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+--- Thread: Pentax asterisk DL supply almost gone, $429 AMIR (/showthread.php?tid=19787)
Pentax asterisk DL supply almost gone, $429 AMIR - pRON aHOLIC - 10-01-2006
Only a few sellers left online.
http://www.tristatecamera.com/lookat.php?refid=14&sku=PEN*ISTDLK
the rebate link
http://www.tristatecamera.com/lookat.php?refid=14&sku=PEN*ISTDLK#
Re: Pentax asterisk DL supply almost gone, $429 AMIR - rexrzer - 10-01-2006
Yup, they're almost allll gone, the last of the $430 Pentax DSLR cameras. Only Tri-State has them in stock at a reasonable price. OTOH for you Pentax loyalists, the K100D with Shake Reduction technology is only $573, no tax and free shipping at Beach Camera and buydig.com, and Butterflyphoto.com's @ $574, Abe's @$575 etc etc.
http://www.pricegrabber.com/p__Pentax_K100D_SLR_Digital_Camera_w_18_55mm_Lens_Kit,__20384824/sort_type=bottomline
But if you can wait just about 35 days, the K10D comes out of the closet @$899 for the body, and $999 with the 18-55mm DA lens. That's my new baby!
-DI've never wished for a month to go by faster in my adult life...Pentax has needed a pro/semi-pro camera for so long it hurts...I can't imagine why in the blue blazes it's taken them so long to come up with the technology that's in the K10D:
http://www.pentaximaging.com/products/product_details/digital_camera--*ist_DL/reqID--8793673/subsection--digital_slr
10.2 MegaPixels, Shake Reduction, PRIME (Pentax Real IMage Engine) for well-balanced, "true-to-life" iamges, and a new 22 bit A/D converter plus it's sealed like a Hasselblad underwater camera with 72 seals throughout the camera body--the K10D should hit the market running like a quarterhorse.(
Its only potential weakness is going to Li-Ion proprietary battery power, but if that's really good for some 500 shots (1/2 with flash) per charge as advertised, it won't be a factor of any consequence. I've just got to get the optional D-BG2 battery/grip too, so I'm prayin' that it's available with the release of the camera...though it's rumored to be another month after the camera before it's actually in the pipes.(td)
Anyway that's the latest I know about the K10D...I'll post anything new immediately if pRON doesn't beat me to it!B)-
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Re: Pentax asterisk DL supply almost gone, $429 AMIR - pRON aHOLIC - 10-01-2006
[quote rexrzer]
I've never wished for a month to go by faster in my adult life...Pentax has needed a pro/semi-pro camera for so long it hurts...I can't imagine why in the blue blazes it's taken them so long to come up with the technology that's in the K10D:
http://www.pentaximaging.com/products/product_details/digital_camera--*ist_DL/reqID--8793673/subsection--digital_slr
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It looks like a good camera from the specs. Pentax lost many serious and semi pro users to Nikon and Canon on a body they could have done with that 6mp chip 2 years ago. Maybe not with the weather seal but 5fps and the 6mp and vertical grip would have kept many users.
Their marketing and distribution is not even close to what Canon, Nikon and Sony are already doing. They need to hustle and get that camera delivered. The Canon rebel XTi and Nikon D80 were in brick and mortar stores 2 weeks after they were announced.
I have noticed a bad news indicator for the K10D. The top selling DSLR are on dpreview's top 10 list of most clicked on cameras. It is an indicator what camera people are clicking on and considering to buy. It is populated with Nikon and Canon. The K10D didn't even crack the top 10 in initial interest surge most cameras get. While this may not correlate with sales, it can't be a good sign. Bottom line, great camera that might be great for Pentax die hards but may not get too many switchers.
