----- Original Message ----- From: "DagT" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> So, who cares about the answers to your question? I think you, the loyal Pentax user, should care if you are at all interested in products more geared to the advanced amateur or (dare I write it?) professional user who wish to use some of that awesome SMC glass (which is remarkably hard to get new, but still available on the used market). Once again, Pentax has not even thrown us a bone. "Hey check it out guys! a new DSLR! (oh yeah, not the one our loyal, salivating customers have been begging for, it's another downgrade. even LOWER spec-ed than the previous release)" I'm not bashing the new camera. The D is a great camera. The Ds is a great camera, marketed and priced competitively against the Rebel and D70. I'm sure the DL will turn out to produce great images and have the small size and ergonomics that Pentax is famous for. I understand wanting to capture new users who do not own an SLR yet. But I'm wondering what it offers that the others do not. And I'm wondering how Pentax expect to out-compete (and you KNOW they have to out-compete) the other two manufacturers who have their names in lights and who advertise, market, and offer incentives to salespeople. We've read it here many times: You go in a store and ask for Pentax and the salespeople immediately push the two big brands at you. Sure, you and I and the other PDMLers can hold our own and get what we want, but the average, uneducated consumer will walk out of the store with a Canon or Nikon without even knowing about a brand called Pentax. If Pentax want to be a niche player, great! But their niche should be advanced amateurs such as myself who are willing to pay for a steady stream of "professional-grade" cameras, lenses and accessories. They shouldn't waste their time (and mine; my dissatisfaction with their product strategy has been voiced) with entry-level cameras that - in spite of build quality, features, size and ergonomics - cannot compete with current offerings from other companies based on marketing and brand recognition.
