On Sun, 13 Oct 2002, Brad Dobo wrote:
> This is not the DDML (Digital Distribution Mailing List) Guess what? > It's PDML, and I used to think it stood for Pentax Distribution > Mailing list. Until you found out that it's the Pentax Discuss Mailing List. :) On an unrelated note... Personally, I have no doubt that Pentax will produce a DSLR with interchangeable lenses. None at all. And I also have no doubt that when they do it won't be as fully pro-spec'ed as N/C ones, which will satisfy some people and piss others off. Look at APS. Pentax didn't jump on the initial bandwagon like Kodak, Nikon, Canon, etc. did. They waited until they had an idea of what the market was like, and then came out with a couple of models that were well built (metal bodies) and small in size, and they even managed to put in a longer zoom lens than Canon's Elph at the time (3x instead of 2x). Now they're doing the same thing with digital p&s's. They partnered up with HP so they could ease into the market more smoothly by taking advantage of the knowledge of a well-established company, and then branched out into Pentax-only cameras. Now they're trying the same strategy that worked with their film p&s: small, well-built and well-featured. The problem is that going digital introduces a whole new set of problems that they either didn't anticipate or didn't succeed in overcoming. And so the Optios have a horrible battery life, awful auto white balance, poor macro (this one bewilders me; even Nikon's Coolpix 2500 will focus down to a couple centimeters), and they're overpriced relative to other models. I think Pentax honestly tried their best with the full-frame DSLR but the problems with the Phillips chip finally made them give up in frustration. By the time it would have got on the market it would have been overpriced for what it did and they would have lost a ton of money. (Did you hear the Contax N was recalled once even after it came out?) But I don't doubt that Pentax recognizes the need to produce a DSLR, and I don't doubt that they will put one out as soon as they can. All of this is new for them, so it's just a matter of time. I expect to see a Pentax DSLR on sale before Christmas of 2003, but that's just speculation. On the off chance that anyone there is listening, Pentax would have the most success with a DSLR based on an MZ body that sold for significantly less than C/N's entry-level models. If a customer can pick up a stripped-down DSLR for just a touch more than a prosumer digital (Coolpix 5700, Dimage 7i, etc.), that would tempt a lot of people. Look at the K1000. Stripped down (not even a self timer), but it did everything an SLR needed to and nothing more. Most people who know Pentax seem to know it because of the K1000. Right now most people haven't made the jump to DSLR's because of the cost and complexity of them, but if Pentax captured the cheap-and-simple DSLR market they could attract a slew of people. So that's my wishful thinking for today. In reality, I'm confident that Pentax sees the need to come out with a DSLR, but I'm not so sure that they understand the need to embrace DSLR's as a permanent transition. The move to APS was not a longterm transition, and so Pentax was wise not to put out tons of p&s's and any SLR's using it. However, the move to digital, like the move to auto-focus, *is* a permanent transition, and companies (like Olympus with the move to AF) who don't recognize these permanent transitions are in danger of dying out. I'm sure analogue will co-exist with digital for a long time (look at watches, computer vs. pen and paper, etc.), but people are not going to move away from digital in the forseeable future... the movement will be towards it. If Pentax doesn't recognize the need to put out new DSLR's on a regular basis like they would with film SLR's, they could find themselves in a lot of trouble. chris
