If not Pentax....What ?

Please note. This is only a hypothetical question. I'm not a prophet of doom..

However, it worries me slightly (well a lot really) when I read about the increasing digital SLR market share of Canon and Nikon. Also that Sony and Olympus have overtaken Pentax as well. Compared with the above, Pentax dSLR sales are very small. Whatever the reason for this doesn't matter. What does matter though is that Pentax is a business and therefore will not tolerate falling sales for ever, so will one day decide enoughs enough, and cease dSLR production?

As good as our present Pentax kit is, by dSLR standards it will soon become out of date and obsolete. There'll be no new models to upgrade to.

So, if the worst should happen, what would you do?

As much as it will hurt, the only alternative would be to reinvest in another make. So if you did, which would you choose and why? Canon, Nikon, Sony or Olympus....

As I said, this is only hypothetical, but it could be worth thinking about...

It would have to be Sony for me.
I also think if Pentax made a FF DSLR it would poll vault them up the market.

Don't think it's that simple... Pentax has always been low in the stakes when it comes to dSLR. If they took that view, then why bother to make anything?? Why bother to bring out new models?

Only if you want the latest and greatest (read: most expensive).
I can still take drop-dead-gorgeous images with my *ist-D. And that is positively ancient on the dSLR run.

And even if Pentax ceased production there'll still be companies who repair and maintain the gear.

Out of date certainly does not mean useless. I use an aging Nokia 6100 for example (that I recently repaired thanks to finding the service manual online ). Does the job perfectly and it's reliable.

But if I absolutely had to switch... might be a Nikon D300... maybe something else. Pretty sure it wouldn't be Canon for me because I just don't get on with the UI. Nikon is close... but Pentax is near perfect for me

Matt

I'll go with what Matt says on this one.

However, who said Pentax sales were falling? Sales are as far as I know steadily increasing, helped along no doubt with the extra market opportunities that Samsung brings.

It's a tough market and ther's a long way to go, but the Pentax product is the best one for me.

An interesting hypothetical question, that can be applied to a lot of brands and businesses. In Pentax's case, they don't just make cameras and I would have thought that the other parts of their business would support the camera and lens products to some extent. Perhaps their camera and lens part of the business may be ripe for takeover at some point in the future and we may find someone like Nikon holding the purse strings

What would I choose to go for if Pentax became unavailable? Perhaps Nikon. Or maybe I would buy a lifetime's worth of Pentax equipment and spares

This sounds like Jessops sales figures! As we know, Pentax kit is not stocked much by Jessops and they only puch the brands that have the highest margins for them.

Another factor for Pentax is that there are (now) 3 current models, some of the other brands have a few more, most of the time they have only had two offerings.

Thanks for your replies.
As I see it the problem for Pentax, in the UK anyway, is not so much what cameras they make, but what the buying public THINK they make. This is bourne out, as others say, by the likes of Jessops not promoting Pentax as they do with other makes. My local Jessops does not have any Pentax/Samsung dSLR's on display at all. Whether they have them under the counter, I don't know.
Worse still, is that in the same town there is a Pentax "Pro Dealer". In their window there are NO Pentax cameras, only Canon, Nikon and Olympus. I don't think they sell Sony. The Pentax cameras are inside the shop, shoved into a small display case in the corner.

For the buying public to buy Pentax, they have to know there're there.

As for Samsung, I don't think they would try to compete on the dSLR front against Canon, Nikon or Sony without Pentax. So they would probably withdraw as well.

Anyway, to answer my original question, if they improve at their current rate, I would probaly switch to Sony.

Market share actually has little to do with making the decision to quit the market or not. If the market share they do have means that they are still profitable, they can still continue to grow, albeit at a slower rate than their competitors.

Market share more closely relates to marketing budget. Sony are throwing millions of whatever currency is necessary into their marketing budget, but that does not mean their cameras/optics are better than Pentax, or that they are more profitable. Probably the reverse actually.

Almost all business decisions nowadays are made based on profitability, not technical merit.

To answer your question, if I had to change, it'd be to Nikon. As I have a *istD, K10D, and a K20D, and more glass and other accessories than I need, I don't see that day coming any time soon.

Olympus for me. Always had a soft spot for that lovely Zuiko glass.

Not likely to happen though IMHO. Even if Pentax did cease making cameras I've got a good enough kit to last many more years - the K10D is all the camera I need and I'll probably keep using it until it actually falls apart.

