than purely for the name - and we know that isnt the case.
12 months ago Canon and Nikon were saying they had no intention of joining in the csc market, "people wanted faster feature rich cameras not smaller". Judging by the way Nikon have now entered it as well, I would say the corporate giant got it wrong. I can remember when Bill Gates stood up and said the internet would never really take off, Google were not a threat, but that MSN was going to dominate the world and that was really what people wanted....
Incidently, Ricoh has (as of March 11) 109,000 employees (4 times more then Nikon, but a little less then Canon), owns 234 diffent compaines (consolidated) and turnover is larger then Nikon. It is also older then Canon and same age as Fuji (1934). So it's not exactly small fry.
And before you accuse me of being a fanboy, I shoot Fuji.
Woody
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Forum: Pentax K-r
04-17-2011, 06:41 AM
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I dont know if pentax will release the update or not, but, speaking as someone who deals with a few Japanese companies, the after effects have been enormous. One company who produces it's goods in Korea, has managed to bring out a replacement product for a faulty design, but that was in the pipeline for the last 4 months or so, however, their technical department is based in Japan, and although about 200miles SW of the quake area, they are being hit by enegry blackouts, poor communications, sickness amongst staff (delayed reaction) and staf wantinmg time off for loved ones, and numerous other issues.
One supplier to them, supplies rubber gaskets, manufactured about 10miles north of Fukushima. The company has not been able to make contact with a single person from that supplier. No phone, internet or letters are being answered. The area has still not been fully accessed and the belief is the village and factory has gone - along with it's inhabitants and workers (I believe about 60 people (workers). Due to this the whole production of of nearly 20,000 units has had to be postphoned, until new suppliers are able to take up the slack, and, finding the new suppliers is another major headache. So the technical department is desperatly trying to keep existing production going, rather than fault finding and new developement.
I am still waiting for a resolvement of a fairly basic enquiry regarding a pressure fluctuation within a critical pump unit. Normally this would take between 3 and 14 days. I am currently on about day 40 as the item was raised just before the quake.
We just dont understand how it has affected the whole economy over there and will continue to do so for quite a while yet.
New products are designed, planned manufactured and shipped months in advance of distribution, they have to keep that up to ensure cash flow and market share . Design fault or not, resolving them or not doesnt make instant money and has to take a back seat at the moment - weather we like it or not.
Thank God, we havent suffered in the way the Japanese have. In my Church, one of our leaders is Japanese. His family are safe. But he is still worried for many friends of whom he has had no contact. we can only imagine what it is like for them over there.
Woody
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Forum: Pentax K-r
01-09-2011, 01:15 PM
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Ok, this may well be my last ever post on here (that'll be a first for me, being kicked off a forum) but Adam will probably chuck me off after I start world war three here.
BUT, many of you moan about the small market share Pentax have, the lack of profile and they need to sell more to survive.
However, many of you are so damn negative, so determined to find fault, so obsessed with this pathetic FF issue that you are helping to KILL not only ther KR but Pentax as well.
Bearing in mind that By the end of 2011 most tungston bulbs will have been phased out in the EU, and even parts of the US and Canada, the amount of times you would actually use it in those low-light under tungston circumtances, and the utterly un-scientific way in which many of these so called "tests" are conducted, one is forced to wonder if you actually wish the camera to fail.
I was very wary of buying the camera because of the FF reports, Mystic nearly didnt buy it for same reason, others are now asking about it, HOW MANY MORE HAVE YOU PUT OFF?
Go -ahead, kill one of the best cameras produced not only by Pentax, but in the marketplace, for years. I have rarely (In about 7 years of being on photo forums) come across such negativity about a new camera as found about the Kr by so called brand supporters.
It's about time you started singing it's praises, highlighting it's good points, amazing people with the level of detail it produces from a 12Mp sensor, the superb build quality over Sony, canon etc. Bearing in mind how little Hoya appear to spend on marketing, it's upto US to sell the camera to support our future. I dont even have one yet (see earlier posts re job loss) yet I can support it.
Yes some Kr cameras do have a problem, mostly minor, and some correctable, but many of you make it sound like the majority do, it has major faults and it isn't worth buying. Go and buy the A33 - the battery will last about 150 shots, and the video will over heat. The Top Nikon D7000 has focussing problems, the new Panny produces soft images, etc etc etc.
If I was Hoya, I'd be saying stuff you, we'll put our money elsewhere then - trouble is, so are the consumers you want to buy into the system...
If you really think you've got a faulty camera, send it back to pentax for replacement or get your money back then shut up.
It's depressing.
I'm now seriously considering other cameras when I get another job, I wonder how many others are.
I thought it was "the other forum" that was known for it's infighting and negativity. Seems it must be Pentax folk.
woody
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