Lawrence wrote: But one potential outcome is that small players like Pentax would be priced out of the market, leaving only the big players standing at the end of the day.
REPLY: I think Pentax strategy is go right in where the volume is and the rest is niche. Perhaps very much niche. I believe (and hope) that the *ist we have seen so far are just entry level and therefore very "safe" (too safe in my opinion) and that higher segments will be filled with products with more character. In spite of what some think, I believe Pentax is very interested in going into high resolution digital. After all, Pentax is the only one of the major manufacturers who has traditionally been into high resolution imaging. Nothing from Canon or Nikon from the film area could match the image quality from Pentax MF. Theres no reason to assume that Pentax would want to leave this segment, partucularly in the light of the rumored 67III and 645D. Of course, the almost marketing of the $8000 MD-S also show what ideas Pentax was playing with. Strong indications from strategically placed sources describe the *ist's we've seen so far as entry level crap (my words not theirs!), and nothing to worry about indicating that there are better things forthcoming. I believe an "LX with AF" (whatever that means) may be coming as Pentax is apparently toying with OTF metering again! P�l
