Joe Franekwrote:But Pentax being inferior did not stop me from buying the *istD, K200D and a host of lenses.The main reason for that decision (2004) was that Pentax lenses were good and much cheaper than Nikon and Canon.That incentive is now gone.Pentax has joined the for-profit group of manufacturers. What are you complaining about, you got the cheap products that you wanted.

JeffAHayeswrote:No offense, Tim, but I really didn't see ANY deals there, except for maybe the 50-135.No offense taken, I guess. If I am able to save someone several hundred dollars on the 50-135 the post was worthwhile. The 50-135 is $1130 at Creve Coeur Camera.Tim

When I read about Pentax rebates a couple of weeks ago I said, "Woo Hoo!" Lately I looked up some current lens prices and I said, err... What's the opposite of Woo Hoo. I thinks that would be Boo Hoo.Yes, "Boo Hoo!"

I've been following this lens just out of curiosity, comparing it to the Tamron 90 macro. $650 was already too high, $850 is an outrage - almost twice the price of the Tamron.

That's a lot of money for lens that will fail right out of warranty. What a joke. Just buy a Tamron.

baldeagle21bwrote:Joe Franekwrote:But Pentax being inferior did not stop me from buying the *istD, K200D and a host of lenses.The main reason for that decision (2004) was that Pentax lenses were good and much cheaper than Nikon and Canon.That incentive is now gone.Pentax has joined the for-profit group of manufacturers. What are you complaining about, you got the cheap products that you wanted.The for-profit manufactures make lenses that work. If Pentax is going to keep selling that hunk of trash 16-50mm its price should at least reflect it's short lifespan or come with a 5 year warranty.

ET2wrote:awaldramwrote:I must admit some amusement at theses rant threads our cousins across the water post.especially the 'me to' from folks not even affected by the price hikes.In Feb 2010 it was cheaper for UK pentaxians to get on a plane to the US to buy their lens than walk down the high street store !!Yet I don;t remember gnashing of teeth and wave of sympathy then.?Simply put Pentax US has run a pricing structure that made no sense now they appear to ve trying to balance the books but retailers and consumers are driving the prices back down again till Penatx US stamp their feet.You are simply ignoring lower taxes and mass consumer market in the US. Everything is cheaper in the US, including Canon, Nikon, and Sony compared to UK prices for the same products. Cellphones and IPads are cheaper too in the US. Google Nexus 7 is cheaper in the US.So your logic that the Pentax US prices must match the UK ones is outright stupid. That doesn't explain crap why the prices are fluctuating randomly.I cant really be bothered with you but just one little spinthree pointsNexus 7 US $249 + Taxes Uk £199 inc Taxes$249 = £157 £157 + 20% tax = £188 £188 + 6% import duty (£11) = £199Or to make it really simple for you US = $249 + Taxes UK = $249 + Taxes No the Nexus is NOT cheaper in the USAnd point twoWho said Uk prices must match US prices? , you even quoted what I said and clearly I never made any such claim.!!just another strawman form the master of inane.And point threeThat doesn't explain crap why the prices are fluctuating randomlyDo you read.? I clearly stated why I thought US prices were fluctating so it does explain "crap why the prices are fluctuating randomly"So everything you wrote was 1 Wrong 2 Made up 3 Made up and WrongWho's the stupid one ?? and explains why everyone has you on ignore .!

I was just thinking about this myself today when I was going through some old magazines to recycle and saw the 16-50 street at US $670. That was July 2009.

As much as I like Pentax, I can no longer afford them. I have an old K110D and I've been looking to upgrade. Their lack of a low cost entry body and reasonable priced lenses make it too expensive. I wanted to get a basic body and spend on some nicer than kit lenses, but geez.Canon and Nikon currently sell entry camera kits for $500 about anywhere. This seems the better way to go for the budget minded as there is more $ left for glass.

Simon97wrote:As much as I like Pentax, I can no longer afford them. I have an old K110D and I've been looking to upgrade. Their lack of a low cost entry body and reasonable priced lenses make it too expensive. I wanted to get a basic body and spend on some nicer than kit lenses, but geez.Canon and Nikon currently sell entry camera kits for $500 about anywhere. This seems the better way to go for the budget minded as there is more $ left for glass.Seriously, is there anything that's preventing you from seeing what Pentax announces this month? I have no idea if they'll come out with an entry level body (without a real pentaprism like the Canon and Nikon models for $500) but your post makes one think you're certain they won't.

I say we all go on Pentax's official Facebook page and RANT about this outRAGE!http://www.facebook.com/Pentax -- ASA_5 is RiceHighhttp://www.petitiononline.com/593039/petition.html

Sounds like a good idea to me. How does one go about doing that? Do I need a facebook account? -- http://flickr.com/photos/tim_a/