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09-17-2014, 09:18 PM   #1
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Resurrect the Asahi or Takumar names?

Sometimes I wonder if Ricoh will bring back the Asahi or Takumar names. I know Takumar made a brief come back as a budget lens but that doesn't count. Once everyone runs out of "super", "high definition" names what will be left? Asahi or Takumar could be the high end line up of glass.

Ok, I'm done dreaming!

09-17-2014, 09:25 PM   #2
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Tak does have a good ring to it.
09-17-2014, 09:56 PM   #3
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Good idea - I like the takumar name.
09-18-2014, 02:12 AM   #4
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QuoteOriginally posted by 6BQ5 Quote
I know Takumar made a brief come back as a budget lens but that doesn't count
yes, it does count. Let us hope they never try that again.

09-18-2014, 02:33 AM   #5
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Back in the day, there was Takumar and then Super Takumar and then SMC Takumar. What comes after that?
09-18-2014, 02:54 AM - 1 Like   #6
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QuoteOriginally posted by rayallen Quote
Back in the day, there was Takumar and then Super Takumar and then SMC Takumar. What comes after that?
HD Takumar then SHD Takumar obviously
09-18-2014, 05:59 AM   #7
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You missed S-M-C Takumar. Ricoh no doubt owns the rights to the Takumar brand name, so it could conceivably be used for new
lens products. The thing is, what would differentiate them from the current offerings?

09-18-2014, 06:21 AM   #8
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There was enough furor over putting Ricoh on the back of the K-3. Imagine the response if the lenses don't say "Pentax" on the front!
09-18-2014, 06:47 AM   #9
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I remember all that noise about the Ricoh name! *bleah*

I'm totally OK with a Takumar-Z lens!
09-18-2014, 06:52 AM   #10
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QuoteOriginally posted by baldeagle21b Quote
You missed S-M-C Takumar. Ricoh no doubt owns the rights to the Takumar brand name, so it could conceivably be used for new
lens products. The thing is, what would differentiate them from the current offerings?
They may or may not have rights to the names "Asahi" and "Takumar" but I would hope they will leave them in the past. I think Ricoh wants to leave their own mark in the Pentax legacy but with all the vintage and retro look cameras these days, it's conceivable that they might do something like slapping a legacy label on something for marketing purposes. I really hope they don't.
09-18-2014, 06:59 AM   #11
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If I were Ricoh I'd bury Asahi and Takumar - and the brand name Pentax - altogether. IThey carry little if any positive marketing attributes any more. The Pentax brand has the marketing power of Kodak or Vivitar or Oldsmobile.

Frankly, all the name Pentax does in the West is stimulate angry exchanges on web Fora that show up at the top of Google searches. most of which happen on this Forum.
09-18-2014, 07:09 AM   #12
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Asahi Optical Co. was the company that made the Pentax product so unless RICOH change their name I don't see it happening.

From wiki...
QuoteQuote:
"Takumar is the name that Asahi Optical gave to its lenses, notably but not exclusively those for its own SLR cameras. Named after the Japanese-American portrait painter, Takuma Kajiwara (梶原啄磨 Kajiwara Takuma?),[1] whose brother Kumao Kajiware founded Asahi Optical,[2] the name adorned its lenses until 1975, when Asahi switched from the M42 screw mount to the bayonet K-mount. K-mount lenses were simply named "SMC Pentax".
09-18-2014, 08:12 AM   #13
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QuoteOriginally posted by monochrome Quote
If I were Ricoh I'd bury Asahi and Takumar - and the brand name Pentax - altogether. IThey carry little if any positive marketing attributes any more. The Pentax brand has the marketing power of Kodak or Vivitar or Oldsmobile.

Frankly, all the name Pentax does in the West is stimulate angry exchanges on web Fora that show up at the top of Google searches. most of which happen on this Forum.
You beat me to it. Asahi and Takumar are dead names with miniscule marketing power. New photographers in the United States have never heard of "Pentax" while older photographers think the company is out of business.

Things are different in Japan.
09-18-2014, 08:29 AM   #14
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QuoteOriginally posted by ZombieArmy Quote
HD Takumar then SHD Takumar obviously
Hearing HD takumar gives me shivers, imagining what it could be, But if the focus ring is not buttery it's not true takumar! I kinda doubt the tech exist to make buttery smooth focusing + AF.
09-18-2014, 09:44 AM   #15
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QuoteOriginally posted by Not a Number Quote
There was enough furor over putting Ricoh on the back of the K-3. Imagine the response if the lenses don't say "Pentax" on the front!
I don't mind Ricoh on the back of my K-3. After all, they made the camera. Pentax is just a brand name.
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