On 7/21/05 7:39 PM, "Rob Studdert" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> A two year announcement to production cycle in this market means they will > definitely lose many potential sales, it's just too slow. Yes, Pentax has been slow, and that is their most sin. Technically, they have everything needed to produce a pro level DSLR. The problem with Pentax, and it probably comes from their size, is that they are timid in making a bold move in the market place. But they certainly know where the money is and they are always there. When the current CEO took over from the family, and started changing the mentality a couple of years ago, it coincided with the rise of the DSLR market and the *istD was the result. It was partially true that Pentax was considered dead in the DSLR market, and *istD was a pleasant surprise. But they still had to feed the rapidly expanding market, and the result was Ds. But they still have to squeeze some more money from the market, hence DL. However, I believe that they came to the point where they really have to start getting into the market currently filled by D100 or 20D etc, and I am sure they would do so, albeit a bit slower than we like them to be. One of the biggest problems is that Canon, the market leader, are deliberately driving this short life cycle of DSLR by continuously feeding the market with new models, which really are the remakes of previous models, except some jump in MP etc. They know how to appeal to average consumers. There was a page in their Japanese web site, which was a part of their presentation to the stock holder which caused quite an uproar among the Canon fans. It explained how Canon intended to further shorten the life cycle of models and one prominent way of doing so was to cut the prototyping cycle. They said their goal was to completely eliminate the prototyping stage (or something to that effect). I saw the chart and I might to try to dig it out somewhere. Obviously, Canon's strategy to stifle the competitions is to force the shorter product life cycle, perhaps more than necessarily, creating the image that they keep spitting out new models all the time. The problem (to competitions) is that this is apparently working. This is happening particularly in the largest segment of the market, the entry level. How many times did they revise (or "upgrade") the Rebel specs, while the products cycle for 20D and above are rather long. Competitions are drawn into this crazy race and Nikon for example could not keep up with it. Certainly not Pentax. However, if you peek into the Canon chat room, it is filled with complaints on quality control, the cameras having to go to service centres frequently, tilted CCD positioning which has to be corrected, and focus point not calibrated etc etc. I see far less such claim in PDML on D or Ds. In fact, the current joke is about the "Canon timer" which is supposed to be built into each model which would put their camera out of service after some set time elapsed so that consumers have to buy newer models, which seemingly always ready right there. Now, Canon is a great company, they have excellent products and I do not want to sound like bashing them, but they do seem to have their own problems. Incidentally, a Pentax executive in his recent interview regarding the price collapse of PS digital, was saying that, when *istD was released, it sold surprisingly faster than they expected "initially", and when *istDs was out, it sold even faster "initially". It did not die out of course but this interview tells that they know the severity of the product life cycle, not because of their cameras were obsolete but the whole cycle was driven by deliberately shorter cycle challenged by the competitions. It is indeed crazy. I personally do not believe Pentax would be drawn into this trap partly because they cannot afford to, and partly because they tend to play safer, which is understandable for their size. But I also believe, after they felt that they secured a strong foothold in this expanding market, they will do what they obviously have to do, that is to begin going upward, cultivating a bit upscale market. I just cannot believe they don't if they are serious about seeing themselves as an SLR company. In Japan, there are far more people worried about Oly than Pentax, and very few people wish to see only N/C dominate the market which is so boring. Pentax, Oly are sort of like Subaru and Volvo as opposed to GM/Toyota. They have never been a mass producing companies but always kept very unique positions (and quality products) in the market place. I hope that this more proactive management of Pentax will do right, albeit prudently. Cheers, Ken
