Heiko, In the US, if both companies were on equal footing that would be true. The basic problem is that a DSLR costing $1500 USD is not inexpensive. The MZ-S at $800 is not selling well compared to a Nikon F100 at over $1000. I think that people willing to spend $1500 would take a hard look at the companies and system. At this point, Canon has a much better story to tell. Current track record D30, D60, 1D, 1DS and now 10D - IS and USM lenses, broader line of lenses, pro support, well known brand name and visible working pros using the system. Pentax doesn't have any of those things. Mostly they are known for P&S and entry level SLR's. People who buy current Pentax products are not going to spend $1500 on a DSLR. People who have old lenses that they haven't used in years are not going to spend $1500 on a DSLR. They are actively using something else or are not ready to spend that much on a DSLR. $1500 may be inexpensive for a DSLR, but it is still very expensive for a camera. The *ist D is going to be the most expensive camera that Pentax has put out in a long time (The last of the LX, I wouldn't really count as a main stream product - more collector/Pentax purist). So, either the *ist D needs to be obviously better spec'ed than the 10D or obviously better priced. Based on everything we know, the *ist D is NOT obviously better spec'ed. Therefore, it need to be OBVIOUSLY better priced to really take off.
Mind you, I'm not saying it won't sell, just that it won't make any serious inroads into the general DSLR market. Us Pentaxians will support it, but we are small in number and only a small percentage of us will buy it (reality check). Many are waiting for a lower price, version 2 (bugs worked out) or full frame sensor. So I am saying that there needs to be an OBVIOUS reason to choose the *ist D over the 10D Canon. So if there feature set is very similar and their price is very similar, what is so different? The Brand for one, and in this country that pushes people to Canon. Size is a difference (I'm glad that it is smaller), but I'm not hearing or reading that it makes any material difference. Oh, yeah, the 10D has a magnesium outer shell - big plus towards the 10D. So you tell me, how is Pentax going to turn heads and get people to buy the *ist D over the Canon 10D? Bruce Wednesday, March 5, 2003, 1:23:00 AM, you wrote: HH> Hi Bruce, HH> on 04 Mar 03 you wrote in pentax.list: >>killer product. If they don't and the price is not much different than >>a 10D, then you are right, no one will buy it, based on the strength, >>direction and reputation of Canon. HH> I don't agree. Why should the *istD necessarily be cheaper than the HH> Canon in order to sell well? If you say that the price is the primary HH> reason to decide between Pentax and Canon then one could also argue that HH> the Pentax may not be cheaper than the Canon because "cheaper" is often HH> connected with "worser" and "lower quality/performance". HH> I assume that both will sell around 1400 +/-100 US$. The DSLR market is HH> an oligopolistic market. There is no real price competition as the HH> demand exceeds the offer. HH> Cheers, Heiko
