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Forum: Sold Items
08-25-2013, 07:49 PM
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I've replaced my lack of will power with a lack of funds.
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Forum: Travel, Events, and Groups
04-18-2013, 02:22 PM
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Actually we batted around the idea of a Cinco De Mayo celebration with some sort of tequila fountain, but there were all sorts of legal issues that came up. Something about liability and a bunch of other mumbo jumob:hmm: Maybe we could find a mariachi band for the Japanese gardens.
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Forum: Travel, Events, and Groups
03-21-2013, 04:28 PM
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On Sunday May 5th Pentax in collaboration with Camera Craft will be sponsoring a day of education and photography at Anderson Japanese Gardens in Rockford, IL. The gardens are consistently rated the best Japanese gardens in North America and regularly rated the best in the world. Such gardens are dynamic and consequently elite gardens can earn world's top honors in any given year. Marc Langille, a pillar of the PF community, will provide the instruction and Ken Curry from Pentax will be on hand with gear available to borrow and shoot with for the day. Staff from Camera Craft will also be available to offer hands on instruction, suggestions and problem solving to help all attendees get the maximum photographic experience.
Camera Craft did a similar event last year at Anderson Japanese Gardens with Tamron and sold out the event in a few days. The location is such a big draw and we can only accommodate 65 attendees. Please contact Camera Craft to secure your spot.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
05-28-2012, 07:15 AM
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Now that some time has passed so it doesn't look like I am trying to shamelessly cash in on the dearth of Pentax displays, I do want to thank the folks for the kind comments about Camera Craft. However this photo does sort of show an anemic representation, as there are lenses that are missing from my normal assortment. While it's not quite like the one Professional store mentioned that had everything but no one could touch it, our assortment of Pentax lenses usually has five or six more pieces that are absent from the photo.
I have definitely been baffled by other retailer's unwillingness to carry the brand, but in the process of doing my research as a buyer I am finding more and more stores starting to pick up the brand again. The selections aren't always really broad, and it looks like they are just dipping their toes in with Optio WG-2's or binoculars, it's still a good sign. If you happen upon a store that has a small smattering of Pentax and you would like to see more, inquire about products they don't have. As stores get requests for products they become more inclined to carry them. That's also the way to propel the Unilateral Pricing Policy to start having the effect it's supposed to have. As retailers start to build their inventory to meet demand they can do so confidently with the playing field not so badly skewed.
Also don't forget to support the retailers you have always supported because they stuck with Pentax. If B&H or Adorama or ACE or Samy's or whoever is your retailer of choice, you can have the confidence that they will be dealing with you on an honest level. One of the great aspects of the UPP is as time shakes out any glaring inventory/price imbalances, the retailer will be able to focus on the customer and the product better without having to concern himself with surviving a sales pitch. That should greatly elevate the quality of the conversation you can have with your favorite retailers.
Thanks again for the kind words and the award.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
05-22-2012, 06:06 PM
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As a sales rep person myself I find this remark to be highly accurate and completely hysterical. The Pentax rep who manages my store's account happens to have one of the most astute business minds I have met in 19 years in this industry. Fortunately for Pentax in North America he doesn't happen to fit the meteorolgist whipping post.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
07-06-2011, 07:12 PM
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Camera QC not that big of an issue for CR. Take a look at the long-as-your-arm-service advisory list for Canon SLR's and you will have to wonder how their cameras seem to be stuck at the top of CR's ratings.
Familiarity with product navigation is a limiting factor.
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Forum: Troubleshooting and Beginner Help
06-29-2011, 04:56 PM
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This is a bit of a long shot, but you wouldn't happen to be using a teleconverter on the K10D are you? My Sigma teleconverters make my lenses do exactly what your lenses are doing.
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Forum: Sold Items
06-21-2011, 05:31 PM
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
06-21-2011, 05:28 PM
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After perusing the top 50 accounts owed by Ritz/Wolf at the time of Bankruptcy Pentax was not listed among them. Pentax would very much like to grow their business with the still plentiful number of photo retailers out there, but it just doesn't make a lot of sense for them to incur the expense of managing an account, shipping, billing, etc. if a store isn't going to make it worth their while. That might sound a bit on the greedy side, but why does a company go into business? It does so to make money. That's it's sole reason for existence. If it does not make enough or any money with a particular channel of sales then it makes no sense to continue with it.
Before one suggests this is another marketing failure on Pentax's part, it just might be that Pentax made a good business decision to put their focus on better money making efforts. It was their decision making that left them off the debtor list in the Ritz/Wolf bankruptcy.
