"Christian" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >From: "Tom C" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >> >> So the question becomes in many respects, if one WANTS to purchase the new >> Pentax body (assuming there's one forthcoming... I mean I actually expect >> to see one, but has Pentax officially let us know?), > >And once they officially let us know, how long before you can ACTUALLY have >it in your hands? > >It took the *ist D almost a year from announcement to stores. The 5D was >only a matter of a couple of months.....
The difference in delay between announcement and availability is due to market pressures: Canon had to wait to announce the 5D until it was ready to ship to retailers because they knew its existence would cut into sales of some of their other products (the 1D above it and the 10D below). Pentax had to announce the ist-D early because they had to competing product for it to steal sales from and because they needed to let the Pentax faith know there was something coming (so they wouldn't jump ship. The same thing happened with Canon and Nikon with the Rebel-D and the D70: Canon waited until the last moment to announce and had cameras in the shops about two weeks later (having let stocks of the 10D sell down beforehand). Nikon *had* to announce the D70 well in advance because the Rebel-D was already out there. Manufacturers never announce products in advance unless they feel it's absolutely necessary. Pentax doesn't seem to feel that way... as of today. The Photo Plus Expo in New York is opening now though... -- Mark Roberts Photography and writing www.robertstech.com