Re: Pentax asterisk DL supply almost gone, $429 AMIR - robfilms - 10-01-2006
i got my dl about 1500 shots ago (6 weeks). i have been thoroughly pleased with the camera and the fact that all my pentax lenses now have a 2nd life just makes the dl a wonderful purchase.
then again, it is not everything (so few things are!). as an example, i would have liked the metering pattern to be more easily accesible. perhaps using the ok button or the function button rather than the menus to make quicker changers. that said, i do love the use of the aa batteries, have no issue with the auto focus speed or the camera's ability in low light. of course, shooting at 1600 asa with a f1.8 50mm helps get the job done.
lastly, though many of the dl reviews have spoken of under exposure, i have had just the opposite result. many of my shots in the program mode have been over exposed by 1-2 stops.
i'm also looking forward to the k10d. maybe a year from now i'll step up.
be well
rob
Re: Pentax asterisk DL supply almost gone, $429 AMIR - rexrzer - 10-01-2006
Those of us with a big investment in Pentax & compatible lenses will buy the K10D no matter what dpreview.com has to say about "market share clicks" or whatever. Just like Apple Computer, Pentax has a much smaller market share than Nikon, Canon, and probably now Sony since they're in the game to stay after their recent acquisitions...so it's doubtful if the dpreview.com "clickmeter" of success is ever going to apply to the K10D.
It would be nice if Pentax gains market share with the K10D, no doubt excellent in fact, but I don't think that was the company's No. 1 goal when they decided to build the camera. And Pentax does not have marketing, PR, or supply channels as deep as the competition, but it seems they're trying to change that with the K10D: witness the partnership with Toyota for the "Pentax Test Drive" program currently underway, for example.
The K10D will sell in high volume for Pentax products, I don't doubt that at all. But like Apple product sales compared to Gateway & Dell sales, K10D sales may seem like small potatoes compared to Nikon or Canon camera sales. I know several people with Pentax equipment, each one is getting a K10D as soon as it's released, and some of them have so many Pentax cameras and lenses that it's hard to understand why they're doing it right now, but they are...the camera seems to be that compelling for Pentax owners at this point.
And so it is for me...I will order mine as soon as it's released, with overnight shipping, even if I have to pay full retail for it.
-D________________
Re: Pentax asterisk DL supply almost gone, $429 AMIR - pRON aHOLIC - 10-01-2006
[quote rexrzer]Those of us with a big investment in Pentax & compatible lenses will buy the K10D no matter what dpreview.com has to say about "market share clicks" or whatever. Just like Apple Computer, Pentax has a much smaller market share than Nikon, Canon, and probably now Sony since they're in the game to stay after their recent acquisitions...so it's doubtful if the dpreview.com "clickmeter" of success is ever going to apply to the K10D.
It would be nice if Pentax gains market share with the K10D, no doubt excellent in fact, but I don't think that was the company's No. 1 goal when they decided to build the camera. And Pentax does not have marketing, PR, or supply channels as deep as the competition, but it seems they're trying to change that with the K10D: witness the partnership with Toyota for the "Pentax Test Drive" program currently underway, for example.
The K10D will sell in high volume for Pentax products, I don't doubt that at all. But like Apple product sales compared to Gateway & Dell sales, K10D sales may seem like small potatoes compared to Nikon or Canon camera sales. I know several people with Pentax equipment, each one is getting a K10D as soon as it's released, and some of them have so many Pentax cameras and lenses that it's hard to understand why they're doing it right now, but they are...the camera seems to be that compelling for Pentax owners at this point.
And so it is for me...I will order mine as soon as it's released, with overnight shipping, even if I have to pay full retail for it.
-D________________
I praise the product, it's Pentax's marketing and distribution that needs an overhaul. Pentax is sitting on a jewel of a camera for the price/feature set but I doubt we will see it as widely available.
Re: Pentax asterisk DL supply almost gone, $429 AMIR - rexrzer - 10-02-2006
pRON you're dead spot-on about that observation...Pentax needs to fire whomever it is they have now for PR/Advertising(td) and hire somebody like JWT, McCann & Erickson, Saatchi & Saatchi et al(tu)! But they're probably on a bloody shoestring budget, shameful though that might sound, and look what they haven't done for this fantastic camera...virtually everything has been wrong so far about how it's being introduced/marketed/supplied IMO.
