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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
09-22-2014, 11:09 AM
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Not sure what your point is. My point was if your claim to fame is all your legacy glass, a decent percentage of which is MF, other people run that glass as well or better than you. Sure, the only people that matters to are camera geeks, therefore they're the only relevant audience for that topic.
If you're talking about what drives profit, then sure, lens sales do, but that's really a separate topic. And on that topic, legacy glass is a problem, because it means people can buy lenses from someone other than you. And the lens compatibility of MILCs breaks mount lock-in and makes taking a flier on buying into a new system easier. Would I have bought into another mount if I had to re-buy all of my glass to have an effective system? Probably not. I did the math and it would have been a $5-7K move for me building a competent system all at once. As I was, I could buy a body and a prime, and leverage my existing Pentax glass, which made it a $1.5k trial (less than that because I could have recouped some on trade if I hadn't liked it). Much more palatable. And then they sold me 2 more bodies and 3 more lenses, because when I'm lazy I want AF. Yep, they work the same why as everyone else.
I personally know a decent number of other photographers that have moved into Fuji, Sony, or Oly systems via that same route. No sure how much of an exception is is.
---------- Post added 09-22-2014 at 02:16 PM ----------
The problem is you're running an abstraction layer rather than a direct physical interface. Even so, depending on the VM host you should be able to redirect an interface in the guest and at least spool the data out.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
09-22-2014, 10:37 AM
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You realize that every Pentax lense works on the Fuji (minus AF), right? That a lot of the 'old and still good legacy lenses' actually works properly on a non-Pentax 'crippled K' host? My X-T1 behaves more like my ME Super with an A series lens mounted than any current Pentax digital body. That would be an ME Super with focus peaking, a tilt screen and configurable WYSIWYG exposure in the viewfinder.
If you're talking backwards compatibility, which Pentax body is backwards compatible with all old Pentax glass, plus Leica//Nikon/Olympus/Contax lenses? Oh yeah, the Q. So there you go.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
09-16-2014, 01:52 PM
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Youtu.be
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src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/i3MXiTeH_Pg?controls=1" allowfullscreen>
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From the last time it was 'really true and official!'.
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Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands
02-17-2014, 09:37 AM
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You Tube
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src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nW8Cz_v3w1E?controls=1" allowfullscreen>
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Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands
02-09-2014, 05:43 PM
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Got some down time during a business trip to SoCal.
One big doughnut
Hot Rod
My friend J trying to look hardcore in front of the rental.
Fooling around
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Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands
08-03-2013, 01:33 PM
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Some random shots walking around the first night of our big summer music festival, Musikfest.
Some of the stages are in the shadow of the ancient blast furnaces of the old Bethlehem Steel works.
Local media interviewing... someone that needed interiewing apparently
A modern dance troupe
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
07-09-2013, 06:07 PM
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This is exactly why this little echo chamber is so funny. Pentax would kill to have the distribution and sales numbers of Sony, and the idea of emulating something that objectively worked is straight up crazy. Dumb adapters literally saved the NEX system, and have continued to make it viable while Sony has comically failed to deliver a decent lens library. Sony screwed it up like they were trying to fail and they still move more cameras.
And the really hilarious thing is the point that always gets glossed over. Sony/Oly/Fuji casual switches easier by being mount agnostic... at the cost of functionality. Which if you like the body and want full functionality... drives lens sales. But hey, maybe Ricoh's clever strategy is a hoard of KA lenses and an eBay account. Chaching!
Assert that Pentax can make a compelling camera that moves lenses (considering that there are more m43 and E mount lens in Amazon's top 100 lens sellers than Pentax, and Fuji sells every XF lens they can make, it's not like it's never been done before) and Pentax gets an immediate vote of no confidence from the faithful. Funny, that.
So that means that Q mount is a zero sized market, correct? (I think this might be a fanboy infinite loop as the desire to defend the Q is weighed against the desire to argue the sacrosanctity of K-mount)
The one who currently owns your product might be your best customer. No reason he needs to be your only customer.
If your marketing strategy is holding on as tightly as possible to a tiny userbase, I have some Kodak stock you might be interested in. To quote Steve Jobs, "If you don’t cannibalize yourself, someone else will.”
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
07-09-2013, 10:58 AM
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And this is why Pentax users are Pentax's biggest liability.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
07-09-2013, 10:31 AM
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Except what portion of the K-mount lenses in any given year are new, Pentax made lenses, versus 3rd party and used? The eleventy bizillion K mount lenses on eBay are already gutting lens revenue. The fact that large swathes of the new manufacture K mount lens collection is made by Sigma and Tamron is gutting lens revenue. A new mount would be a monopoly market until third parties showed up. The body needs to be a compelling lost leader to drive lens sales, with a K-mount adapter to lessen the sticker stock and aid current user retention.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
06-20-2013, 06:50 AM
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Well, except for the fact that GoPro is using Sony imaging sensors (Sony IMX117 according to this tear down) So a decent chunk of the money still ends up in Japan.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
06-06-2013, 09:09 AM
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Because Canon is doing the same thing that got them +50% of the global SLR market. Pentax is doing the same thing that got them <5%.
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Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands
05-15-2013, 10:46 AM
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I find that picture a little hilarious, considering how many people on this forum like to rag on Fuji/Olympus for doing 'retro' cameras, and failing to understand that Pentax did basically the same thing with the MZ/ZX series. Small, light, but fully functional AF SLR's with a traditional look and control layout. They are awesome cameras. I should run some film through mine.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
05-14-2013, 06:55 AM
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I hear, but only for street photography, black cameras that look like rangefinders are invisible. :o[/QUOTE]
So basically, rangefinders are vampires?
