Is Pentax to disappear?

In German, Belgium Holland and UK you can get the K20D with no problems at Pixmania


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Yes you can get it freely on internet, and from far better shops than Pixmania. But that is not the point. People want to be able to see and hold a camera. That is very difficult to do with a Pentax camera, certainly when the likes of Sony are offering salespeople bonuses for flogging their models.
It would tempt any sales person to flog you a Sony over a Pentax, no matter what their personal opinion if they know they will get a little extra in the pay packet for doing so.
If Pentax don't market their cameras then newbies are not going to know about them and are just not going to buy the, Pentax needs to be in every camera shop not just a selected few. People will walk into a Dixons or a Jessops or a Mediamarkt or a BCC (in NL) and want to look at what is available - answer - not Pentax!

I was in Schiphol recently and for the first time there were no Pentax models on the stand...The full range of Sony and most of the Canikon's were there...It's a shame there is not even a K200D on the stand, then you would be able to tell how 'cheap' the EOS 1000D/450D, Sony's (all of them:shock, the Olympii and the Nikon D40/D60 fell compared to any of the 'K's..

These kind of threads always amuse me... It's as if people worry that the moment Pentax cease to make cameras, millions and millions of cameras out there will stop working and we will all have to buy something else

By the end of the year I think my K10D will be worthy of a rest, let's look forward to the K30D

It's a pity this turned into a Jessops-bashing thread as the OP has stated it was not that company.

I have heard dealers express views that getting hold of Pentax stuff is difficult and Pentax servicing is problematic now. Both of these have been given as reasons for no longer stocking the brand.

Does this perhaps highlight an issue effecting small volume dealers as opposed to big boys like Chris?

(And for the record I'm no Jessops fan.)

Nothing problematic, about Pentax servicing, I have great praise for them in the times I have delt with them.
Just try one or two of the others, Nikon for instance will charge for mapping pixels, not under Nikon warranty, they charge enough for their cameras, Canon do most of their servicing via third parties.
I also would rather buy my kit at a place where the Staff knew their job rather than just flogging the best profit markup item.
Maybe that is why we have Pentax Pro centres like SRS.

I think that it is a matter of turnover, and because of this, the small local camera shops are no longer seeing Pentax reps,because Pentax, are after large volume sales, and the small local shops are unable to compete.

Peter

I have never seen Pentax gear at Schiphol and when I have asked they always say they do not stock it.

Not every one stocks Leica cameras but they are still going.
Just read your weekly monthly camera mags loads of them stock Pentax.
I really don’t know what all the fuss is about, Hoya now own Pentax and have spent quite a lot of money, I don’t think they will let the brand go, also Panasonic and Pentax are co working on sensors. Nikon rely on Sony for that, it takes time to develop new gear .
And of course Pentax UK are now doing their own distribution, not Intro 20-20. That will also take time to settle.
Just be patient and watch this space.

This thread reminds me of what might happen if Captain Speaking were to get on the airliner intercom and say that there is nothing wrong with the aeroplane

For the past ten years, people have been saying Pentax is going out of business. If everybody believes this, they WILL go out of business.

But if we like the brand, and wish to keep it, then the best thing to do is keep on buying Pentax products.

I have no time for the quiche-eating surrender monkeys who desert the brand "just in case". If we all thought like that, there will soon only be one brand left to buy.

G

Just a thought, Panasonic, Sansung and Olympus DSLRs seem to be missing on J****** shelves, does this mean they're also going bust?

Or has my local store got it right by stocking ALL these and Pentax as well as cutting back on canikony?

I visited several camera stores in New York including B&H Photo and Adorama and they all stocked Pentax gear. I even saw some in one of the big chains (?? a "Super Target" I think...). And don't forget that they make other optics too. They probably make more profit from spectacles than cameras!

Cheers, Kris.

First of all it is critical to understand that Hoya is in nowhere near the same league as even a mid tier company like Canon, which is 5 times larger in stock market value terms, and has a much tighter product portfolio. Hoya are not quite what the Americans call a small cap but they are not far off at all.

Secondly, I’m sorry to say I have yet to see anybody posting on the actual Pentax/Hoya relationship possessing any real degree of understanding of this. In this context the original Nikkei report of the euphemistically termed merger is highly instructive: http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20061222/125787/

Please note the emphasis is pretty much exclusively on the Pentax medical equipment business, which is much more attuned with Hoya’s high tech focus.

As for discussions regarding the camera business, not only is this way down the agenda but it is also long on metaphors of eastern mystery and short on specific assurances. The bottom line:

A rapidly growing market can mask a multitude of operational sins, with even poor competitive performers able to satisfy the stock market’s desire for volume and sales growth.

All indications now suggest the digital camera market is cratering and with undoubted problems elsewhere in Hoya’s business portfolio I’d be very surprised if their management have the time and capital to underwrite Pentax much longer. If they decide to cut their losses what happens to the Pentax brand is anybody’s guess, with the path of rapid resale typically a slippery slope.

However, as regards the OP if you have a significant investment in Pentax lenses built up over the years buying a newish digital body now is a nevertheless a reasonably rational option to safeguard that investment.

I spoke to my local small camera shop owner, he told me how he loved the k100d and made a lot of money from it but just doesn't get the reps down enough to us them.
He is a older chap and isn't one for selling on line so won't be using them until they get more than 2 reps for the UK.
I'm not sure how true this is so please don't bite my head of, but two reps for the UK does seem a little low, all tough times are changing and all of my cameras have been purchased over the net, it's just cheaper.
I should also add there are a couple shops in Exeter that manage to carry stock

Here's what Hoya do according to Bloomberg:
Hmmm.