Whatever happened to Pentax?

"Pudentame" wrote in message
...
Tony Polson wrote:
Pudentame wrote:

I certainly agree with you on that, but everything I've read so far
indicates they're not resting on their laurels The new K20D is a good
improvement on the K10D.


I agree. The K20D also has the first Samsung CMOS sensor in APS-C
format. Samsung's first effort is so good that subsequent Samsung
sensors are likely to be *well worth waiting for*.

The best news is that Sony's stranglehold on the market for APS-C
sensors has been broken. The already announced Sony 24.6 MP full
frame sensor for 2009 is interesting, but let's not forget that a full
frame sensor with similar pixel density to the Samsung CMOS for the
K20D would have approximately 30 MP.

A 30 MP full frame Pentax K1D? That'll do nicely!


Yeah, but in the meantime, I'm trying to get everything I can outta' the
K10D while I save up for the K20D.

Personally I think waiting for the K30D would be prudent.

Pudentame wrote:

Compare the cost of the Hasselblad H and Mamiya ZD to the cost of their
medium format film bodies.

Supply and demand. Get the price down into the range where the film
bodies were, and demand will pick up.


That's true.

However, I think it is also true to say that if a product satisfies a
need no other product can, it will sell at a surprisingly high price.

The Hasselblad H3D-39 uniquely satisfies a need for a 39 MP DSLR.
While there will only be a (relatively) small number of people who
need 39 MP, the camera will be profitable if those people are prepared
to pay a high price.

I just wondered how many people were in that position.

"Noons" wrote in message
...
On Mar 10, 12:39 pm, "David J. Littleboy" wrote:

the area of "FF", and so does have a theoretical advantage. It also turns
out that MF lenses are razor sharp on 5D density digital sensors, so 24MP
and higher images that are painfully sharp corner to corner are a piece
of
cake for MF digital. Anything 24MP and over in FF is going to be a
stretch
for even the best Nikkor or Canon lenses at anything other than f/8 or
f/11.

and at that density and stop-down, one will likely start to hit
diffraction limits anyway...


Nobody needs more than 64k of memory - Bill Gates

I can never fill up a 5mg hard drive - me 1989.


--
Peter

"Pudentame" wrote in message
...
Dudley Hanks wrote:
"Happy Traveler" wrote in message
. ..
I have a Spotmatic SPII -- still in good working order. It's a classic,
but in spite of the catchy name, it only measures some sort of
center-weighted average. Don't believe that the Spotmatic, or even its
early 1980's successors (like the ME Super that I also have) ever did
any more than that. On the other hand, film is a lot more tolerant of
overexposure than digital, so spot measuring for highlights was not as
big a deal as it is now...


"Dudley Hanks" wrote in message
news:IQGAj.69831$FO1.22055@edtnps82...
Well, sort of. If my memory isn't too fuzzy, I think that they "said"
they were going to make the first SLR with spot metering -- the
Spotmatic. Pentax made a pre-production model according to its claims,
but when it hit production the spot sensoring turned out to be a couple
of sensors that really only read an average of the light in the
viewfinder. I'm not sure if they later modified the spotmatic to
actually use spot metering, or whether one of the other giants got it
into production first.



Yes, that is a classic.

I read something on the net a while back that Pentax wants to revive the
concept / name with a digital version. Have you heard anything about
that?

Take Good Care of Your Classic,
Dudley



Well, the K100D and K10D names were specifically meant to recall fond
feelings many a photographer has for the K1000.

One of the members of the Camera Club that Im president of uses the K10D and
the results from it are excellent!

McK.

"Peter Chant" wrote in message
...
sally wrote:


Canon and Nikon are just better at developing and marketing new products.
Pentax and Yashica are trying to come back, but that will be difficult.

Yashica?

Surely that's a name that's not been used in years. Who owns it?


I bought a Yashica 124G on ebay for £90. Very good camera indeed

McK.

On Mon, 10 Mar 2008 20:44:22 +0000, Tony Polson
wrote:

The Hasselblad H3D-39 uniquely satisfies a need for a 39 MP DSLR.
While there will only be a (relatively) small number of people who
need 39 MP, the camera will be profitable if those people are prepared
to pay a high price.

I just wondered how many people were in that position.

Walk into non-photographer friend's home, and note the number of large,
high-quality photographic prints. Then do the same for a small or
medium-sized business.

The H3D-39 is designed to create a gallery quality 18x24" print, or a
very good quality 27x36". Currently, that size of print is not really
in fashion for homes. In a business setting, you'll see the occasional
founders' shot or team photograph, but even those are now more likely to
appear on a webpage than on a wall.

My _guess_ is that quite a few working pros have an occasional need to
print at that size, but it's not enough to warrant the investment.
Instead, they'll either look to rent an H3D or fall back to a film
camera. In the last year, the two 24x30" prints I've made both came out
of my 4x5" field camera.

Of course, fashions could change next week. But if I was a pro, I
wouldn't tie up my capital on that sort of bet.

--
Michael Benveniste --
Spam and UCE professionally evaluated for $419. Use this email
address only to submit mail for evaluation.

Pudentame wrote:

Tony Polson wrote:
Pudentame wrote:

Compare the cost of the Hasselblad H and Mamiya ZD to the cost of their
medium format film bodies.

Supply and demand. Get the price down into the range where the film
bodies were, and demand will pick up.


That's true.

However, I think it is also true to say that if a product satisfies a
need no other product can, it will sell at a surprisingly high price.

The Hasselblad H3D-39 uniquely satisfies a need for a 39 MP DSLR.
While there will only be a (relatively) small number of people who
need 39 MP, the camera will be profitable if those people are prepared
to pay a high price.

I just wondered how many people were in that position.


I'm thinking *not enough* over the longer term.


I think you're probably right. But it would be good to see some
figures, to put the discussion in perspective.

"Dudley Hanks" wrote in message
news:nWCAj.74916$w57.63673@edtnps90...
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 .
.. .

"Peter Chant" wrote in message
...
Yashica?

Surely that's a name that's not been used in years. Who owns it?

I'm still wondering what happened to Miranda. I owed a couple of those many
moons ago.

Bruce.

On Mar 11, 12:14*pm, "Jeremy" wrote:
"Dudley Hanks" wrote in message

news:nWCAj.74916$w57.63673@edtnps90...

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 .
. .

Did Pentax almost go under last year? If I am not mistaken, Hoya (the
makers of filter lens) planned to buy Pentax in 2006/2007. But I heard
that the deal did not fall through. Can someone confirm?
See the old news in Dec 2006:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/mai.../cnhoya22..xml

I saw an early development for a 6x4.5 format for digital Pentax
camera a few years ago (was it in Photokina?), but I don't know if
that was going anywhere either.

However, when I look around on opinions on the camera websites, people
who own/buy a Pentax digital cameras appear to like their camera.
Either the popular 2 leading camera makers are too over-rated, or
Pentax enthusiasts do not want to tell anybody that they have problems
with their cameras.

In the old days, I still remember the famous Asahi Pentax Spotmatix
SLR, as well as the Pentax 6x7 camera. I hope that the company is
making a come back with their K10D, and K20D models.