The K20D may be an underdog...but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

[Yvon Bourque]

Dear Pentax users and friends,

I often hear photographers saying that it's too bad you can't find Pentax cameras and lenses in some of the smaller camera stores and even in some big store as well. Although this may true to a certain extent, brick & mortar stores are disappearing everyday, and not just camera stores, it is the same with all markets. They are being replaced by the Wal-Mart stores of the world, and internet stores. Ebay plays a big part too, as stores like Cameta Camera in New York almost sell exclusively on Ebay.

Canon and Nikon equipment can be found with less trouble than Pentax. It is not necessary because they are better cameras, it because they have the biggest advertising budgets. They have the biggest budgets because they sell a lot. It is a vicious circle. It is sort of like a private club and difficult to get in. Pentax has been an underdog for a while and it will probably never sell the volume of equipment that Canon and Nikon do. However, being and underdog is not necessarily a bad thing for us...the consumers. Underdogs have to work harder and produce better equipment for the money. That is exactly what Pentax did in this new digital world. Almost everyone knows that, dollar for dollar, Pentax offers better DSLRs. Just look at the success of the K10D, and now the K20D with its CMOS 14.6 megapixels and available modes and customizations.

Most newbie want to use what they heard the Pros were shooting with. The Pros are often sponsored, or have tons of C & N equipment already. Canon and Nikon have dominated the market for sometimes and both have Pro-Models in the $5,000.00 range. Pros use the top of the line cameras and newbie’s and amateurs rarely purchase the $5,000.00 plus cameras. Many tend to buy the cheapest Canon or Nikon, which in my opinion do not hold a candle to Pentax for the same amount of money. People, as a rule, are followers and they perceive that shooting with the cheapest models of the same make the Pros use the most, will make them better photographers. Some boast about their capabilities as photographers, since they are using Nikon or Canon similarly to what most Pros use. One only has to look at the Pentax Gallery to see the quality of the images presented.

It is almost impossible for smaller brick & mortar stores to make it nowadays because they cannot buy in the same volume as the super stores and therefore cannot sell the goods as cheap. If you are honest about it, most of us go to our local camera store to get our hands on cameras and lenses so that we can decide what we want. We also surf the internet to get as much information as we can to help us in our decision-making. Once we know what we want, we buy online. Many people purchase (Canon & Nikon) from Best Buy or Circuit City, not at a bargain price, but because they offer payment plans.

Soon, the purchasing market will shift toward the Internet based stores. Advertisement will get stronger in the Internet arena and brick & mortar stores will slowly disappear. Once on the internet, any company can look as big as they want. Pentax, in my opinion, is changing its marketing approach toward the internet. I predict that they will be more successful that way. After all, they do make excellent products. It is just a question of budget and marketing. As I learned in my marketing classes, it’s 20% product and 80% marketing.

Thank you for reading,

Yvon Bourque

[rei_vilo]

Bonjour Yvon,

I fully agree with you and your analysis. Thank you for sharing it.

However, I've the opportunity and chance to find Pentax gear in brick-and-mortar shops in France, where they were served by enthusiast salesmen. It was a real pleasure to talk photography -and not electronics- while purchasing a Pentax dSLR

I purchased my first Pentax dSLR a couple of years ago because it delivered more bang per buck, and the K10D I'm using now is just amazing. 

Best regards,

[Roberts]

I fully agree with You and hope You are right about Pentax marketing strategy direction.

[Yvon Bourque]

Bonjour Yvon,

I fully agree with you and your analysis. Thank you for sharing it.

However, I've the opportunity and chance to find Pentax gear in brick-and-mortar shops in France, where they were served by enthusiast salesmen. It was a real pleasure to talk photography -and not electronics- while purchasing a Pentax dSLR

I purchased my first Pentax dSLR a couple of years ago because it delivered more bang per buck, and the K10D I'm using now is just amazing. 

Best regards,

C'est merveilleux! / That's great!

I was actually wondering if the same phenemenon was also happening in other Countries. It would be interesting to know if Brick & Mortar are disapearing as well in the old countries.

