[davidmanze]

Why incomplete? Pentax has enough features as it is!

It just wanted updated AF-C à là KI II.......and the KP sensor.........and K3's 8.3 fps and buffer...

.........but most of all it needs to be available to buy.......if it's not there you can't sell any......

......those who want a new camera soon......will have to look elsewhere........is that a better plan?

[Kunzite]

Incomplete because it's not ready, doh!
Do you think that the performance people want is done just by wishing it for about 5 minutes?

By the way, if they did as you asked - put in the K-1 II/KP's AF and the KP's sensor and the K-3's 8.3 fps and buffer but not much else - the camera would be DOA (dead on arrival). I have a feeling you'll complain about it too, quite loud and with many '..........'

[davidmanze]

Only a Pentaxian could possibly function with that logic........

.......normally, anything is better than nothing......in Pentaxland.........nothing is better than nothing!...........

............and that's what they got........nothing.......and they're happy.........the perfect business plan!........

[Brightcolours]

Indeed, Pentax will not attract NEW buyers. So, lets not bring out a follow up product, because we might actually sell a few to Pentaxians.

[Kunzite]

Only a Pentaxian could possibly function with that logic........

.......normally, anything is better than nothing......in Pentaxland.........nothing is better than nothing!...........

............and that's what they got........nothing.......and they're happy.........the perfect business plan!........

You're dead wrong about both points. It doesn't matter to you, as long as you still have '.........' to spare (the tactic of convincing people with many, many dots!) :p

1. "Anything" is not better than "nothing". Some "anythings" can get the company in deep trouble... including a bad product, or a "too good" product. And "nothing" in our case means the product isn't ready yet.
Wait, a "too good" product? How could it be? Isn't "too good" an instant success, 200% market share, competition dead and buried?
But what if this "too good" product doesn't sell in the expected quantities, at the expected price? It happened with Minolta's 7D, the final nail in the coffin - they had to sell to Sony. And to Samsung, with the NX1. Let's see Olympus' OMG EM1X; I have a feeling their medical division will continue to absorb losses.
In Pentax' case, however, the danger would be a yet another minor update. Exactly what you said they should do.

Quizz: what were their most successful cameras? Hint: not the minor updates.

2. Many Pentaxians, me included, aren't happy at all about the slow product launches. Just because I only spend 1-5% of my life and not 100% complaining about it doesn't means I'm happy. It means I have a life. And a nice Pentax kit; I'm not missing anything I truly need.
But it's typical to make convenient "assumptions" about others - you know, it's easier to get snarky at a "me" you've completely made up, than at the real person.

[davidmanze]

I stick by what I say........Pentax will lose many clients dithering around......and it's more and more on hyper-dither mode as time goes by........

.....The times they are a changing!...........

[Klaus]

Well, I suppose that Pentax is selling to customers who are a little more conservative and who want to be a bit different.
Honestly, whether I buy a Canon EOS 80D, Nikon D7500 or a Pentax KP doesn't make a difference in the real world (certainly not in shops when selling the things).
It seems as if Pentax is fine with having a 5% market-share in DSLRs and with CaNikon losing interest in DSLRs (Sony departed already) it may be their long term niche for traditional users - a bit like the Leica M for DSLRs maybe.

Well, maybe I will take that Pentax S1 on my next vacation - haven't used it really since I purchased it years ago ;-)

[Brightcolours]

Does Pentax even have a 5% marketshare? In Japan, it had a 3.1% marketshare in DSLRs in 2018, that is without counting MILCs.

[davidmanze]

It seems as if Pentax is fine with having a 5% market-share in DSLRs and with CaNikon losing interest in DSLRs (Sony departed already) it may be their long term niche for traditional users - a bit like the Leica M for DSLRs maybe.

Well, maybe I will take that Pentax S1 on my next vacation - haven't used it really since I purchased it years ago ;-)

    I'm doubtful about 5% also!......

 Ah the famous S1....the camera that broke my rule of anything from Pentax is better than nothing!.......fine enough as a DSLR as it was, it rivalled the K01 as the largest business blooper of the range.

A quick scout around brings up some Ricoh/Pentax numbers:

https://pentaxrumors.com/2018/02/01/ricoh-imagings-financial-results-q3-fy2018-03/

A telling extract from the financial report:

The so-called ‘Smart Vision’ BU includes the Pentax products together with the Ricoh Theta, GR, WG and rugged compact cameras. Quarter after quarter, the turnover of the Smart Vision division is declining, see the following table put together with data from this report and the previous ones:

The steep yoy Q1 decline is due to the launch of Pentax K-1 in 2016. Obviously the KP launched in 2017 didn’t have the same impact on Ricoh Imaging sales.

Smart Vision sales in calendar year 2017 amounted to around ¥20bn / $180m / €150m.

[Klaus]

Actually I meant the other S1 - the Q-S1 ;-) - not the K-S1