John Mustarde wrote:
> Although my first impression was reserved, I think the MZ-S will
> be a big hit, especially with the love-factor crowd who see a
> camera as a class act in addition to a photo tool.
Even though I think I have understood the concept behind the MZ-S, I
would be surprised if it becomes a _big_ hit. It might sell well,
especially in the first time though. The class thing is nonsense in
my eyes, and the MZ-S is definitely not for the ones wanting a young
and wild camera at an attractive price (e.g. Minolta 7). It's more
for the retired. This will limit the cutomer base of course.
> I can envision the salespeople at Arlington Camera. They sell a
> lot of near-list-price mid-range Canon and Nikon, and also sell
> a lot of Pentax 35mm cameras. The let customers handle several
> cameras in a price range. They do a good job of matching people
> to a suitable camera (rather than pushing the high-profit
> cameras). The next Doctor or Lawyer or Engineer's
> wife/husband/significant-other who wants the very best may be
> bowled over when they handle the MZ-S compared to an F80 or F100
> or EOS 3 etc..
Yes, but is this positive? The MZ-S might get the image of a slow
camera with luxury attitude for the slow people with luxury attitude.
> One thing I like about Arlington Camera is that their resident
> Canon and Nikon experts know exactly what I mean when I tell
> them I won't switch to Canon because I don't want those crappy
> over-rated Canon lenses, nor switch to Nikon because you gotta
> spend two grand for a body just to get basic features available
> in a $500 Pentax... --
This was maybe true 5 years ago, but doesn't describe the current
situation. Pentax is a pretty expensive brand at the moment if it
comes to features for money. Of course you refer to MLU and Z-1P. But
soon you will have to spend $1200 for this instead of $500 at Pentax
too, so where is the improvement?
As you can see, I am really not sure what to do. I seriously consider
to buy a MZ-S, but every time when I imagine to own it and go out for
shooting, I have the strong impression to be disappointed. There is
this feeling of lacking things though having paid a very hight price.
I know that it has the essential features, but I absolutely do not
feel well with luxury goods. That's how I am. I feel happy with a
product that does more than the usual due to intelligent technology,
and I regularly feel cheated with high price products that are not
100% perfect.
I have had this experience with cameras and lenses several times (all
brands), and meanwhile I have learned the lesson. Sometimes I have
sold expensive stuff in order to buy something cheaper with this
"more than usual due to intelligent make" factor. Even in case I have
lost absolute value this way, I feel more happy then. Maybe I am just
mad. But I am absolutely not the guy to buy a camera for 15 years and
not to care anymore about the latest developments. Basically I want
an affordable camera and the chance to update it every 5 years to the
latest technology. I like this thrill of new equipment. Hence the
MZ-S won't make me happy I think.
Ralf
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