[kareem]

people right now only attracted to what cameras other people use..they said (mostly entry level) nikons n canons are good..but end up selling it after two months of usage..wassup with dat?

for me the best entry level right now is the k100d(which i owned for about a year now) n k200d..period. not because i'm using it but because the price/performance ratio which made me decide to buy it a year ago..

[golfcoachnoel]

Better late than never.  Oo)
I too was a victim of the advertising world. Got into Canon gear a couple of years ago and have evolve from 30D to 40D in a years time with all the bells and whistle of the so called L lenses. When I got into the 100-400 L 2.8 (Expensive) people were telling me that my shots are a little off at the end (300-400mm). So I took my lens to a local Canon service center. After 6 freaking weeks of waiting, i was told that there were no problem. Started shooting again and still my shots were out of focus. One professional said to me....Just your luck buddy, those series canon lenses had bad copies! Hmmm...and what does that mean? I was told that you have to get lucky to get a good copy or test it before you take it home. Wow..i wish canon had it printed on the box "Don't pay yet, try me out first, I might be a bad copy" !!! Anyway.... took it back to canon and argued, presented, pleaded and lastly Begged my lights out for them to replace it. Oh well...it did work well as a $1300 door stopped. Hey! It's white! people can see it!

Been shooting awhile next to a master photographer who carried a Pentax K10D, of course my pcitures never really got as good as his so i started thinking!!! Hmmm...maybe I should try and get to know what a Pentax DSLR is all about. Yes! yes! and yes! After burning his ears with questions and logging in 1000 hrs researching the net (hehe)....Eureka! Pentax! Pentax! Pentax! I should have done it long time ago. The first thing i did was sold all my Canon gear and replaced all them with Pentax! Boy... am I a happy camper.

My friends (nikon / canon users) ask's.....Why Pentax ? and i said....Well....it was a choice between a Mercedes Benz and a BMW! i bought a Bentley!!!

My two cents...
PS: if you really read up on it! pound for pound they don't even come close!

PS again: And did you guys know that the winner of the sharpest lens in the world is a Pentax! oh yeah! 

[rei_vilo]

Bonjour,

Pentax is said to be the equivalent of Audi for cameras good quality, decent price, incredible value !

[golfcoachnoel]

There you go! All is said and done!

Cheers!

Honestly, i just got rid of a 30D and 40D, i can not find a single reason or feature that the K20D does not have. I do find a lot of features that the K20D does have and the 40D don't have! In fact, other than the full frame features of the Mark III's it still doesn't match what the K20D has. What you think?

[nanhi]

Better late than never.  Oo)
I too was a victim of the advertising world. Got into Canon gear a couple of years ago and have evolve from 30D to 40D in a years time with all the bells and whistle of the so called L lenses. When I got into the 100-400 L 2.8 (Expensive) people were telling me that my shots are a little off at the end (300-400mm). So I took my lens to a local Canon service center. After 6 freaking weeks of waiting, i was told that there were no problem. Started shooting again and still my shots were out of focus. One professional said to me....Just your luck buddy, those series canon lenses had bad copies! Hmmm...and what does that mean? I was told that you have to get lucky to get a good copy or test it before you take it home. Wow..i wish canon had it printed on the box "Don't pay yet, try me out first, I might be a bad copy" !!! Anyway.... took it back to canon and argued, presented, pleaded and lastly Begged my lights out for them to replace it. Oh well...it did work well as a $1300 door stopped. Hey! It's white! people can see it!

Been shooting awhile next to a master photographer who carried a Pentax K10D, of course my pcitures never really got as good as his so i started thinking!!! Hmmm...maybe I should try and get to know what a Pentax DSLR is all about. Yes! yes! and yes! After burning his ears with questions and logging in 1000 hrs researching the net (hehe)....Eureka! Pentax! Pentax! Pentax! I should have done it long time ago. The first thing i did was sold all my Canon gear and replaced all them with Pentax! Boy... am I a happy camper.

My friends (nikon / canon users) ask's.....Why Pentax ? and i said....Well....it was a choice between a Mercedes Benz and a BMW! i bought a Bentley!!!

My two cents...
PS: if you really read up on it! pound for pound they don't even come close!

PS again: And did you guys know that the winner of the sharpest lens in the world is a Pentax! oh yeah! 

Your last para: Please do tell us the full description with model name and details of this sharpest lens in the world.