Nervous nellie...go with Pentax K-1 or move to Sony FF?

Lyff wrote:

Alex Sarbu wrote:

yiangelo wrote:

I love the ergonomics, image quality, and feel of Pentax cameras but the only thing that makes me consider selling everything and going all-in to Sony FF is the question of long-term longevity and the seemingly uncertain future for smaller companies in the photography business. I'd hate to get stuck with a bunch of expensive lenses that would become worthless if Pentax were to close shop.

Opinions? Advice? Help!

Do whatever you feel comfortable doing.

No one can reliably predict if a certain brand will stay in business in the long term. Pentax is constantly 'predicted' to go away yet they don't; OTOH... remember Samsung? They retired from the camera market just as their users celebrated the NX-1.

Alex

Samsung is a bad example for many reasons, that said if one brand could disappear now from the camera market, it's Pentax..

Samsung is an excellent example, and so is Pentax: one was supposed to do very well yet it gave up completely, the other was supposed to die yet it continues.

People should keep this in mind any time they're presented "predictions".

Pentax is by far the less active brand on the market and since the K-1 launch they're pretty much in a stasis state. They're not dead yet, maybe they won't die anytime soon but that's something to keep in mind;

No. I had enough of this, year after year after year of "Pentax might die". The PentaxIsDoomed brigade has an extremely poor track record. Mine is a bit better.

Until I see signs of something like this actually happening, I'll continue to be a happy Pentaxian.

Pentax is a fragile brand with small investments and support,

Pentax is not in a very strong position; however that doesn't mean it would die. So far Ricoh has a good plan for them, we're seeing some very important (and long postponed - thanks, Hoya!) development and commitment for the future.

OTOH other brands/systems might be less safe than you think. Samsung is a warning.

Trying to make long term predictions is futile. You just can't possibly know what will happen.

so if you want to shoot Pentax make sure what you want is already here.

That's actually true for every brand.

And for the glass becoming cheap after Pentax closing shop I doubt that, sure some price drops will happens but look at good 4/3 lenses, like the f/2 zooms, they're still quite expensive.

That's FUD talk. "after Pentax closing shop"? Not "in the unlikely event of Pentax closing shop"?

Even though I sold my K-1 I I kept my K-3 II and apsc lenses, and I will keep them for a long time even if Pentax leave the market tomorrow.

So you gave up on Pentax (not buying any new equipment, right?).

Alex