Re: Whatever happened to Pentax?

Dudley Hanks wrote:
> Back in the '60s, '70s and even into the '80s Pentax was right up there
with 
> Canon and Nikon.  But, today, it seems like the company doesn't even get

> honourable mention in the brand wars.  What happened?
Not sure about in the rest of the world, but their 
distribution within Australia didn't move with the times, 
and hence their availability was poorer than other brands.

They have also pretty much abandoned the serious pro market, 
leaving that for Canon and Nikon. They are still a fairly 
strong player in the advanced amateur category at #3 in DSLR 
(albeit a long way behind Canon and Nikon). In the compact 
camera market they are just another one of the m*****.
> 
> As for myself, the last few times I've gone to buy a camera, I was 
> purchasing a compact that both my wife and I would be using.  She likes
an 
> optical view-finder while I use the LCD.  This more-or-less ruled out 
> Pentax, since I couldn't find a Pentax with an optical finder at any of
the 
> local camera shops.
If an optical viewfinder is one of your requirements, you 
will rule out pretty much everyone. Canon and Sony are the 
only ones left with optical viewfinders in their P&S 
cameras, and even those two are reducing the number of 
models with it.
> 
> I still have an old Pentax P3 film SLR that shoots great shots, and I
pull 
> it out every now and then.  I can't think of any reason why the quality
of 
> Pentax film cameras should not have carried over into the digital world.
The quality has continued over. Their DSLRs are considered 
by many to offer very good value for money. The new K200D 
and K20D, just like their predecessors the K100D and K10D 
both offer features that will cost a lot more to get in any 
other brand.
The digital SLRs are also compatible with older lenses 
(Although some limitations apply to lenses that don't have 
the "A" setting).
> 
> What about the rest of you?  Any ideas on why Pentax has sort of faded
into 
> the background?
Because Pentax don't have the serious pro 35mm format 
digitals, that market has been left to Canon and Nikon. As a 
result, these 2 hold the vast majority of the market share.

Actually Nikon have only been a major player again in the 
last couple of years - they almost became marginalised too - 
the D40/D40x were the start of their clawback, helped by the 
D200, and now with the D3/D300 they are well and truly back 
in the game.


> 
> Pondering,
> Dudley
> 
>