From: =?iso-8859-1?Q?P=E5l_Jensen?= > Peter wrote: > >> They feel that it's tiny size & if it's priced about >> $1000, it will be a hit. Don't forget that Pentax >> maybe be hitting a lower price point that is vacant at >> the moment. > > I see no reasons that Pentax should be able to sell a DSLR cheaper than > anyone else. Quite the opposite, Nikon could probably dump the D100 by > now.
I think the *ist D, similar to the film *ist, is an entry level DSLR, a genre that didn't exist in the DSLR land so far. Pentax officials repeatedly talked about the "affordability" of this new DSLR. I think the *ist D will indeed be "aggressively priced". BTW I also think the ist D is well specified for this and allows the user to grow. > By July this camera may be uncompetitive. Why so? As I said, it is is a new genre of DSLRs. Sure, there will be cameras with higher MPs but those will be also much, much more expensive. People on this list compare different cameras and lenses as if they were all for free :-) Pentax will only get successfully into the DSLR market over an attractive pricing and a well specified product. Remember the base for the ongoing success of Canon is not their pro gear, it is their AE-1, a quite well specified amateur camera that was a price breaker in it's time. Pro or semi-pro models may follow once Pentax is established in the DSLR market. Starting with an expensive pro model would be doomed to failure IMO. > The price of the *ist D is > probably about the same as the Canon. Nobody knows that so far. There are several numbers floating around for the D10 price, and I am sure some of these are wrong. > And as the Pentax is too indistinctive > apart from it size, which is not a selling point among the pro look wannabees, Those are not the target group of this camera. I think weight *is* an important selling point for many. The camera is substantially smaller than the D10. BTW many pentax shooters are ladies probably less interested in "muscle cameras". > I fear its only function is to serve the current user base. Don't make a mistake, this customer base is huge. It involves MZ-shooters and, more important, millions of zoom P&S shooters that are clearly also targeted with this camera concept. > To add to the uncertainty, we do not know yet what Nikon > plan to release this spring. It may look like the *ist D. For being "indistinguishable from Nikon": The N80 has been a big success for Nikon for good reasons. Beyond that, I wonder if the anticipated Nikon will be that small. Also, the *ist D has the "hyper button" that seems to work quite similar than that of the PZ-1p. Pentax left out the aperture ring on the matching lens because you may get malfunctions when you set the camera to a program mode and the lens not to A. This may shy away new users and has been a selling point *against* the ZX/MZ-7. This is a matter of fact. But who cares? The camera couples with the aperture rings. I think the camera is a good move and will be a success. It has a very clear user interface and can do a lot. And for my part I don't like overdesigned muscle cameras either. > P�l Enjoy, Alexander __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - forms, calculators, tips, more http://taxes.yahoo.com/
