News blurb - Page 2

Asahiflex · 01-18-2008, 01:28 PM

Originally Posted by Gooshin

i am under the impression that there is no more Pentax Corp

there is Hoya, who will create/develop cameras and sell them under the "pentax" name.

Rubbish. Fumio Urano is still the 'big boss' of Pentax (officially Chairman of the Board). In case you do not know him: he's the designer of the Pentax LX, the best camera of its time (even better than the Canon F1 and Nikon F3). If there's someone who will protect Pentax from the gutter and ensuring the production of top-notch cameras then it will be him.

Tom M · 01-18-2008, 01:33 PM

Not going after 'market share' MEANS, designing top-of-the-line cameras which do NOT represent 'market share'.. ie; Top spot in DSLR market - Nikon D3, EOS 1D, etc..

Market share is controlled by the cheap point and shoots and lower spec DSLRs.. Canon and Nikon sell far more cheap consumer grade cameras than they do expensive ones

TaoMaas · 01-18-2008, 02:02 PM

Originally Posted by Tom M

Not going after 'market share' MEANS, designing top-of-the-line cameras which do NOT represent 'market share'.. ie; Top spot in DSLR market - Nikon D3, EOS 1D, etc..

I think it would be deadly for Pentax to try and knock off the top dogs at Nikon and Canon because those two brands are too firmly entrenched. Pentax would be building the equivalent of a Subaru SVX, a dang good car that was priced too closely to the Nissan 300ZX and Toyota Supra to sell as well as expected.

marcuswoollen · 01-18-2008, 02:30 PM

By Marketshare, I didn't mean knocking Canon or Nikon - but instead solidifying a #3 position against OLY/Sony/Panasonic in the DSLR market. Pentax has some advantages against each of these, and some disadvangages as well.

Kunzite · 01-18-2008, 02:33 PM

Originally Posted by Asahiflex

Fumio Urano is still the 'big boss' of Pentax (officially Chairman of the Board).

Are you sure about this?

zntgrg · 01-18-2008, 02:44 PM

Imho, if Pentax photo division now is bigger, but focus on fewer models with similar production numbers means that only two departmentes are affected by this: a) marekting and b) R&D

So this is good news.

Then, K series were sold at hard discount prices, even at their introduction, so if they'll cost more is quite obvious. Anyway they'll still cost less than canikon for sure.

dmadden · 01-18-2008, 04:06 PM

I love my pentax, but this is quite an annoying company. They remind me of the damn politicians in my country, promises promises promises.

*creampuff* · 01-18-2008, 04:18 PM

Originally Posted by Asahiflex

Rubbish. Fumio Urano is still the 'big boss' of Pentax (officially Chairman of the Board). In case you do not know him: he's the designer of the Pentax LX, the best camera of its time (even better than the Canon F1 and Nikon F3). If there's someone who will protect Pentax from the gutter and ensuring the production of top-notch cameras then it will be him.

FYI Fumio Urano is no longer on the board, having tendered his resignation. He may have developed the LX but under his watch Pentax went downhill with their range of so-so film and AF cameras and were late in DSLRs.

thibs · 01-18-2008, 04:48 PM

Originally Posted by creampuff

FYI Fumio Urano is no longer on the board, having tendered his resignation. He may have developed the LX but under his watch Pentax went downhill with their range of so-so film and AF cameras and were late in DSLRs.

Urnao isn't the right name, I should dig and find the good one...

noblepa · 01-18-2008, 08:13 PM

Originally Posted by Gooshin

i am under the impression that there is no more Pentax Corp

there is Hoya, who will create/develop cameras and sell them under the "pentax" name.

Sort of...

Technically, Pentax Corp. still exists. Hoya owns virtually all the shares. However, it has been announced that sometime in March, IIRC, Pentax Corp. would be merged into Hoya Corp. and Pentax Corp. would cease to exist as a separate corporate entity.

But, in essence, you're correct. From March onward, it will be strictly Hoya. Pentax will simply be a brand name owned by Hoya, the way Panasonic is a brand name owned by Matsushita Corp., or Chevrolet is a brand name owned by General Motors Corp.

Some have seen this as a sign of doom. I think just the opposite is true. If Hoya were truly interested only in Pentax' medical imaging systems, it would have been easier to sell the remnants of Pentax Corp. if it were a separate entity. In that case, it would be a simple stock transfer. But, hey, I'm no financial (or any other kind of) genius.

One question about the buyout/merger that I have not heard even asked is this: What is going to happen to Hoya's existing photographic business, such as filters? This has always been a tiny part of the overall Hoya empire. Perhaps they will fold that into the Pentax brand name.

Paul Noble

Kaimarx · 01-18-2008, 10:28 PM

..Up to a point i was kind of worried that the Dubai affair was Hoya selling Pentax Imaging off to Samsung, kind of like how the Minolta legacy disappeared into the Sony brand. At least the article kind of confirms that Pentax name will still be affiliated with their products. I dont really care who's backing them as long as they have the same team working on their products and the same name.

anomaly · 01-18-2008, 10:42 PM

I am still wondering if they will drop a K1000D. It could happen.

Imagine $250 for 5 point AF, 1 wheel, 2 inch screen, 2 fps, small buffer?

Gooshin · 01-18-2008, 10:46 PM

Originally Posted by Asahiflex

Rubbish. Fumio Urano is still the 'big boss' of Pentax (officially Chairman of the Board). In case you do not know him: he's the designer of the Pentax LX, the best camera of its time (even better than the Canon F1 and Nikon F3). If there's someone who will protect Pentax from the gutter and ensuring the production of top-notch cameras then it will be him.

you misunderstood, i'm speaking strictly semantics.

Fumio can run whatever, the fact remains that Hoya buys out Pentax Corp,

and as another fella confirmed, soon the official legal entity of "pentax corp" will no longer exist.

this does NOT mean that management and employees will be fired and all factories burned to the ground.

well, technicaly it could... but i'm sure Hoya isnt stupid.

SpecialK · 01-18-2008, 11:56 PM

Originally Posted by mattdm

Well, "The lens line will further be enriched this year" has me drooling.

Oh, Matt, you're a marketers dream :-)

nosnoop · 01-19-2008, 12:18 AM

Originally Posted by anomaly

I am still wondering if they will drop a K1000D. It could happen.
Imagine $250 for 5 point AF, 1 wheel, 2 inch screen, 2 fps, small buffer?

It's not going to happen. You may re-read 1st post:

"The new parent company may ask for higher profit ratio and we will make due efforts in that direction, centering on DSLR. We may not pursue larger quantity but will try to make our customers satisfied with attractive products."

$250 is unrealistic - just compare the price of a P&S and the labor requirement for a DSLR vs P&S. So even if it is achievable, there would be no money to be made there.