Re: Whatever happened to Pentax?

"Dudley Hanks" <hanks.dudley@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message 
news:nWCAj.74916$w57.63673@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> 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?
>

They did what most of the other camera manufacturers did--they began
sucking 
the build quality out of their bodies and lenses.  At least Nikon
maintained 
a high-end line for professionals.  Pentax lost it whan they discontinued 
the LX without first creating a replacement model.

When I compare the build quality of my "A" lenses to my SMC Takumars, I
just 
shake my head in disbelief.  The Spotmatic-F and the ES-II were the high 
water marks for Pentax.  Once they migrated to the K Mount, things went 
downhill.  I have a P3n and a P30t which I use as my knockaround cameras. 
They are made in China, they are so light that they feel like they're just

made of air, but they take good photos.  Trouble is, they feel like toys, 
relative to my older Pentax gear.

Many (most?) of today's photographers don't remember what was out there in

the early 70s, and thus do not know what they are missing.

I would argue that--for advanced amateurs especially--cameras and lenses 
need to provide some tactile gratification in addition to just recording 
images.  If they feel like toys, the brand will be perceived as another 
also-ran.

Now, with Pentax mass-producing digital ameras in Vietnam, the problem
will 
only become worse.  Cameras are becoming commodities rather than
specialized 
optical tools.  Robotic assembly lines stamp them out as though they were 
cookie cutters.

Remember when audiophiles spent thousands on top-notch turntables and 
cartridges, in order to get that high end sound?  Now a cheap CD Walkman
can 
outperform many of those old analog setups--and audiophile sound is 
available to Everyman, at low prices.  I suspect that consumer/advanced 
amateur gear is headed in the same direction.  Cheap, disposable & plastic
. 
.. .