Noisy Cameras is quite a resource for news and other tidbits of information in the camera world. I noticed on their site along with places like pentaxforums.com that the Pentax K-5 will be going on sale today.
http://www.1001noisycameras.com/2011/11/black-friday-camera-specials-situation-room.html
While I’m not in the market for new gear, I do usually follow pricing on the equipment I use so I know when something is a good deal or not.
Under the thumb of Hoya, Pentax rarely had reasonable camera and lens deals. It did happen, but was difficult to notice and infrequent (the DA* 55mm I bought new was one such instance that lasted only a few hours). Actually, they tended to raise prices on gear and hold those prices high…
Ricoh might be different. First we see a reduction on the K-5 of around $150 once then took over and now we see a Cyber Monday deal of with a price of around $1000 for the camera body. That’s really a great price on the camera considering how well it has held value since its introduction. It still has one of the best APS-C sensors around.
The K-5 doesn’t look to be the only piece of equipment Pentax/Ricoh is putting a discount on. (from 1001noisycamera) The DA 35mm f2.4 for $170, Pentax DA* 50-135mm f2.8 for $850, and the Pentax DA* 16-50mm f2.8 for $750. Even my local camera shop is showing the K-5 deal.
That’s a good sign Ricoh is willing to enter the pricing game for more market share, especially in the semi-pro DSLR market. I’d like to see more like a reduction in the ludicrously priced Q camera, but we shall see about that.
While I’m not in the market for new gear, I do usually follow pricing on the equipment I use so I know when something is a good deal or not.
Under the thumb of Hoya, Pentax rarely had reasonable camera and lens deals. It did happen, but was difficult to notice and infrequent (the DA* 55mm I bought new was one such instance that lasted only a few hours). Actually, they tended to raise prices on gear and hold those prices high…
Ricoh might be different. First we see a reduction on the K-5 of around $150 once then took over and now we see a Cyber Monday deal of with a price of around $1000 for the camera body. That’s really a great price on the camera considering how well it has held value since its introduction. It still has one of the best APS-C sensors around.
The K-5 doesn’t look to be the only piece of equipment Pentax/Ricoh is putting a discount on. (from 1001noisycamera) The DA 35mm f2.4 for $170, Pentax DA* 50-135mm f2.8 for $850, and the Pentax DA* 16-50mm f2.8 for $750. Even my local camera shop is showing the K-5 deal.
That’s a good sign Ricoh is willing to enter the pricing game for more market share, especially in the semi-pro DSLR market. I’d like to see more like a reduction in the ludicrously priced Q camera, but we shall see about that.