Shel wrote:
>But a nicely redone Spotmatic-type camera might be appealing to a large >enough number of people that Pentax could make a few bucks, and, perhaps >just as important, get some publicity and enhance its reputation. Pentax sold the "Spotmatic" until 1999 in the form of the K1000. It only sold because it was cheap. It success was in some market only; it never sold well in eg. Europe. Eventually, the K1000 became too expensive. Anyhow, if we take "Spotmatic" type of camera to it's extreme meaning mechanical, manual cameras, the world have recently seen the demise of two of those: the OM-3 and Leica R 6.2. Not even Leica bothers with this kind of camera anymore. That says a lot. The only one left is the Nikon FM3a but they are probably the only company that could get away with it. After all, Nikon manages to sell the the FE ten years or so after similar cameras from Pentax and Minolta was impossible to sell. Nikon have a customer base different from anybody elses. It's interesting to note that the retro trend in the (Japanese) car industry is seen as a gimmick. The same could in fact be said about the photo industry too as it caters the same tastes. I'm all for retro in material choice and finish, but making facsimiles of older designs is something different. I would, however, agreed within your statements a few years ago before the Limited lenses and the MZ-S. Now there are quality Pentax gear to be had in the MZ-S and Limited + FA* lenses. I think that Pentax have the absolutely worst marketing dept in the industry wasting away perhaps the best name among japanese camera manufacturers. I always been of the opinion that Pentax suffers from a Spotmatic syndrome not realising that the world has moved on and that the volume market now is taken care of by companies that did not waste away their brand recognition and credibility. However, a rangefinder is certainly not a answer to Pentax problems but they should rather carve a niche, now open, in the connoisseur slr market. It is no secret that Pentax toys with this idea. The Limited lenses are proof of that. Also the camera boss wishes of making a truly fine slr. However, theres always a danger that the marketing people turn it down as usual. And the theres digital.... P�l - 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 .