Then I'd look at getting another K-mount DSLR as a replacement. Just because Pentax and Samsung are the only companies making them at present doesn't mean that will always be the case - if you look at the world of film you can still buy (brand new) K-mount SLRs from Seagull, Phenix, Zenit and others. As the cost of digital technology (read: sensors) keeps coming down don't be suprised if some (or all) of these companies start making DSLR's instead. Once these Chinese and Russian behemoths are up to speed they'll be outselling (and massively undercutting) Nikon, Canon, Sony, et al just as they did in the film days.

On the subject of the old days; anybody wish to bet against Cosina launching a follow up to the Epson RD1 as an SLR? I'd be willing to wager that'd be a K-mount too. And Ricoh? Not involved with DSLRs at the moment but may feel their hand is forced at some point down the line - another company with a lot of K-mount experience.

All in all, I'm pretty confident that whatever happens in the next few years there will still be new cameras available that will take my lenses regardless of the name on the front of them.

Now how much were those K to EOS adapters on eBay..?

Actually, thinking about it, it probably isn't the fact that one's beloved camera manufacturer quits the market that is the most worrying thing but the probability that the DSLR as we know it today is morphed into something that doesn't resemble a traditional camera as we know it.

Nikon have started it with their D700 that has high resolution video facilities. The Casio EX-F1 can shoot 60 frames per second 6m pixel jpegs and 1200 frames per second high res video in a package looking suspiciously like a DSLR.

Will we be forced by market trends to give up our single function approach cameras, ie, cameras that only take stills? Will our replacements or upgrades have the kind of attributes the Casio EX-F1 has as standard? Will we embrace this technology like we have with the DSLR over the 35mm film camera? I'm sure we will, especially when it is augmented into our optic nerve

There has been some excellent replies to my post, most of which have helped to put my mind at rest that Pentax will not give up making dSLR's. It's just annoying that most camera shops only seem to push Canon, Nikon and now Sony. I'd have thought Pentax's venture with Samsung would have reversed that, but apparently not.

Retailers Like Jessops promote what they think the customer wants, The customers think they want Canon or Nikon, you have to realise that an awful lot of people cant think and make decisions for themselves, so they follow he market leaders, BAA! BAA! BAA! I suppose you could call Pentax users the black sheep of the family

Obviously there are many Canon and Nikon users who have made their own decision to go for their chosen brand based on what they want from it and not from subliminal advertising and brainwashing

PS quick edit, I'm with Hefty, I'd probably go back to Olympus, then I could drool over Zuiko lenses instead of Pentax.

This might ease your worries a little bit as well link


It's a newly designed viewfinder, it would make a posible to have a smaller viewfinder system for a medium format camera. Maybe they can bring the size and weight so much down it can compete with a fullframe camera. Let's hope they will come with one soon, I'm not waiting to have a fullframe with my DA lenses but this might be interesting for a nice price

I do think Pentax need to define theirself a bit more. Tere philosophy is different then that of Nikon or Canon and doesn't do well for sport photography for that reason. Why don't they present theirself as the pefect portrait camera with their lovely lenses for it and the upcoming DA* 55/1.4. If they spend some more time to have a solid studio flash system they might be able to have a good foothold in that market or am I dreaming to much now?
They would also do great for ameteur outdoor/wildlife photography with their weather sealed system, the DA* 60-250/4 and DA* 300/4 are perfect for that.
All we need now is a DA* 250-600/5.6, DA* 400/5.6 & DA* 600/4 to complete it
How great do you think the changes are that those lenses will see the light?

To go back to the OP ^^;
I would go for Nikon as well, probable the D300. That looks like a nice camera but there won't come any Canon in my hands.

Stefan.

Anybody elso notice that the biggest 'specialist' camera chain in the UK doesn't even seem to advertise on their website that there is a Pentax cashback offer on. This brings the cost of a K20D with kit lens to £479.99 compared with £429.99 for Canon 450D + lens by Jessops prices (including cashback). Of course people have specific requirements for DSLR's but have you felt the quality of the Canon compared with a K20D?

They're not so shy about other cashback deals from Canon, Sony and perhaps surpisingly Olympus.

Anyway if it wasn't Pentax I'd probably be tempted by a Sony, I think the A200 for £220 or so that is available at the moment is a great deal.

Should Pentax stop making DSLRs tomorrow I would buy myself a cheap K20D from one of the shops offloading their stocks along with a DA*300mm. Those two items along with what I have now would probably last me for years.
I bought a K10D because of what I got for my money against similar priced models fron Nikon and Canon (or N***n and C***n to some) and to be honest I really cant see myself needing (wanting is a different thing)anything more than a K20D.
I suppose if I really had to choose it would be a D300.