If I were running the company, I'd not have said a W O R D about it unless we were 2 weeks or sooner within the release window, but then, what do I know? Perhaps they'll surprise me with some grand promotions for the K10D once it hits the streets...8-) Or so I can hope!::o
For some stupid reason, waay back when I got my first SLR camera, it was a Pentax and I've stuck with them right through my SF1N (now 16 years old and still functioning), and my first DSLR an *ist DS, now almost 2 years old with some 10K+ shots pushed through it so far. Some day I'll try another brand, perhaps, but it's truly hard to break up a 24 year old friendship!
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Re: Pentax asterisk DL supply almost gone, $429 AMIR - Don Kiyoti - 10-02-2006
I think the comparison of Pentax and Apple market shares is fairly valid, as long as you're not talking about iPods! Pentax does not need to sell as many cameras as Canon or Nikon in order to succeed.
Pentax marketing is much more visible now than it was a year or so ago. I forget which city it is, but in one with light rail in the U.S. Pentax has bought advertising on trains, the kind where the entire train becomes a rolling ad, for example. This is for the K100D, which is selling well based on my unscientific poll of each camera store I go into. E.g. "sold three yesterday..." ect. The marketing director for Pentax USA is a regular visitor to the dpreview.com Pentax forum, and it's very clear that he pays close attention to what the forum folks are saying. A lot of that is reflected in the K10D.
It's worth noting that 11 of the 20 top cameras in the dpreview "click meter" are not DSLRs. The Canon G7 for example is #2 so it has been getting a lot of hits but has also been taking a beating in the forums due to poor image quality and lack of RAW. So a lot of clicks doesn't necessarily translate into popularity.
Re: Pentax asterisk DL supply almost gone, $429 AMIR - pRON aHOLIC - 10-02-2006
[quote Don Kiyoti]I think the comparison of Pentax and Apple market shares is fairly valid, as long as you're not talking about iPods! Pentax does not need to sell as many cameras as Canon or Nikon in order to succeed.
Pentax marketing is much more visible now than it was a year or so ago. I forget which city it is, but in one with light rail in the U.S. Pentax has bought advertising on trains, the kind where the entire train becomes a rolling ad, for example. This is for the K100D, which is selling well based on my unscientific poll of each camera store I go into. E.g. "sold three yesterday..." ect. The marketing director for Pentax USA is a regular visitor to the dpreview.com Pentax forum, and it's very clear that he pays close attention to what the forum folks are saying. A lot of that is reflected in the K10D.
It's worth noting that 11 of the 20 top cameras in the dpreview "click meter" are not DSLRs. The Canon G7 for example is #2 so it has been getting a lot of hits but has also been taking a beating in the forums due to poor image quality and lack of RAW. So a lot of clicks doesn't necessarily translate into popularity.
I bring up the click meter strictly as an indicator of interest. It does not correspond to sales but I believe it does indicate the buzz being created. Nikon and Canon recently cashed in on the buzz as they both announced and shipped 2 lesser featured cameras and had them in BM stores in 2 weeks.
Prime example of a camera that is good but not great riding the click wave and making a small dent was the Sony A100. I am not particularly impressed by it but it has some nice features. Sony has this in stores like Best Buy, Compusa etc. and vaulted that camera to a spike in initial sales before word of mouth reviews came in. I am going to be surprised to see the K10D in as many places. Now you will probably say that serious photographers will seek out other avenues for this camera. What is at stake is the impulse/in store credit/wowed in store user that can make Pentax some money. This is the kind of person that doesn't search the net and do research. They will use a BB credit card etc. and they will buy what they see. They may not make great photographers but a sale is a sale. Of course this will not be the bulk of sales but it helps. Sales of pricier cameras to people who just want a jam packed camera but will never utilize it all is a big money maker for Canon and Nikon and should not be ignored. We will have to see how this goes for Pentax. This K10D is a gem but they should have made it 2 years ago with a 6mp chip before Sony became a major DSLR player. The Pentax has what the Olympus line didn't, an extensive line of lenses and accessories. They sat on basically the same model revamped for 3 years. This is their chance to not blow it like Minolta and sustain sales for the long term. I'd like to see them succeed, they will help bring prices down but they really need to turn it up.