[quant2325]

The inflection point for the photo industry changing has passed, and all the manufacturers know it. Apple's iPhone was the inflection point. The public doesn't care about the nth degree of performance from a pieces of glass, but the public does care about ease of use, selfies, and how quickly a file can be posted on social media. Professionals care about what gives then an advantage, and will pay up for the opportunity. This leaves serious amateurs like me, who will die with thousands of files of technically correct photos that our kids will delete once we are buried six feet under. Like it or not, the photo industry is quickly becoming part of another industry: technology.


So how does Ricoh operate profitably?
1) Don't lose current customers.
2) Keep trying to carve out a niche and hope that something new catches on to become mainstream.
3) Keep costs lower than the competition.
4) Give more bang for the $, even if it means slightly lower margins (e.g., weatherproofing cameras).
5) Outsource everything that cannot be done profitably. Sensors? Let SONY take care of that. Lenses for a FF? Partner with SIGMA.


The most iconic photos ever taken were likely shot with cameras that today would be considered "junk." Technology will quickly improve to the point where every camera, including an iPhone, can deliver professional results. This means there will someday be a point where whatever is produced is "good enough" for everyone, including professionals. Therefore, irrelevancy is the future danger Cannon, Nikon, Ricoh and everyone else in the photo space faces. This is similar to Microsoft's operating systems. Most people don't upgrade because the old versions of WORD and PowerPoint have become "good enough." The difference is that we cannot live without operating systems, but we can live without another camera.

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Last edited by quant2325; 10-27-2014 at 10:15 AM.

[ogl]

If I criticize Ricoh as photo company - it means only one - I want to see better products, better marketing, better relations to different types of Pentax's users.
And it's all.

Have a look at my signature... I've just bought new "old" lens - FA20-35/4...

[Kunzite]

And if you attack people by claiming they're paid to post positive messages, what does it means?

[mrNewt]

I've read ogl's post more among the lines "What is the point of this post" rather than an attack at someone's "ad" in favor to Pentax. But I could be wrong...
Anyway, the reaction were maybe a little bit blown out of the water... and most probably that is because of the history between him and a few others around here.

Not a biggie I would say... I say let's move on and let's take some more pics .

[johnmflores]

With the continued improvement in the Pentax line over the past year I am thankful that Ricoh acquired Pentax. Perhaps it would be nice to have a full frame camera, but if you really need the capability for landscapes and studio work you can upgrade from 35mm full frame to the 645Z. In my case, full frame has no attraction for wildlife photography. I like the extra 'reach' and lighter weight of a cropped system and I have even been impressed with the posts on the forum of posted 560 photos. Time will tell on the 560 for me.

More important for me is that Ricoh manage Pentax for growth and profitability. Witness the situation Canon finds itself announcing new cameras every few months and supporting all the formats with lenses - declining profit and poor growth.

Canon profit falls 1% on weak camera demand - MarketWatch

Yeah, I am sure there will be lots of posts about great deals for Canon products for Christmas as they dump inventories at COSTCO and BESTBUY.

For my part, I am looking forward to another good year of Ricoh strengthening the Pentax line in a thoughtfully and profitably.

Thanks for your positive note. It's a pleasant counterpoint to the constant drumbeat of "Pentax cannot do anything right" that is prevalent here.

[Couscousdelight]

But, is there any proof than Ricoh image division make profit ?

[mrNewt]

But, is there any proof than Ricoh image division make profit ?

Is there actual proof to anything to begin with?
Anything can be falsified and unless you are involved first hand, you have no idea and everything you think you know is based on what others are feeding you...

[LFLee]

Go to any brand forums you will see member cursing the brand, Nikon member make fun about why no D400, stupid Df, Canon user complain about low megapixel, Sony user complain about no lens and fear the death of A-mount...

that's part of the fun, no need to be over protective of your favorite brand.

[ogl]

And if you attack people by claiming they're paid to post positive messages, what does it means?

It's wrong impression...But if you like to have such opinion, I can't change it.
The words of man is not the real man. It's just words. If we live in virtual space too long, we can consider our interlocutor
as special image which we create ourself.
It's easy to think about other person with cliché, to pigeonhole and to be blindfolded about him.

We don't see how he lives, what he thinks and how he treats with other people, we don't see his eyes, face, smile, face expression, voice and emotions...
There is also language barrier. The man could use wrong words, for example.

And the main thing - we are not perfect and have our own specifics which hard to see inside forum words.
We can be in different mood when we write and read forum's texts.

We create the image of unknown man from his words only... Is it right way?
No any laws and rules here - the real life could be absolutely different.

I contacted with one girl by Skype for some time as friends only, and she thinks about me in no good way..
But, we met one day. She was from other city and I came to this city for business trip (and to see her, of course).
And she was impressed. She said - you are different. Even Skype lies.

[SoftwareArtifex]

But the big picture is, If Canon only lost 1% of their profit... is that really that big a deal?

Canon is dooooooooooooooooooomed!

