I stepped into the local big retailer, where I bought my K-7 system from online, back when I still had it with a plan to check out the original Q and pick up a lens of sorts (cant recall which), all was checked on-line to see that it was in stock and in store. After much trotting around in the store to try to locate the goods, whilst the clerks where bussy between them, all that was found was one Dslr and two kit lenses on a bottom shelf, all covered in dust. So no dice then and it is much the same now. It is not often I venture into an actual brick and mortar shop, but when I do I usually spend some time and have a good browse over, the Pentax presence is notably less than even M43. Pentax used to be a major player on the Norwegian market back in the SLR days, complete with its own Pentax Norway subsidiary company.
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News Ricoh Pentax to "Move Away from Mass Production?"
- Thread starter agentlossing
- Start date
- Location
- Central Ohio, USA
- Name
- Andrew
I think Fuji has 2 issues.
1, they are now trying to be everything to everyone. I think that the XH/XT cameras don't make a lot of sense together and they have the XS10, which is more of a Sony/Canon/Nikon SLR style thing catering to the vloggers.
2, they do not do enough to differentiate between model revisions. The versions between the XT1, 2,3,4 were really not that big, so much so that I know of a lot of people, me included that got older models used at good prices. I could have gotten the XT4, but got an XT3. Their "Kaizen" approach is a blessing and a curse. It limits the number of people that will upgrade sooner. The difference between the XE3 and XE4 is not that big either and I know a lot of XE3 owners that didn't even give the XE4 a second look after seeing the spec sheet.
I've always maintained that camera companies killed themselves by doing too many iterations too fast without an appreciable return on innovation for the newer model. The XT4 is really not a whole lot more than the XT3, just with IBIS. A great feature, but lets see something more! Enhanced AF system, newer sensor, better high ISO, computational processing...Fuji doesn't really do that. Again...pro's and con's to each way.
- Location
- Seattle
- Name
- Andrew
Well, this news may not turn out to mean much after all: Ricoh is Dramatically Shifting its Camera Sales Strategy in Japan
Clarifying things, Ricoh said their areas outside of Japan will still rely on mass production and current distribution models. Well, that's that. I think their initial announcement is sort of misleading. If the mass production isn't going away, then it technically can't go away in Japan either, because the mass produced products will still be available. Just something to keep Japanese investors interested, maybe?
Clarifying things, Ricoh said their areas outside of Japan will still rely on mass production and current distribution models. Well, that's that. I think their initial announcement is sort of misleading. If the mass production isn't going away, then it technically can't go away in Japan either, because the mass produced products will still be available. Just something to keep Japanese investors interested, maybe?
I bet it's useful to try. The problem is that i just don't live close to any store. It's genuinely easier to try it and send it back if necessary/desired. Of course, I don't think I'm very picky about ergs as I've never sent back a functioning camera.Based on specs alone, I should have in theory bought a Nikon D7200 or D7500. Thankfully my local stores had them for me to try - otherwise they would have been a return to Nikon/store for me. The handling for them was just wrong, as in too small for me and there really were no good grip options that I liked or existed. I guess I'm a weirdo! LOL
I'm going to settle in with the 'beginning of the end' camp. Seems like a last-ditch effort. Pentax isn't Leica. A lot of us cut our teeth on them and still have a soft spot, but handcrafted is the last thing I think about when it comes to Pentax. The first thing I think about is K-Mart.
Now then, if they'd go ahead and handcraft the camera described in my signature, I'd be all over it!
Now then, if they'd go ahead and handcraft the camera described in my signature, I'd be all over it!
- Location
- Seattle
- Name
- Andrew
Looks like it's a tempest in a teacup after all. Mass production isn't really going anywhere according to Ricoh follow-up.
Iron
Hall of Famer
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- New Zealand
- Name
- Tímo
I've read about those online and the authors are just as puzzled as us.
