[glasbak]

First and foremost, who care? Pentax and Ricoh like Leica or Ferrari are just brand and names. Nothing more. Nothing else.
.

I don't care, and happily use my voigtlander lens on my K-1.

But if the pentax brand name survives, it will probably go the voigtlander way, which was in a similar situation half a century ago.
And I do not think that anything sold under the voigtlander name has anything to do with the original company or products.

[StephenHampshire]

My wife's Mini Cooper is assembled in Oxford, England. Mini is owned by BMW. The engine is a three-cyl. BMW engine also used in their hybrids (including the M8). The electronics (dash panel / console / computer) are based on the 5-Series. The brakes, throttle and steering are BMW drive-by-wire technology. The trans is, I think, still supplied by a Japanese sub-contractor (but the 2015 models may have changed that). The interior bits are much higher quality and design than I expected when we first drove it.

In my mind a Mini Hardtop is just another BMW model series.

Yes the Mini died in 2000. Do not confuse a Bini with a PROPER Mini. I lived 1/2 ile from the Mini plant in Cowley for a big chunk of 1980, before moving back into the centre of Oxford. And yes I did drive a Mini at the time, a rather nasty brown coloured one.


Anyway, do any of these "not made by Pentax" or "Made by Pentax but conatining glass made by somebody else" lenses take decent photos???

[Nicolas06]

Anyway, do any of these "not made by Pentax" or "Made by Pentax but conatining glass made by somebody else" lenses take decent photos???

You pointed the real question ! Does the product/gear is fit for the job? Is it an interresting set of compromize for you ? If yes, then go for it. If not, choose something else.

This idea that you have to choose a product for ideology or non tangible aspects appeal to some, it doesn't have to be the key argument to everybody.

[monochrome]

Yes the Mini died in 2000. Do not confuse a Bini with a PROPER Mini. I lived 1/2 ile from the Mini plant in Cowley for a big chunk of 1980, before moving back into the centre of Oxford. And yes I did drive a Mini at the time, a rather nasty brown coloured one.


Anyway, do any of these "not made by Pentax" or "Made by Pentax but conatining glass made by somebody else" lenses take decent photos???

Indeed. We think of it as our MiniBimmer and chuckle a bit at our friends who park $75,000 worth of MaxiBimmer 23 hours a day.

Technically I suppose BMW owns Cooper (or the corporate wrapper) and the Model is a Mini Hardtop, but we still say Mini Cooper.

Pentax designs and co-designs mostly great lenses and recently a few superb lenses. I don't particularly care who assembles them or makes the components.

[bxf]

In my mind a Mini Hardtop is just another BMW model series.

Yipee, I knew it! I knew it!

My Alfa is a Ferrari!

[Heie]

Well this thread drove away from me real fast...

[bxf]

Well this thread drove away from me real fast...

Not that fast. Thread started three days ago...

[Nicolas06]

Well this thread drove away from me real fast...

But we are all with you on this dude !

[Digitalis]

Well this thread drove away from me real fast...

I feel guilty about throwing this thread off on a tangent..

[Cuthbert]

Yipee, I knew it! I knew it!

My Alfa is a Ferrari!

Despite of what you might think today, Ferrari started his business as an Alfa Romeo driver first, and later he organised the racing team of Alfa Romeo, after the war the Alfa Romeo plant was bombed and couldn't provide new cars so he decided to make them himself.

An the Ferrari Red is Alfa red mixed to a bit a metallic silver to give more "spark".

[Nicolas06]

but people will swear up and down that an Audi is not a VW or Mini is not a BMW.

Really ? I don't get it. Sure I don't own one but man this is even the same shop, same repeair guys and often same parts if you have an issue.

There the whole play the audi part more expensive than the VW or Seat branded one and people that ask for the cheapest branded one and put it on their Audi because it is the same. And with the recent issue with diesel cars, it is not only VW neither...

Sure the final cars are different but for me, this is market segmentation. I have no issue with that but I don't get why one should argue about the brand of his car has long he is happy of it.

[victormeldrew]

The Mini is a red herring here...since BMW bought it they have always branded it and sold it as a BMW model. The British Leyland brand disappeared when they bought it, just as the Austin/Morris brands disappeared when BL was formed (although the car design was essentially the same throughout that debacle). Nobody ever pretended the new model was anything other than a brand new model from BMW with no link to the original car whatsoever, except a very loose 'inspired by' look.

[RobA_Oz]

Really ? I don't get it. Sure I don't own one but man this is even the same shop, same repeair guys and often same parts if you have an issue.

There the whole play the audi part more expensive than the VW or Seat branded one and people that ask for the cheapest branded one and put it on their Audi because it is the same. And with the recent issue with diesel cars, it is not only VW neither...

Sure the final cars are different but for me, this is market segmentation. I have no issue with that but I don't get why one should argue about the brand of his car has long he is happy of it.

Most people, in my experience, do have at least some idea who owns what in the automotive world, certainly popular makes like the Volkswagen group. The exceptions are people who really know nothing about cars, let alone heritage of names or current maker ownership structures. Those are usually superficial "aspirational" types: not stupid, but somewhat self-obsessed and looking for the latest "prestige" purchase that will feed their egos. I don't think they can be classified by nationality.

On the other hand, in the photographic world, the exceptions are people who know that there are still new Pentax cameras, let alone who owns the brand. Maybe the K-1 will change things, but as you imply, we don't much care as long as we are happy with what we have.

[mee]

Like the sales guy at the music store telling us that Fender is the only company making tube amps, while standing in front of an Engl Savage 120 and a wall of Marshalls tube heads...

Mac PCs are better than Windows PCs because more pros use them.. so get a Mac if you want to use that microphone (novice musician/customer came in wanting to buy a basic microphone to connect to her PC --- the gist of what I heard while in line in a guitar center a few years ago).

[RobA_Oz]

Mac PCs are better than Windows PCs because more pros use them.. so get a Mac if you want to use that microphone (novice musician/customer came in wanting to buy a basic microphone to connect to her PC --- the gist of what I heard while in line in a guitar center a few years ago).

That makes a change...