[monochrome]

The production/inventory vs. sales issue is just a visible (and sometimes temporary) indicator of the same problem affecting Pentax as well, and it's simply more visible because of that higher volume. A Nikon or Canon could re-fit themselves into a lower-volume company if they wanted or needed to.

I see nothing fundamental affecting Canon or Nikon that doesn't also affect Pentax - it's just that the Canon/Nikon issues are much more visible.

In other words there's really no scenario in which Nikon or Canon would need to declare bankruptcy or divest/close it's DSLR business that Pentax would survive... at least a Pentax that still sells DSLRs.

Different global economies affect companies individually, dependent upon the different characteristics of the companies.

We really need to understand how Ricoh Imaging (and probably Fuji, but maybe not Sony) differs from Canon and especially Nikon.

You miss the probability that Canon and Nikon earlier invested in Plant & Equipment to meet peak demand, which was 2 years ago, and must still carry the capital cost of that P&E in a lower-volume world. Their business model requires high volume and small margin to make profit. In order to rationalize over-capacity to lower volume there will eventually be a significant write down, which could be especially hurtful to Nikon.

Ricoh seems not to have emulated that business model, instead making do with less P&E, making shorter runs of fewer, more discrete models, and is thus able to stay profitable in the face of lower overall industry sales. I suspect the reluctance to release a FF camera, which Ricoh is clearly able to make, has more to do with other, more worthy products taking precedence in the apparently limited production facilities.

[larcodema]

ciao a tutti dall ITALIA qui fa freddo e il tempo ha causato danni al paese allagamenti e bla bla bla. volevo dire che la cosa più importante secondo me è che la fotografia rimanga il vero argomento anche se io adoro pentax poco impora se CANON O NIKON O OLY O FUJI O SONY VENDONO quello che conta è che noi ci divertiamo poi speriamo che RICOH faccia bene le sue mosse come fino ad oggi ha fatto. un abbraccio a tutti voi marco

[aleonx3]

The production/inventory vs. sales issue is just a visible (and sometimes temporary) indicator of the same problem affecting Pentax as well, and it's simply more visible because of that higher volume. A Nikon or Canon could re-fit themselves into a lower-volume company if they wanted or needed to.

I see nothing fundamental affecting Canon or Nikon that doesn't also affect Pentax - it's just that the Canon/Nikon issues are much more visible.

In other words there's really no scenario in which Nikon or Canon would need to declare bankruptcy or divest/close it's DSLR business that Pentax would survive... at least a Pentax that still sells DSLRs.

Jay, while I agree with you that whatever affecting Canon or Nikon will also affect Pentax.... I think the global production/inventory situation will have more impact on those two company than the smaller ones Pentax or Oly etc. There are so many lines of models that both companies need to protect that they can not simply lower the price to clear the inventory of a particular line, and besides there many sales channels that they have to maintain and keep them happy (rebates), not to mention the manufacturing side of it - facilities to keep. But I don't expect companies to go under, It is definitely rough times ahead for camera makers. As a consumer, I am hoping for getting cheaper price cameras with loaded features.

[quant2325]

Different global economies affect companies individually, dependent upon the different characteristics of the companies.

We really need to understand how Ricoh Imaging (and probably Fuji, but maybe not Sony) differs from Canon and especially Nikon.

You miss the probability that Canon and Nikon earlier invested in Plant & Equipment to meet peak demand, which was 2 years ago, and must still carry the capital cost of that P&E in a lower-volume world. Their business model requires high volume and small margin to make profit. In order to rationalize over-capacity to lower volume there will eventually be a significant write down, which could be especially hurtful to Nikon.

Ricoh seems not to have emulated that business model, instead making do with less P&E, making shorter runs of fewer, more discrete models, and is thus able to stay profitable in the face of lower overall industry sales. I suspect the reluctance to release a FF camera, which Ricoh is clearly able to make, has more to do with other, more worthy products taking precedence in the apparently limited production facilities.

WTH, this is also the problem with almost all emerging markets right now! They have built too much capacity, but don't have enough orders.

Ricoh is doing a lot right, but can't escape a declining maketplace. At some point all our iPhone, Android or whatever will be good enough. It may take 15-20 years, but it will happen. So what can Ricoh do beside be another "Me, too!" company? It is trying to carve out a niche with colors and design, and some of their offerings will be successful while others will flop. It is trying to be a game-changer with the mid-format space. It Ricoh marketed correctly, it could pull it off since the price is 6x less...and that is significant. Soon we will see what it does with a FF.

[FantasticMrFox]

ciao a tutti dall ITALIA qui fa freddo e il tempo ha causato danni al paese allagamenti e bla bla bla. volevo dire che la cosa più importante secondo me è che la fotografia rimanga il vero argomento anche se io adoro pentax poco impora se CANON O NIKON O OLY O FUJI O SONY VENDONO quello che conta è che noi ci divertiamo poi speriamo che RICOH faccia bene le sue mosse come fino ad oggi ha fatto. un abbraccio a tutti voi marco

Oooh, qui in Scozia è piu freddo.

Ma la lingua del questo foro è inglese, la maggior parte delle utente non parla l'Italiano.