I won't be surprised if their workshop-like manufacturing is cellular/cell/cell-type manufacturing, which is prominent in many Made in Japan (MIJ) products now. The quality is easier to validate and it's just much more sustainable business-wise. Feedback from customers is much quicker than the usual type of distribution models, as the factory/engineers can get reports either from middlemen or from the customers themselves. Workers are not as stressed. I got interested because the MIJ products we buy like digital pianos, audio equipment, rice cookers, videocams etc. all come from Japanese factories using cellular manufacturing.
The COVID fiasco proves that the current manufacturing conditions aren't sustainable and are very, very fragile. Camera companies struggled last year, except for Sony because they make the sensors even for cellphones. The move to a more sustainable style of manufacturing makes sense, for me. It's just business as usual. Camera shipments are at the lowest since 2010-2011 financial year and there's no sign of the slowing of the decline. We can talk about not just an elephant but elephants in the room - cellphones, which started the decline in shipment of cameras, are also in decline for the first time, camera shipments are uncomfortable low and system cameras from 17 years ago still take good photos, chip shortages affecting overall manufacturing and idle workers are too costly to maintain, etc.
Camera companies are offered by the Japanese government, USD 2 billion, to move their manufacturing from their neighbour to Japan. Just moving their mass production factories into Japan will be much more costly than setting up cellular manufacturing for the cameras. It's the trend now. Kawai pianos are mostly made in Indonesia and they even do cellular manufacturing there. The offer may be of intertest to Panasonic, Nikon and Canon but not with Sony, whose manufacturing are already setup in Malaysia and Thailand, and OM system with their hardcore facility in Vietnam.
Anyway, whatever these camera companies do won't hurt us, at all.
Probably the fault of whatever translation software they're using.
The follow-up is good news then since older Pentax cameras up to the K-50 can still be backordered in the Philippines and Australia. The products will come from the Philippine factory, of course.
Ok, but I still want the camera in my signature!
retiredfromlife
Regular
- Location
- Sydney Australia
Shame as i like their products, but sounds like a desperate move to downscale due to declining sales
But you still have to have a lot of automated machinery to make a camera. If will be good if you can customise your order, perhaps choose between flippy or articulated rear screen etc. Small things that mean a lot to some
But you still have to have a lot of automated machinery to make a camera. If will be good if you can customise your order, perhaps choose between flippy or articulated rear screen etc. Small things that mean a lot to some
Correction from Ricoh US: "Ricoh will continue mass production and sales but will be adding more direct-to-consumer approaches to its distribution in Japan" - Pentax & Ricoh Rumors
I just received a clarification from Ricoh Americas on the press release issued in Japan a few days ago about a major camera business restructuring: “The announcement created a bit of confusion and was specific to the market in Japan only. Ricoh will not be ceasing mass production and sales, but instead extending its distribution […]
pentaxrumors.com
All of this is Japan only. Rest of the world will continue as before.
Remember the Maxxum 7000i? It had cards you could use to add features. A camera that sold bare bones and allowed you to purchase your chosen features at add cost would be cool. These days you could just buy the program and download it. I'm sure that'd be a lot harder (and less profitable) to implement than it sounds, but it would be a cool camera.
- Location
- Central Ohio, USA
- Name
- Andrew
Isn’t that done to some extent by Panasonic with the newer GH cameras where you can purchase the log profile for and extra $100?
So probably more possible than we think.
So probably more possible than we think.
Sony has/had the ability to purchase 'Apps' for some of their cameras.
That's barely a touch. I want no video, or maybe 1080p and the rest an option. There could be other choices too, like focus stacking, HDR, etc. let someone buy as many or as few options as they like and pay proportionally.
Yeah, I know it'll never happen. I just get tired of paying for $1,000 worth of features I don't need or want.
I think that the "Last DSLR" might be an approach for Pentax and the GR series the staple for Ricoh, if they can figure out a way to lower costs enough to so they don't actually lose money. Of course, I've also wondered how well an M mount Q would sell.
Edit: I mean the Leica Q not the Pentax Q.
Edit: I mean the Leica Q not the Pentax Q.
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