I just got back to Boston after my trip to NYC for the Pentax K-X
intro. It was a cold and wet ride, but not *extremely* cold or wet. I
think Triumph misnamed the Sprint because that bike's definitely a
marathon runner (though a very, very fast one)! Best motorcycle ever,
IMHO
The intro was held at the International Center of Photography on 6th
Ave at 43rd street and it's definitely worth a visit if you get the
chance. Their current exhibit is on the work of Richard Avedon, who is
not one of my favorite photographers - but that's probably all the
more reason to have a look at his work, I thought to myself. I was
quite surprised at how much of it I liked. The thing is, it was all
his really *early* stuff that really seemed good to me. The exhibit
had the photographs grouped by time periods and the later the year the
less I liked his work. He seemed to have figured out what sold, at one
point, and then stopped experimenting and growing. In his later work
he seemed to be imitating his own "Richard Avedon style" (though very
well!) I once read an article that suggested that Liza Minelli has, in
effect, become a Liza Minelli impersonator; I think Richard Avedon
became a sort of photographic equivalent of that.
All the prints looked fabulous, by the way, but particularly the
earlier ones, to my eye. I doubt Avedon was a darkroom kind of guy so
I wondered who did his printing. Whoever it was did a superb job.
The first person I met at the event was Gordon Lewis, who's writing
the K-7 review for Mike Johnston and TOP. There were very few people
there who were primarily photographers, as opposed to industry/retail
people and journalists, and he somehow immediately pegged me as a
shooter and just walked up and started chatting (he introduced himself
as just "Gordon" and I didn't find out until later that he was the
Gordon writing for Mike). He's a really nice guy, clearly smart and a
damn fine photographer (which you know already if you've seen his work
accompanying the K-7 review).
Pentax had the event catered very nicely and all the food was kosher,
which, given the number of Adorama and B&H people present, was
probably a good idea. Sparkling water, soft drinks and a very passable
Sauvignon Blanc were also available. I'm normally a cabernet drinker,
but I made an exception for Pentax
The first part of the formal presentation was all about Pentax and
Hoya's relationship and how being part of Hoya has changed -- and will
change -- things. The white K-2000, which Hoya decided to sell without
market testing (through focus groups and the like), is one example.
They are clearly working on shortening development time and reducing
time to market. They also want to make Pentax's product line more
logical and organized, so I expect we're seeing just the beginning of
this process. Another thing they stressed was keeping control of
inventory and product delivery. They made a big deal about this and I
got the impression they've already foreseen and planned for the
management of the multiple-color options of the K-X, making it easy
for retailers to get the ones they want.
You've probably read as much as you want to know about the K-X by now
so I'll just say that it's a very impressive little piece of kit.
Clearly aimed at a beginner moving up from a point-and-shoot, rather
than the kind of photographer who's on the PDML, but at $650 with a
kit lens it really is an astonishing value for the money, IMO, and
hitting the market in October (black) and November (colors) is just
right timing. They reported that Pentax looks to break even this year
or possibly turn a small profit. Actually quite remarkable in the
current economic climate.
After all the planned presentations there was a Q&A period. Mostly
uninteresting questions, but one did try to inquire about future,
higher-spec products (and they clearly meant "full-frame" even though
they weren't willing to use those words). The Pentax people kind of
side-stepped that one by saying that their next camera slated for
release is the 645D, in the spring of next year. I spoke to some of
them in *private*, and while they wouldn't comment on full-frame or
future camera development, there was an acknowledgement that the
environment has changed - even since earlier this year. (Cough - Sony
A850 - cough) My totally subjective, completely personal *opinion* is
that Paul Stenquist's 2011 date for full-frame will prove about right.
Maybe we'll see an announcement in late 2010 (when the Sony 850 will
be retailing for ~$1500) One would note that the new K-X appears to
use a Sony sensor (unconfirmed), so Pentax doesn't seem to consider
themselves locked into one sensor supplier.
After the formal presentation I chatted with various Pentax people and
was really happy to meet several with whom I've only communicated in
email or just heard about through other people. I got to chat with
President Ned Bunnell for a while. I can tell you that the impression
he gives in his blog is accurate: He's a serious photographer and he
really cares about what he does. I filled him in on the details of
next year's PDML Annual and the gallery exhibition in Chicago.
I'd also like to note the attitude of most of the other people present
at this event. It's the first time Pentax has ever done anything like
this (and did you notice that the embargo was only broken a few
*hours* before deadline, rather than days and weeks?) and most of
those present were either from various web and print media or from
retailers. But you could tell that the overwhelming majority of them
were really pulling for Pentax, a relative underdog in a field of
giant corporations. There's a genuine affection for Pentax's history
and accomplishments in members of the press and in long-time retail
operators like B&H. That this isn't often apparent in media coverage
belies the cynical myth of press bias and corporate co-option so
prevalent in popular culture. There are a lot of "friends of Pentax"
out there and it was nice to feel them drop their guise of
professionalism just a *little* for the evening to let is show. Their
enthusiasm for the new K-X and marketing strategy was, I think,
genuine.
I was honored to be invited to this event, but I think it's more a
measure of the work the *rest* of the PDML did in making the
photographs for the PDML Annual that made it possible. Keep up the
good work for the next one and maybe I'll get invited to future
product announcements at great photo art galleries!
And maybe they'll also have a red wine at the next one.