Actually except in the 60's they never had the might to challenge C**** or N****. Only their loyal momentum kept them up near the top. As it is they are the leader still usually in P&S so the Optio line looks like they have begun to switch over to digital. In high end cameras they don't have the infrastructure to compete with the top 2 who usually lose money on the pro stuff and make it back on the rest by convincing people the quality is the same as the pro stuff (which it is not). Being the smallest company and without the resources of conglomerates behind them like the other 3 they can't afford to pop up with pro cameras at will without knowing in advance they can sell enough to make money. Remember the prime job of the camera is something to hold the media up so the lens can form an image. And while both Pentax and Minolta have excellent pro lenses neither makes enough models to suit any of the pros I know personally. And the ones they do generally require a long lead time because they are special order, or you have to find them used. And the top 3rd party pro lines are made in Pentax (not as much as Minolta however), but just try finding, for example, a used last generation 500/4.5 Sigma in Pentax AF mount. Good luck with that. So who is going to buy a high end 6MP Pentax 35mm lens digital camera for around $7000? Certainly not the Pentax user who is using a PZ-1p/MZ-3/ZX-5n as his primary camera. He'd have to sell everything including his lenses to afford it. It just happens in marketing that a company making a good product that doesn't sell is in lots worse shape than one that doesn't make the product at all. Besides I'm sure one of the secret marketing criteria was how many MZ-S bodies they sold initially. If they can't sell their target with a $1400 body how can they justify a $7000 body? Just coming out with a great product like that is a sure way to go into the red and go under when you can't sell enough and you don't have big pockets behind you. The others know they have a ready market because of the investment in their pro glass most high end users have, which Pentax and Minolta can't say. I applaud Minolta for bringing out the Maxxum 9 and keeping at least one pro caliber body at the top of their line. I'm also sure they aren't making that much on them overall, especially with the Maxxum 7 out. I think Pentax probably made the correct, although possibly less popular decision in this case. A cheaper body with less resolution that possibly costs only a few hundred over an MZ-S is more likely to attract the Pentax loyalist to actually buy one, instead of screaming about not paying $7000 for the other one. Nothing Pentax and to a lesser extent Minolta brings out is going to convince a high end Canon or Nikon shooter to switch to Pentax or Minolta unless their is only one lens they use. Unless Pentax decided to bring a body out that used Nikon or Canon lenses. Unfortunately that would most likely sell better than one using their own line simply because the potential buyer list is much larger. Kent Gittings
-----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of Chaso DeChaso Sent: Monday, October 22, 2001 4:00 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Pentax Digital NEWS! Part one Wasn't there a time when Pentax actually cared about being a leader? Are they now content with always following (more and more distantly), at best offering products close to the others and cheaper? This would be sad. If they simply don't have the might to compete against N**** and C***** anymore, at least they could do one thing really well - in the digital realm, this could have been the full-frame CCD SLR. Is Pentax to become the next Contax, who was fifteen (or however many) years late with autofocus? Maybe Pentax will release a fantastic digital SLR in 2016 when almost nobody remembers who Pentax is. In any case, they really have to release something serious soon or they'll be wiped off the map. (I don't care about digital products too much, I just want them to stay in business so that they can make lenses and film cameras for a while longer.) Olympus seems to be a model of a company managing their resources well and focusing on certain distinct areas very wisely. Pentax brand loyalty goes pretty far - the next couple years may be a test of just how far. >Good point but if Pentax does "We're no worse than the >rest" but it costs less ( we hope ). [Brendan] Make a great connection at Yahoo! Personals. http://personals.yahoo.com - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org . - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org . ********************************************************************** This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you have received this email in error please notify the system manager. This footnote also confirms that this email message has been swept by MIMEsweeper for the presence of computer viruses. www.mimesweeper.com ********************************************************************** - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
