Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital.slr-systems (
More info?)
In article <3g6bpcFasdjjU1@individual.net>, Trapezium <nil@nil.net> wrote:
>
>"John Francis" <johnf@panix.com> wrote in message
>news:d7kpr1$kfg$1@reader1.panix.com...
>> In article <3g5rfrFarkh2U1@individual.net>, Trapezium <nil@nil.net> wrote:
>>>
>>>There will almost certainly be other downgrades from the DS which, itself,
>>>was downgraded from the D - if this keeps up we'll soon be back at the
>>>digital equivalent of a box Brownie.
>>
>> "almost certainly" ?
>>
>> Only if the marketplace demands it. <
>
>What sort of bollox is that supposed to be? - the new DL is a downgrade,
>whether the 'market' wants it, or not
If you got down off your podium, and actually read what I posted, you'd
find nobody was disagreeing with that - just your assertion that there
would be other downgrades.
>As for your heady predictions of a new 'feature rich' pro-type camera from
>Pentax, you might be in for a surprise.
>
>Pentax are on their financial uppers and may well have embarked on a last
>ditch effort to secure sales by launching a cheaper-to-manufacture version
>of the Ds
>
>This leaves no room for the current istDs - so you can expect that to
>disappear, and since no self respecting Pro is going to buy into the Pentax
>system the top end of the market isn't going to be attractive to Pentax
>either.
>
>I predict no replacement for the D, and the imminent end of the Ds - leaving
>Pentax as a digicam & low end dslr manufacturer (if the survive at all -
>which is by no means certain)
>
>That would very probably be the best financial strategy for them - and is,
>inho, the most likely scenario
Nope. Their best strategy is to go after market share now (hence the DS
and the DL), and then try and sell these guys (plus the D owners, who are
mostly drawn from the ranks of the existing Pentax SLR owners) upgrades.
Digicams are a saturated market - there are no opportunities there. Low
end DSLRs are a good market for now, but they'll saturate that fairly soon.
Trying to sell only into a highly-competitive, low-profit-margin, saturated
market is a quick way to commit commercial suicide.
The current head of Pentax spelled all this out some time ago, at about
the time the DS was released; a new, low-end DSLR (target street price
was even quoted as being around $600, driven by the Japanese market),
then the digital MF, then an upgraded follow-on to the *ist-D.
If Pentax manage to stick around (which, granted, is by no means certain)
this is the product line I expect to see. There's very little to be gained
by moving further to the low end - at $600 or so Pentax are already quite
price competitive with advanced P&S models. There *might* be a niche for
a $500 body, but there's only a limited window of opportunity to go after
those prospective customers. After that, you're stuck with trying to
convince your customer base to buy new models. Fortunately most camera
owners are irrational, and will stick with what they have rather than
switching to a different brand, even if their only investment in lenses
is the $100 kit lens that came with their original body.
/www.digifotografen.de/index.php?id=0,62,0,0,1,0
Facebook
Twitter