2009 Predictions.......

I got this link off another forum. It's written mainly for Nikon, but makes interesting reading (if not downright gloomy) for Pentax users. It's quite long but worth a read so stick with it. Hopefully his predictions are about as good as mine when picking my lottery numbers..
http://www.bythom.com/2009predictions.htm

Thom Hogan has a long history of FUD about Pentax which is totally boring.

If anyone wishes to be bored further, then reading the following thread in DePressing Review will tickle your fancy!

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1036&message=29980583

Very interesting article and forum thread.

All Pentax users have a feeling, in the back of their mind, that this is going to happen. Yet it hasn't for many decades. And my 32 year old 100mm Macro lens is the perfect example of the survival of Pentax in the market.

Very interesting article though.

The trouble with Internet Experts is that we only have their word for it.

This guy predicted the demise of Pentax a long time ago.....

And the doomsayers of dpreview and pentaxforums seem to think that the moment Pentax are no more they will suddenly have to go out and buy another camera...

RiceHigh is another one who fans the flames, and of course we have our own TEOGIN....isn't it time he returned to continue his thread? DON"T BUY PENTAX DIGITAL LENSES

If you mean they are based on pure guesswork, then you should be reassured. He knows nothing about Hoya, Pentax or their business plans.

Please .......NO

Huh? It's only SRS that seems to stock any Pentax over here

[pathetic mode]
Oh no! I suppose I better ebay my Pentax stuff and get a Nikon before I can't take any more pictures with my Pentax.
[/pathetic mode]


Matt

Well he does have a point there - very few camera stores, anywhere stock Pentax, and a few will get stuff in to order but most just don't want to know about Pentax. Without a good retail base people will not hunt for Pentax when Nikon and the like are there for the buying in their local superstore. Unless Pentax/Hoya can improve the marketing of the product sales will not increase, and it could be a serious problem in the future.

You want to convince the world you are insane? Start by saying "I'm not crazy".
You want to convince the world you are a fool? Start by saying "I predict....(the future)".
I say somebody has to go through as many years of BACK predictions this guy has made to get an estimate of how accurate he is. Then discard it. Because that will only tell you how big a fool he is. The future, could hold anything. Look at how many experts predicted the death of Apple?

100% Agree with you on this Gwyn, marketing is the name of the game these days. If Pentax spent money like Sony have, then anything could happen..

Definition of "Expert":-

ex = a hasbeen
spert (spurt) = a drip under pressure.

Old stuff, no longer any use to canikny users, I'll give you a fiver for the lot

Seriously though look how old contax, lieca and the likes survive and the prices they fetch, Pentax as a name and brand will be around for a long time yet.

It's natural to berate the speaker when the message being conveyed isn't one you want to hear, but...

He makes it quite clear that his words are his predictions, and not necessarily gospel! So, maybe he doesn't have access to Hoya's business plans, but it seems a fairly well thought out view by somebody who is close to the camera business.

I agree that the Pentax brand is a very valuable one, and I don't think it will ever disappear. However, I can see Hoya offloading it if the global money situation continues to get worse.

I believe we are going to see some big names get into difficulties over the next 18 months, I don't think you need to be a genius to work that one out, and I'd also be very surprised if forced change didn't afflict our beloved brand sometime soon.

But, even if Pentax went bust and disappeared tomorrow (and I've already said I don't think it will), we'd still have the K20d and all the cracking lenses today, and that's not a bad place to be!

Incidentally, or maybe not, I was in SRS last night and had a very quick look at the K-m. I almost purchased one there and then as its size and weight immediately made my mind think it would be an ideal DSLR camera to take on my mountain bike rides (the K20d/D90/450d and it's ilk are just too big and heavy to be slung across my chest).

So, maybe Pentax are going the right way with things afterall...

And there's the problem I think, Pentax don't have Sony amounts of money to spend on either product development or marketing.