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Forum: Ask B&H Photo!
05-24-2011, 04:56 AM
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My only inside running is that I too am a photo retailer who has a dealer agreement with Pentax to which I must adhere. My relationship with B&H has no personal overlap, only a view that is perhaps slightly broader than most consumers since I deal with camera product sales not only as a user but as a sales person and as a buyer.
My suggestion to not worry about the market color of B&H's goods is not meant to silence anyone or beat someone down; rather it's a suggestion that if you happen to like the product and you like the price then there are service avenues you can follow to give you the confidence you wish for in a product. B&H sells SageMax warranties and my store happens to sell a different brand of warranty. You can search companies such as Mack, Consumer Priority Service and N.E.W for the details of the warranty.
Lastly B&H and the other photo retailers of their size don't get to be as successful as they do for as long as they do through illegitimate dealings of the sleazy, nefarious scam artists who are constantly fighting off attorneys general in fraud cases. B&H has developed a reputation for positive customer service that rather overwhelms the size of the question of their ability to handle an international service issue.
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Forum: Ask B&H Photo!
05-23-2011, 08:26 PM
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What determines the color of the market is that which can be regulated and authorized. There are examples of grey market where the product originates in the same country as where it is wholesaled and retailed. For example a grocer who sells cigarettes without authorization to do so is selling a product that is legal for grocers to sell so long as they meet the authorization and regulation requirements. Because it would be reasonable for the grocer to have sourced the cigarettes legally and they get away with doing so without the license to do so, this becomes a grey market transaction. For a grocer who has a license to sell cigarettes but acquires his stock through unauthorized channels is also selling grey market. It matters not one iota where the end user is. The determination of grey market has nothing to do with transactions at the end user level, because to whom a person may sell at that level simply can't be regulated. There is no grey, black or white market there in a "free market".
To extend this to B&H it works like this: When B&H buys product from Pentax America they are free to sell those products to whomever B&H sees fit. With such an international presence it's well understood that Pentax products will make it to customers all over the planet. Pentax can't tell B&H that they can only sell to residents of the US, therefor the retail transaction can't be regulated. If it can't be regulated then the transaction can't be given a particular color. If B&H were to buy product from another retailer in another country to take advantage of currency strengths and weaknesses, there are regulations regarding who can distribute and and who can simply retail as laid out in the dealer agreements signed by each retailer of Pentax product. So that product acquired from a non-distributing dealer for whatever reason becomes grey market. For while Pentax can't say what customers can be served by a dealer, retailers and distributors are treated and regulated differently. Therefor these products acquired by a retailer through unauthorized distribution becomes grey market. Those products acquired through illegal channels such as theft would be considered black market, as theft is just plain illegal.
Henry Posner is the wrong person to challenge on the subject, as nobody is more wide awake on what constitutes grey market. If he says his product is not grey market then it's to be understood that his product is not grey market. Do yourself a favor and don't worry about about the business practices of B&H regarding the market color of their products. If you are truly concerned about the warranty, there are plenty of third party international warranties that extend way beyond the standard one year warranty offered by most manufacturers, and you can either buy it from B&H or someone else.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
04-17-2011, 07:27 PM
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IQ Sucks? I am almost pathologically averse to the Canon line simply because the camera operation seems so foreign to me. Even though as a camera salesman I have to use all the brands on a daily basis, I find the Canon cameras just don't suit me. However I could quite possibly be cured of my aversion by a small selection of Canon lenses and the new 70-300L would certainly be one of them. Much like the DA* 60-250 or 50-135 lenses, you can pretty well shoot in situations that most lenses would practically guarantee flare and these lenses won't. Shoot it at 300mm and f/5.6 and compare it to the EF 70-300 IS USM lens for less than half the price and you will see where Canon spent the extra money. Check a cross section of the lens barrel and see the thickness of the barrel and you will see the lens offers some unique durability. If by speed you mean light gathering capability I have to ask who cares? With the very clean images at higher ISOs on today's cameras big apertures are less compelling except in limiting DOF. If you mean speed as in quick focusing it will focus the pants off any Pentax lens with the possible exception of the 18-135 on a K-5.
I have used a half-dozen of these 70-300L lenses and I promise you it rivals the IQ of any pro grade zoom. I would love to mount one on a K-5, but that's a moot point; even if it were technologically possible there are nearly no available Canon lenses for the time being.
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Forum: Sold Items
04-09-2011, 08:06 PM
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How much for that last beer?
