On Fri, Apr 29, 2005 at 07:36:33PM -0600, Tom C wrote: > > It's only a short hop, skip, and jump for diehard Pentax users to > start wondering whether Pentax is the future when Canon for instance, > releases what, 6 - 8 DLSR's to Pentax's two. Not to mention the IS > capability, the FF option, and the knowledge that if I wanted to buy > something cutting edge I could.
It sounds to me as though you had rather unreasonable expectations. When Canon had released five DSLRs (1D, 30D, 60D, 10D, 1Ds) before Pentax got their first one onto the shelves, it was quite obvious that Pentax were going to be at best playing catchup.
If any diehard Pentax user expects Pentax to suddenly leapfrog to the front of the technology curve, they're viewing the last several decades through heavily rose-tinted glasses.
Pentax will probably (if they manage to stay in business that long) introduce a follow-on model to the *istD sometime in 2006. But it's unlikely to be either cost- or feature- competitive with the Canon replacement for the 20D which I would expect to debut not much later (or, possibly, even before the Pentax).
<snip> John Francis
Hi John,
Responding several days later...
I don't know, They aren't as much expectations as they are hopes. I'm pretty much getting what I expected out of Pentax. I see Pentax releasing (I'm just guessing) 1 new P&S every three months or so over the last several years. Most of them are practically meaningless variations on a theme (Optio 5, 5i, 5si, and all that). I see that, regardless of how much money they make on it, as a waste of effort that could be spent on developing a next gen DLSR. On top of it, those digital P&S cameras are not getting the best of reviews, even though I'm sure they're more than useable for 95% of those buying them.
Pentax apparently ceased trying to be a market and innovation leader even before I purchased my first Pentax in 1989, a used MX. They put themselves in the position of playing catchup, if they even care.
I want a clear upgrade path. It gets down to options, I guess. I'm beginning to think that the purchase of any more Pentax SLR gear *could* be a dead end.
I view Pentax as the Hyundai of the camera market. Nikon and Canon are the Toyotas and Hondas.
Maybe Pentax will prosper as the Hyundai of the camera market, just as Hyundai sells plenty of cars. You can go anywhere in a Hyundai that you can in a Toyota, and for the most part they'll both get you there and afterwards it would be hard to describe the difference in the experience. And yet depending on the wants or needs of the purchaser...
Anyway, not trying to dispute what you said. I like my *ist D just fine.
Tom C.
