It's pretty obvious: Pentax is production capacity constrained. They're
making as much product as they can, but they don't have the capacity to
fill all the demand that digital has created. In some cases I'm sure
they're allocating resources to the most profitable products. Bu the
way some of the FA lenses that were supposedly discontinued, like the
50/1.4 and 35/2 continue to be available. Some of the DA lenses that
were apparently big hits like the 16-45 and the 12-24 seem to have sold
out.
On Feb 27, 2006, at 9:56 PM, Joseph Tainter wrote:
Shel wrote:
"This whole experience of trying to find a camera that was released
only a few months ago has been an eye-opening experience. That the
camera has been replaced with a lower speced version, the istDL, says
something about Pentax, that they don't have a clue as to what they're
doing."
The most bizarre thing about Pentax's current behavior is that they
are walking away from money on the table.
For an unknown length of time, they will leave the market without
their most popular, mid-priced model.
People have been clamoring for the better FA and FA* lenses, yet
Pentax discontinues them. When Pentax switched to autofocus, it took
them 13 years to complete the lens line-up (1987-2000). While I am
pleased at what I see on the roadmap, there are many large holes to
fill yet, especially at the telephoto end. How long will these lenses
take a small company to produce? In the meantime, why not produce the
FA and FA* lenses.
It has been suggested that Pentax lost money on the FA* lenses. Maybe
so, but the market is so strong now that Pentax could sell those
lenses at a higher price. Some of them now sell used on eBay for more
than the sold for new.
I am very glad to see signs of life and rationality, maybe even
strategy, in the recent announcements. But they are still doing some
very strange things.
How could a company leave the market without its most popular products?
Joe
