On 7/24/05 6:06 PM, "K.Takeshita" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> I believe it has far less to do with their technical ability to > produce larger sensor SLR. At the risk of being redundant, I might add one more point. I am sure the list members here remember the infamous MZ-D. If Pentax actually produced and marketed it, they were the "first" in the FF DSLR market which was apparently their intention. This was when the DSLR market was somewhat in an infancy stage (not too long ago though). But it was also the stage where the new management was working. They were obviously ready to take the risk, spent some real dollar to develop it and going to challenge C/N, in their dream to restore the past glory of being in the forefront of the SLR technology. DSLR was the chance for their fresh start. Both Pentax and Kyocera/Contax used the same Philips sensor. Kyocera/Contax hastened the product and actually started marketing it. It was a miserable failure. Not only was the whole kit too big, but the high ISO noise was almost making the camera unusable (IIRC, too much noise beyond 400 etc). At the same time, Pentax were aware of the Kyocera's problem although they did not have that problem, and was about to market it. Well, everybody thought so. But in the last minute, I believe they essentially chickened out. But their cameras were good working models and some of them are still being used in-house for real use. It was solely a marketing decision. It was just too expensive and Pentax did not have the "paying" market. They had to create it to sell their product in any quantity. Killing the project may or may not have been a good thing to Pentax. If they ever marketed it, they either encountered an instant death caused by Canon, or may have built further on it, in spite of the challenge, simply because they made a head start. But watching the demise of Kyocera/Contax, the killing of the project was probably prudent and right. If Pentax knew what they know now about this chaotic DSLR market today, they certainly would not have even thought about making the FF DSLR. Now the sensor cost is coming down, and P might have found a good source or partner in the sensor supply (are they serious about the in-house FAB which is rumoured from time to time?). But the morale of this episode is that P always had the technical ability to produce the FF DSLR. They can certainly produce the 20D or better. I never thought that was the question. But they can never be the leader in this market, challenging Canon (and perhaps Nikon too) when they own the market. But the higher end DSLR market will begin to mature soon, and in the meantime, it is critically important for Pentax to put a strong foothold in the entry yet much larger market for now. I only hope that the new management is readier to take the (calculated) risk, and bolder in taking the new challenge. I think the current management is much better in that respect, but I do not want to see their demise caused by reckless venture either. So, the solution is somewhere in-between ? :-). Cheers, Ken
