Pentax/Ricoh will have gone
I very much doubt that Pentax/Ricoh will have gone to all this effort in R&D, social media and so on with the hope/intention that it "crahses the sooner the better". That just wouldn't make any sense.
I was recently in a conversation with a guy that spoke with Takeo and he told him that most people at Pentax thinks this "film project" is a waste of time and they hope it crashes the sooner the better. He bought some limited time and resources from the managment, but no one besides Takeo believes this is going to last.
This camera is not for me, really the opposite of what I look for, but it is up to us to show Pentax management whether they are right or wrong about film camera market. Just put our money where our mouth is. And hopefully more cameras will appear and eventually one of them will be really for us.
By the way, this person also tried the camera and told me it is really a solid performer. Well built and with an excellent lens.
This camera is not for any of us. Nor is it a toy camera. It is not aimed at us folk at all. Never has been. The next one, should it happen, might appeal to some of us.
What I see in the top plate is a set of controls that could be transferred to a better P&S and then to a SLR at a later date.
I very much doubt that Pentax/Ricoh will have gone to all this effort in R&D, social media and so on with the hope/intention that it "crahses the sooner the better". That just wouldn't make any sense.
The "effort" employed resources that are already in place (people, materials and machines). Pentax managers approved (or tolerated) to use a few them for this project.
That still doesn't make it a marginal enterprise, necessarily. They would have easily dropped a few hundred $k on it, which is something that would surely gather some managerial scrutiny. They wouldn't have committed those resources to this if there wasn't a somewhat decent argument underlying the business case.
Keep in mind there are opportunity costs; it's not like the resources you mentioned would have sat idle if they hadn't done this. There's expenditure involved; salaries are being paid, so is interest on borrowed capital (even if it's within the keiretsu and thus somewhat vague as seen through Western eyes) , materials etc.
Canon Autoboy
I was recently in a conversation with a guy that spoke with Takeo and he told him that most people at Pentax thinks this "film project" is a waste of time and they hope it crashes the sooner the better. He bought some limited time and resources from the managment, but no one besides Takeo believes this is going to last.
This camera is not for me, really the opposite of what I look for, but it is up to us to show Pentax management whether they are right or wrong about film camera market. Just put our money where our mouth is. And hopefully more cameras will appear and eventually one of them will be really for us.
By the way, this person also tried the camera and told me it is really a solid performer. Well built and with an excellent lens.
The Autoboy is a half-frame???
500 dollars USD
I voted with my hard earned cash, and pre-ordered one from B&H. I would like to support Pentax and their commitment to film photography.
I don't know what type of market research was conducted that begat this strange fruit.
My students were eagerly awaiting the new Pentax 35mm camera to replace their older, heavier, sometimes unreliable, and economically unrepairable 35mm SLR's.
I am very disappointed....so are my students.
What serious analog photographers want and require are fully manual/automatic 35mm cameras that use existing lens mounts. The K-mount is perfect!
I believe that a "new style" K1000 SLR (maybe plastic) body could have been retailed for under $500, providing a decent profit margin for Ricoh/Pentax Corp.
Thousands of students shot millions of photos with K1000-type cameras.
Why did Pentax turn their back on a proven winner?
Actual market research
I don't know what type of market research was conducted that begat this strange fruit.
My students were eagerly awaiting the new Pentax 35mm camera to replace their older, heavier, sometimes unreliable, and economically unrepairable 35mm SLR's.
I am very disappointed....so are my students.
What serious analog photographers want and require are fully manual/automatic 35mm cameras that use existing lens mounts. The K-mount is perfect!
I believe that a "new style" K1000 SLR (maybe plastic) body could have been retailed for under $500, providing a decent profit margin for Ricoh/Pentax Corp.
Thousands of students shot millions of photos with K1000-type cameras.
Why did Pentax turn their back on a proven winner?
Who knows, maybe there'll be an M-mount Pentax RF too...
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