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
03-04-2011, 08:49 PM
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Don't be so sure about that. If people keep canning unicorn meat for mass consumption the world will soon run out of sparkles and magic. We'll have to turn to Pixie dust for solutions requiring magic and then we'll still have to find some faith and trust. Stop killing and canning the unicorns!!
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
01-20-2011, 10:01 PM
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Here is what makes the 18-135mm lens interesting: this lens is really fast focusing on K-7, K20D, K10D, etc. By keeping Pentax shooters interested in the brand by offering a performance boost to existing product, it gives Pentax time to continue growing and developing products that are going to be interesting to compliment their most interesting gear. It's hard enough to grow these days. if Pentax were to give up existing customers at the rate they were a couple of years ago, they would have little chance of bringing products like the K-5 and the 645D to market.
Let Pentax grow a bit more and we'll see more product come to market. Meanwhile the 16-50 and 60-250 on the K-5 are IQ juggernauts that offer shooting opportunities that didn't exist for any but a handful of photogs 6 months ago.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
01-18-2011, 08:36 PM
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
01-10-2011, 11:18 AM
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The digital auto 110 would not have to have a sensor much smaller than 110 film (same size as 4/3 sensor) OR use 4/3 sensor thereby joining ranks with Olympus and Panasonic. They could even do as Canon is rumored to be doing with their mirrorless design and use a 12x18mm sensor. It is roughly the same surface area as 110 film or 4/3 sensor at 13x17mm, but it would be in a more traditional 3/2 aspect. The lenses would then still be very small but also slightly larger than those made for 4/3 aspect, so producing lenses so out of proportion to the camera is less likely.
Okay, enough of my camera design talk...back to selling what is actually on the shelf!
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
12-04-2010, 09:17 PM
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Actually 1.2 million subscribed and even 25 times that number unsubscribed is an infinitesimally small number for sure. That would be smaller than 1% of just the US market. Add Canada, Europe, Asia and emerging markets and the engadget audience isn't even a rounding error.
I work in a camera store where we had nine colors of the K-x on display. While I have sold few of the color cameras, the colors are definitely responsible for many of the K-x sales in the store. Whenever someone commented on the camera, whether they were "camera people" or not, I pulled one off the shelf and put it in their hands. If it was night time, I would tell them to go outside and take a photo without a flash and see the result. I would shoot a bit of video of them and show them the result. Consequently Nikon, Canon, Olympus people have purchased the camera just for some unique feature in the camera, and people who were more inclined towards a point and shoot bought it because they were no longer daunted by a DSLR. The colors made the camera so successful that I sold more K-x kits than all the Canon EOS cameras combined since the K-x was released in Sept. of '09.
While my store's audience is as small to engadget as engagdet's audience is to the CE market, I promise you it's a preposterous underestimation of the camera market to say it's well represented by engadgeteers. You want to see what the camera market is like? Go to the Consumer Electronics Show and see the nearly incomprehensible variety of technologies that 100 engadget sites would never have the time and resources to examine. And then think that CES is a puny version of Photokina or any of the many international imaging trade shows. The bottom line is your opinion is perfectly valid. Your opinion representing a concensus opinion is delusional.
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Forum: Pentax K-r
11-20-2010, 09:02 PM
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If your flash is an EDF model it can be upgraded to become compatible with your K-r. If it is a DX or earlier model then the best you can hope for is to fire the flash with the camera and the flash in manual modes. Or you can get a wireless trigger set and use the Promaster flash as a remote strobe.
To be certain whether or not your flash is upgradeable you should check out www.promaster.com and consult the flash doctor. If that still does not get you the results you are looking for, send me a PM and I might be able to help you out myself. Best of luck.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
11-17-2010, 07:52 PM
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If you get a chance to put the Pentax 18-135 next to the Canon and Nikon 18-135 lenses, you will see that there really is no competition offered by either of those two brands. The Canon lens is a behemoth lens that doesn't focus as fast, and the Nikkor lens has no VR. The Pentax lens is much smaller and far better built than the either two, and even on the K10D, K200D and K20 the focus speed is surprising. Actually it's stunning.
The price is perfect for the lens relative to its "competition". There may not be a better, more stealthy, more flexible combo than the 18-135WR and the K-5. I had enough time with it today to check its focusing speed with a variety of cameras and compare it to some other camera/lens combos. Tomorrow I will check color, sharpness, close focus, vignetting, etc., but it looks like a fabulous lens for a great value.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
11-17-2010, 07:41 PM
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You deserve a big welcome and thank you for introducing your photography here. You have beautiful work. I would dearly love to know more about the assembly of The Women in Dwarkardheesh Temple. The expressions are so provocative.