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Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands
05-13-2013, 08:56 PM
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Messing around with the macro capability of the 18-55. My window box/hanging garden.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
05-13-2013, 08:43 PM
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If you don't believe them, just look at how few professional photographers - people that make their living with a camera - use cheap, hard to use nonsense like Canon or Nikon. Who needs modern features when you've got soul. Sidelines, press boxes, and studios the world over are filled with Pentaxes, since once people hold them one time it's like an epic, life changing experience, and they can never go back to those soulless plastic lumps. I think the new marketing strategy should just be going around and pressing cameras against people's skin to get the cosmic karma process started. Totally will increase market share.
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Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands
05-13-2013, 09:04 AM
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Well, you can always just use a nice old fashioned MF lens on the camera. I do, and it works fine. Hoping the low end body has the focus peaking and the pseudo-microprism.
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Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands
05-11-2013, 07:43 AM
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Thanks guys.
On a side note. I finally broke out the "big gun" and was using my Tamron 70-200/2.8 on my K-x as my primary, with the XPro as the backup. That was full of meh. About 15 minutes in I realized just how much I hate using a DSLR at this point, and just started using the Fuji as the main. Then when I got home 90% of the shots with the zoom were clustered around 105-115mm. So Fuji needs to make a petite 105mm/2.8 and take some more of my money.
Rupert, if only you weren't on the other side of the country, I could hire you as a 'wardrobe assistant' (assuming I could pay you in burgers and beer). But alas, I guess I have to do everything myself... ;)
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Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands
05-10-2013, 01:13 PM
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If it doesn't hold Tuco's attention you can have 182% of mine.
Some portfolio work from MM. With the 35mm:
With the 18-55 zoom:
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Forum: Pentax Full Frame
05-02-2013, 11:45 AM
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Why is it either/or and thus having to sacrifice one for the other? Oh yeah, if Pentax upsets the orthodoxy all the 'faithful' switch brands. Cameras aren't picture making tools, they're holy artifacts.
The thing is, the market doesn't divide up profits evenly. Therefore DSLRs are a huge market; of which Pentax has a sliver.
Compare this with Oly, which has basically dumped SLRs, and by competing in a more open market, with less entrenched opposition, they've more than tripled market share over the last few years. And it's a lot easier for me to find Oly/m43 products in stores than Pentax.
Per Thom Hogan, predicting that MILCs will peak lower than DSLRs, however:
 Quote: Of course, 50% market growth is >50% larger than the current "growth" in compact camera sales, which is highly negative now. And it's still better than the low double-digit growth in DSLRs. That's why everyone wants to play in the mirrorless market: it's the best way to showanysignificant sales growth in any of the camera markets (outside of smartphones, which is beyond the reach of most camera companies, and even outside the camera group in the few that do play there). Play your cards right and you can actually take a bit of overall market share from the leading three players (Canon, Sony, and Nikon). Emphasis mine. You want to get lenses, and third party support, and store shelf space? You need to build market share.
A forward looking company would be trying to jump to the end of the story, and get out a well developed MILC/hybrid rather than continue to fight in the other guy's house. Of course, a forward looking company would have started on it 5 years ago.
Maybe Pentax should make it's next camera from wood and call it the 'Luddite-D'.
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Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands
04-30-2013, 10:42 AM
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Rupert, just to clarify my earlier comment, this is what I was trying to get at. I think we get to hung up on lists of features, as opposed to how well the system works for the individual. So yeah, IQ between top brands with comparable glass is really a wash except for at the edges of the performance envelope. The main difference is what features and functions matter to you, and how well camera X implements those.
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Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands
04-30-2013, 07:54 AM
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You mean like falling into a snowbank wearing an XPro? Landed on the shutter, under a large pile of me. No case, no protection. Wiped it off, kept working. Caught in a cloud burst at the beach, same thing. It's tougher than advertised dude.
And if we're comparing feature, it's really a case of what features matter to you. I wouldn't think about mount long glass on the XPro, but it doesn't really matter since the number of times I've used a lens longer than 135mm in the past 2 years could be counted on a single hand. So I start with not needing/wanting/being able to get into places carrying a big "professional" looking camera. Or deal with shutter noise. And getting a logical, tactile physical control arrangement. Of course, if those things don't matter to the way you shoot, not sure why a XPro would even be on the board, it's a lot to pay for liking the styling. But if they do, the K-5's not even on the board.
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Forum: Pentax Full Frame
04-29-2013, 12:55 PM
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There's no point in asking the question without specs. Would you buy a FF pentax camera that cost $5 Pretty much everyone would. Would you buy a FF camera that gave you eye ebola? Probably not.
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Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands
04-26-2013, 09:34 PM
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Thanks.
Make time. It's a great city. Tons of Old World architecture and a laid back Euro vibe without the long flight. Pretty much wall to wall festivals in the summer. Amazing food; in light of the earlier discussion, my WI born and raised wife approves of the chess curds made in Montreal, even on poutine. Go early spring and get to to a sugar shack.
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Forum: Canon, Nikon, Sony, and Other Camera Brands
04-25-2013, 08:33 PM
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Cropped, but otherwise SOOC...
Montreal.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
04-18-2013, 11:12 AM
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D@mn. More dayglo special editions it is!
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