It is interesting to observe how many PUG contributors are using older gear. What does this mean for Pentax?
Joe
I though I would actually count. I was wondering if the BW gallery had a higher incidence of older cameras. Since its hard to work this out, I just checked for ZX/MZ series cameras and compared to the May Open gallery. The results:
August BW
47 pics, 6 with MZ-5n, 2 with other MZ models (8 total, 17%)) 69 pics, 7 with MZ-5n, 6 with MZ-S, 6 with other MZ models. (19 total, 28%)
Higher for the open gallery gallery, but not wildy so. Two things I can think of:
1. Those with newer cameras are less likely to shoot BW, or 2. a higher percentage of those BW's were older photos.
A unscientifc study done before coffee.
Steve
Now my follow-up:
I've been observing some some time that a lot of PUG shots are made with older gear. (I may hold the record, having contributed photos to PUG that were shot in 1968 with a Honeywell Pentax H2. But I now use PZ-1ps.)
Maybe Alan got it right. Pentax should ignore us, since we don't buy enough new gear. The broader problem may be that older Pentax gear is so good, reliable, and available that serious photographers don't buy enough of the new stuff.
Do the other SLR brands have this problem? Too much older gear? Nikon, I know, is infamous for some purposeful lens incompatibilities. Is it Pentax's strategy with the new, crippled mount to kill off the older k-mount market? It would make sense, or at least this is the sort of strategy an American firm would follow.
Joe (who has had coffee this morning)
