Pentax Tops User-Satisfaction

2012.06.30

Great news for Pentax and fans! On a press released published by Photography Blog, J.D. Power and Associates reports that Pentax ranked highest among DSLR manufacturers when it cameras to user satisfaction, followed by Nikon and then Canon.

Incidentally, those regularly reading Neocamera reviews can easily guess that this is exactly the ranking we give in terms of ergonomics. After all, the image quality of Pentax and Nikon is virtually identical on all metrics, since they both source DSLR sensors from Sony (with the exception of the D3200 which has no Pentax equivalent yet) and that Canon remains so close that the vast majority of consumers cannot tell the difference. This leaves ergonomics the biggest differentiation when looking at cameras alone. Logically, ergonomics and user-interface is key when it comes to user-satisfaction.

Keep in mind that when choosing a DSLR, you are choosing a system and we recommend selecting the system based on how lenses available suit your needs. This sometimes means a compromise needs to be made and you may not end up with the most ergonomic camera. See the Lens Buying Guide for information on how to choose lenses.

Back to the report, another very interesting news is that the average selling price of DSLRs has increased by over $300 USD compared to last year. This can reflect one of two things: (1) more people moving up to semi-professional models or (2) more people choosing SLDs over entry-level DSLRs, thereby shifting the ratio of low-to-high end DSLRs sold.

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