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Old December 22nd 06, 01:00 PM posted to rec.photo.digital.slr-systems,rec.photo.equipment.35mm,rec.photo.digital
TW
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Posts: 11
Default End of an Era

I welcome the change if it means that the long term viability of the K-mount
is secure. I have a substantial investment in K-mount lenses. Unlike Minolta
and later KM, Pentax has demonstrated clearly that it is an innovative
company and (finally) has the ability to adapt to the changing market
quicker than competition with the recent release of K100 and K10 cameras.
What this does is to make Pentax attractive to potential buyers. This is not
an uncommon tactics when a company realized that it might not be able to
raise enough fund to finance long term R&D. There is a no down side since
there will be significant return if the products do sell well. There is no
reason to hold onto a name. A name is only a name. What is important, to me
anyway, is the viability of a set of tools that allows me to pursue
photography. BTW, I started using a Pentax MX in 1979 and since bought and
sold a P30, 5n, *ist. I am now using a DS and a K10D.



"W Paul Mills" wrote in message
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J. Clarke wrote:
On Fri, 22 Dec 2006 07:12:15 +1000, Graham Fountain wrote:

jeremy wrote:
"David Kilpatrick" wrote in message
...
jeremy wrote:
Well, many of us sensed that it was coming.

Pentax had been a longtime user of Hoya optical glass, but to see
Hoya
swallow Pentax us is disconcerting.

They had already swallowed a big chunk of Pentax, as their subsidiary
brand Tokina makes most of the popular lenses (not the special stuff)

David
I was hoping that Pentax might release a full crop digital body that
would
take their older 35mm lenses, but that appears to be a pipe dream now.
Time
to start looking for a new camera brand.
I don't know about that - with the new company having approximately 20x
the capitalisation of Pentax, I think the chances of them progressing
more rapidly are significantly higher. There is nothing wrong with
Hoya/Tokina optics, and now they have a camera system to match their
stuff to. With more money to throw around for things like R&D,
marketing, and quite possibly some new high end gear, the brand can only
improve. Before you jump ship, just remember that Canon don't have
approx 70% market share (in Australia at least, not sure about rest of
the world) because they are any better than the competition, it's simply
because they have been marketed better.


There's also the little matter that they have a camera and lens for just
about any niche you can imagine, while the competition doesn't.


The reason Pentax could not do this is the lack of capital. So this
could change now for the better. Then again, depends on the direction
the merged company takes. They may abandon the camera market, and may
not. Only time will tell.

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