At 09:44 AM 2/21/02 +0100, Pal wrote: >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.
To some extent the sales of the K-1000 were due to it being a standard in photography classes in high schools and colleges. When the perfesser says "A K-100 would be ideal for this class" and the student sees that the K-1000 is cheap, everyone is happy. >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. Not to mention those fine Ricoh all manuals that have bit the dust... I do think that with the right marketing the LX or an upgrad could still be a viable product - though it is not all manual - but I don't think Pentax should waste resources on such a venture at this point in time. >I think that Pentax have the absolutely worst marketing dept in the >industry wasting away perhaps the best name among japanese camera >manufacturers. Hear hear! A fundamental question - what makes Pentax unique? I think of small, compact and uncluttered bodies with the best backwards compatibility in the business and really excellent glass. Unfortunately, the Pz series and the power zoom lenses missed the mark on this and I think Pentax lost momentum there. The Mz-S is a great statement that indicates that Pentax understands what they need to do and I hope they build upon that. > 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.... Digital is the Rubicon that they must cross. I worry that Pentax's slow adoption of the bayonet mount, and slow adoption of AF, presage a slow adoption of digital. Today's markets move much more quickly and the loss of brand credibility happens fast and is fatal. Failure to move swiftly into digital may be the death knell of the Pentax system- and regrettably, swift is not an adjective that I associate with Pentax. -MCC - - - - - - - - - - Mark Cassino Kalamazoo, MI [EMAIL PROTECTED] - - - - - - - - - - Photos: http://www.markcassino.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 .
