the glaring absence of an affordable full frame has resulted in some impatient long term Pentax users switching brands.
a very vocal minority I believe.
For sure! A very few want the FF. Once you pass APS your getting into the area of diminishing return for you dollar. The biggest growth market will be EVIL type cameras. Olympus is losing customers because they have a step up, and that's APS size sensors from Sony, Pentax, or Canon and Nikon.
I don't think Hoya can justify building 4 systems, EVIL, APS, FF, MF and have good lens, flashes and others products that make up a good system and continue to innovate and bring out new products every year for 3 of those markets as you have to today to keep up. The R&D would be too much.
Pentax made a good move with the 645D. The launch date has been pushed back a bit because of overwhelming demand (I don't know if that's a fact), more than expected. High paid pros are going to want this beast that's not much bigger than a Nikon PRO dSLR, is built like a tank (thick inner metal chassis, thick outer metal alloys skin) its light to top it off fully weather-resistant. Its the K10D of the MF field; high features and high bang for the buck tank dSLR.
It seems Pentax lens prices and perceived QC problems have hurt sales in units and profits. Those FA50mm f/1.4 lens were probably made in a large quantity long ago and big pallets of them are sitting someplace ready to be sold at the artificially high prices now seen here in the USA. I was/would buy one at $250 plus/minus a few bucks. But its not worth over $400 when I can go on eBay and get one for half the price. And primes are much safer to buy used versus zooms as they don't have as many decentering issues.
Today in the USA you have to pay almost $400 for a 50mm f/1.4. Now the competition sees the market for prime lens and is taking advantage of the fact they are cheaper to build. How much do you think it cost to build the 50mm f/1.4 compared to the DA50-200mm WR(?) probably less than the DA, so why is it so high? Hoya, but Hoya can't afford to raise prices with the SDM issue they should move the inventory at profit making prices but not greedy prices and do some damage control like offer a longer warranty (3 years is that too long?) on DA* lens as Sigma and everyone...please give me a break with the one year warranty stuff. I will never buy an expensive Pentax lens until I feel 90% sure its a good investment.
IMO could be wrong, Hoya is banking on the quality and IQ of Pentax primes and pricing them according to what they feel its worth compared to others. However the others are now selling low cost primes... Hoya always, well many times does things back-wards. Because IMO they are run by accountants and people who should not be running a camera company and don't have any high horsepower intellects with vision and the ability to make good decisions in respect to the camera market.
Right now Pentax is in a good position. Just needs to stop making mistakes. Those mistakes have their roots at the top!
Pentax made a profit. Pentax developed the K-7 a new dSLR not a remake, with an outstanding design that had to cost money to just design. Plus it has innovated features. The K-x, a solid entry level with great high ISO. Two WR kit lens. At the same time they were developing the 645D system. Pentax probably, logically lost a lot of DA* sales because of the SDM issue. Pentax sold less units, now is that just dSLRs or dSLRs and lens. Either way they still managed a small profit that for sure would have been larger if not for the SDM issue.
Pentax could use a partner for development of AF/metering systems. They have big time talent in building bodies and cameras for enthusiasts, look at the K20D and now the K-7, at $700 for the K20D and at $1000 for the K-7 they are without peer when it comes to body and features. I was just out in a sever thunderstorm with my K20D and I knew I was not even pushing my luck a little, people don't realize Pentax WR bodies are only equaled by the very top PRO Canon, Nikon and Oly E3, the D700, 7D dSLRs are just a bit less sealed as this feature had to be reserved for the big time buyers. Not with Pentax!
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jamesm007,
http://s195.photobucket.com/albums/z77/jamesm700/
WSSA member 266PX
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