Hmm, looks like part of the OP vanished pre-posting haha. I meant to ask if anyone of you have any idea if the lens may be 'repairable' - the issue is it stopped focusing. In auto mode it locks on just fine, but things are still not in focus. Manually, everything seems fine on screen or via the viewfinder but focus is not there either - almost as if an element inside got slightly displaced?

I buy a lot of my equipment in Kuwait as I travel there for business several times a year; I also grew up there and that's where part of my family lives. I don't really care much where my consumer protection is, jurisdiction wise; as long as it's there. It comes with 1 year manufacturer warranty, and this particular seller offers their own extended warranty on every single item they sell; they have never failed me in 20 years. Also, that seems to be a redirection issue from the forum, the page is right where it was if you copy and paste the link

Yes it is They are the largest shop of that sort in the country. An equivalent to PC World, only somewhat better managed It looks like they are trying to get rid of all Pentax stock for some reason; they only became the official distributor a year or so ago so it's a little strange but well....might as well benefit while it lasts.
Already got a battery grip and the 50mm 1.4 just couple of days ago.

Guess it had to happen. For the first time - I dropped my lens.

I have two options now. Repair the one I have, or buy a new one for a fairly low amount of money - atm, they sell for less than a 100 quid brand new, WR version here - http://www.xcite.com/pentax-da-55-300mm-weather-resistant-lens-for-pentax-dslr-c... I doubt a can get mine repaired for less but just in case, thought I'd ask

The red dress....still waiting

Great set but first birdy definitively rocks !

Amazing...fun, creative, colorful.... The red dress...I'd like one pls

And 135mm sold. K7 or KS-1 to go.

I find that http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000R90IM4?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_se... helps a ton with the AF button as it sticks out from the camera back further than the default eyepiece, allowing for more space to sneak the thumb in between the camera and the glasses On top of it it's rather nice to have the slight magnification in general

It may very well depend on the size of your thumb, but it at least makes it usable as intended; if not ideal.

30 milion turnover is not to much in the grand scheme of corporate world There is also no such thing as zero marketing budget. If you are doing the job, you are a cost to the company. Refusing to name it properly is not going to make those costs go away. Apart from that, we'd need to get into details - like industry, specific market conditions, state of competition etc.

I know for a fact the more than half of the price of an average car is the cost of marketing. Can I prove it? No. Just as you can't disprove it. All we can do is provide anecdotal evidence to each other.
A little insight into the industry in question, and suddenly things start to fall into 'place'. Ever wondered how much 'showroom' space costs worldwide per year? More than that, how much it costs to ensure a prime placing within? What sort of incentives you need to provide to various distributors to ensure your product gets 'recommended' before others? How much in money and goods does it cost to get those favorable reviews rolling?

Unless you work for a company that is in a similar position, don't think you can compare or give an guesstimate any better than mine l. Just of the top of my head I can come up with a list composing of over two dozen of various marketing costs to consider...

I run my own, small, successful company for 10 years now; looking through our accounts statistics for the last couple of years - our marketing costs make up 38% of total costs on average. Who knows, maybe I'm doing it wrong - but as long as it keeps on rolling, I'll be more inclined to believe the figures I see

Oh, one more thing - you forget that Ricoh/Pentax is a Japanese company. A company whose ethos, language, culture - is not Western; English/American/Australian. Everything that you may take for granted - from language to business mentality - requires time and effort, thus much more resources, from others.

That is so not good for my wallet lol. I just bought a bunch of stuff! Go away....

Why would you want your competition to know what the camera is capable of before launch?