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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
04-18-2012, 06:55 PM
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The older Tammy and Sigma lenses were generally inferior to the camera maker's lenses. Actually they were all pretty awful.
Something flipped in the last decade or so. Some of their new lenses match or even exceed the much more expensive lenses of the manufacturers. If ABETTERDJ only has experience with the older stuff I can see why he dismissed them.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
04-18-2012, 03:15 PM
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I don't disagree and definitely sympathize. However I think this is a small, albeit painful part of a larger plan to make Pentax a more serious player again. They need to address more issues such as warranties and support for the plan to become definitive in my mind. I think you have your well justified doubts about that. Frankly neither of us will know for a few months more.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
04-18-2012, 02:55 PM
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I would personally withhold judgment on that last point until the fall. That, I think, will be enough time to see the direction Ricoh is taking Pentax in. And that is around the time I will decide if I'm jumping ship or staying onboard.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
04-18-2012, 02:27 PM
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You should definitely part with the DA 15. It's a horrible horrible lens that will likely give you rabies.
Luckily, being the kind of guy I am, I'm willing to take it off your hands for you.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
04-18-2012, 10:03 AM
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It all makes sense now! :lol:
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
04-18-2012, 09:56 AM
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I'm not quite sure what the poster mean either, but why is there a rabbit in the forum? Who let the vermin in?
I'm confused all around.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
04-18-2012, 08:33 AM
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For the people upset about the price increase, I get it. I really do. It sucks having to pay more, especially for some products that are frankly not worth it. DA* 16-50mm, I'm looking at you. For many people, the reason they got into Pentax was the relative affordability of the lenses and the cameras. That advantage is pretty much gone now.
But you have to realize that the Pentax pricing policy, both in terms of actual pricing and the company's relationship to retailers was simply not working. Pentax was becoming an increasingly irrelevant camera maker in the world's biggest market. Something had to give. The only reason they were keeping afloat was a presence at B&H and Adorama, and damn good cameras.
The situation is actually quite different in Canada. I can walk into most camera stores in Calgary (Vistek, Saneal, The Camera Store, Japan Camera, etc.) and walk out with a Pentax body. The staff are knowledgeable about Pentax and don't dismiss it. And what has been the result? The photography group I'm part of has 4 or 5 other Pentax shooters (the same as Nikon!). The photography club in my university had 5 Pentax shooters out of about 20 shooters total. Granted, the university example is an outlier, and Pentax is nowhere as popular as Canikon, but the lesson remains. The lens prices are much closer to MSRP in Canada, so box stores can compete with each other. This is the exact situation Penta USA is aiming for. I doubt they made the pricing decision, but in the long-term it is the right move.
As a further plus to the Canadian retailers, now that the prices at Adorama and B&H are going up, I can give my business to my local stores, hopefully inducing them to carry more Pentax stuff.
Does Pentax have a long way to go? Absolutely. More bodies, more lenses, much much better support, longer warranties, a fix to SDM issues, etc. But it can't do anything if it continues to be a continually shrinking niche player.
I still think you'd be crazy to buy a 16-50mm at the current price though. Wait for a rebate, get one of the competing lenses from Tamron/Sigma, or wait for the replacement. But that's for another thread.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
04-18-2012, 07:53 AM
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Agree 100% No boycott for me. I'm excited, if a little anxious to see the direction Pentax is going. I'll judge the results in a year or two.
And make room behind your desk. I need somewhere to hide too.
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