[Klaus]

Pentax doesn't own any market, so what are their choices? To close shop? Is that really better than moving forward?

Ricoh Imaging is doing very well on the 360o market but Theta alone can't sustain their ambitions. OTOH, the 645 and the K-1 are regarded as successful products .

 

Reality check:

- Pentax' best chance was with their existing customer base

- we know as a fact that they were right to make the K-1

- the MILC market is shrinking as well

- the DSLR market is still about 3x as large as the MILC one

 

DSLRs are a dead market segment long term. Whether we are talking about 5 years, 10 or 15 years. It'll happen.

Mirrorless cameras are simply a conceptually superior approach - video, AF, viewfinder, size. All these firewalls have collapsed or are collapsing with every new mirrorless camera release - take the X-T2, GFX, E-M1 II, GH5, the Sony A7 mk II series.

 

Remember Pentax' primary value prop ? Size ? Gone ...


The mirrorless camera market is shrinking by volume but not by share.


Currently mirrorless has a marketshare of 10.2%. In 2013 it was 5.3%. So that almost doubled within 4 years.

DSLRs have  a marketshare of 27.1% now - up from 22% - thus merely a 30% increase (or 3 times slower).

(the rest are digicams which are going away)


Just do the math from there. All it takes for a final death kick is the introduction of a FF mirrorless camera by CaNikon. That'll turn the religious DSLR photographers. It'll happen and when it does, the DSLR death will come fast and it'll be complete.

 

The effects are already showing. Just take the 5D IV. At the very best that's a half-hearty new release based on minimal R&D budget. They know it. This camera is supposed to compete against the upcoming A9 ? Yeah ... right.

 

If you don't believe me ... well, maybe believe the most conservative camera manufacturer of the planet - Leica. If even Leica goes mirrorless ...