Today I used the new DA 18-135mm WR DC lens. It seems a perfect match to the K5 as it is the smallest and best built lens of that range that I have seen. I work in a camera store that sells lots of lenses, so there aren't many that I could have missed. The lens focuses very quietly and much more quickly than my 16-50 and my 50-135, and with the exceptional performance of the K5 with higher ISO settings, I see this being an ideal street photography set up. The versatility of the range is just spectacular. Unfortunately the lenses arrived in the store just moments before we closed, so I have not had a chance to examine the sharpness, color, etc. However based on the impression given by the build, the speed and the look/feel of the lens I expect great things with it and the K-5.
Again welcome to pentaxforums and thanks for sharing your work.
David
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Forum: Sold Items
11-13-2010, 07:54 PM
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I put a 2cm strip of black gaffers tape on the top and bottom of each segment of the lens barrel that extends and it completely stopped the lens creep. It also did not alter how smoothly the lens would zoom or interfere in any other way. To whoever gets this gem I would ask the local camera store for a small segment of paper tape and apply the same solution.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
11-02-2010, 09:15 AM
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As someone who is trying to run a business in this industry, I don't begrudge Pentax, B&H nor any other retailer who attended the expo the chance to have a special promotion. It is a limited time, limited area event that takes a serious investment in time, staff and money. There is a lot of effort involved in participating in these events. It's completely reasonable for B&H to have those rebate cards when they committed to both Pentax and to the expo.
Last reason not to cast a negative eye on Pentax or B&H is that they have a dealer agreement just like every other authorized dealer and manufacturer. If some sort of arrangement between the two parties is made, that's not something another dealer can control. After having a day to think about the bitching I did to my sales rep., I realize that I can only control my own agreement with Pentax. If I find this particular rebate issue too unreasonable my recourse is to satisfy the terms of my dealer agreement and then terminate it. While I hate getting extra price pressure on anything, I especially hate it when the pressure is on something that is so hard to get. I actually see it as B&H leaving a lot of dollars on the table. Nevertheless, the Pentax brand, the products, the people and the culture that has grown in my store are so valuable that I would be off my rocker to toss it all over a rebate on such a limited number of pieces.
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Forum: Pentax News and Rumors
11-01-2010, 03:08 PM
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This rebate applied only to those retailers demoing at the trade show last week, for purchases made at the trade show. After seeing this rebate this morning I tore into my sales rep. I actually have these cameras in stock and was not offered this rebate deal. After taking this issue to his boss he replied to me that the rebate only applied to purchases made at the trade show. I was told rebate submissions from purchases outside the show will not be honored. Stimulating sales at a trade show is perfectly fine with me. If the manufacturer and the retailer are going to pony up to make a presence then it's cool for there to be some incentive offered to ensure that enough product is sold to recoup on the investment.
However to take the liberty to extend the rebate beyond the limitations of the offer is to put the responsibility of fulfilling the rebate squarely on the retailer's shoulders. If I extend the offer to make a sale this week on the new SLRs's I have on hand, I would have to eat that rebate amount. I am the first to admit that I am not the biggest Pentax retailer around, so I wouldn't even presume to push Pentax to honor this rebate for me. When the details of the rebate are as clear as they are, I can't imagine any retailer of any size would presume that Pentax is going to honor it.
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Forum: Sold Items
10-28-2010, 05:44 PM
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PentaxForums.com Marketplace Listing
Item for Sale
Panasonic Lumix LX-3 Silver UNUSED
Asking Price
$300.00
Item Location
Rockford, IL
Item Description
Unused Panasonic Lumix LX-3 silver camera. This is the exact twin to the Leica D-Lux 4. I purchased it with the intent of carrying it with me every where I go. The reality is that I brought it home, put it in my camera closet and forgot about it. There is a spare battery with the camera that will also be included.
Since the camera has not been out of the box I didn't post a picture. If you would like some information about the camera please click
DMC-LX3K - Lumix Digital Cameras - Shop and Compare at Panasonic
Are you the original owner of the item being sold?
Yes
Are you selling or trading this item?
Selling
Item Condition (Key)
New
Shipping Destinations
Worldwide
Shipping Charge
Contact me for actual shipping charge
Shipping Services
USPS
Accepted Payment Types
PayPal
Return Policy & Additional Details
Item may be returned within 7 days if the camera is found to be non-functioning. Since I have yet to install either battery you can be assured this camera is just as new as if Mr. Panasonic had delivered it fresh to you.
Please send me a private message if interested in the item!
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