[LaurenOE]

I gotta chime in here and defend Ricoh.

Most know that I am probably one of the most rabid Pentaxians out there.
Initially, I think Ricoh didn't get/understand Pentax much and they were heavy handed in how they dealt with Pentax brand loyalty.

In July of 2015, I think they understand now and haven't done anything like they used to do when they took over. I think Ricoh understands the Pentax brand value and have adopted, and embraced it.

As long as the new FF comes with Pentax on the front and back, I'm good and will consider the matter settled and over, and Ricoh will be 100% good with me.

I think Ricoh is fine how they are dealing with Pentax now.

[monochrome]

When reviewing available lenses and seeing overlap and missing 'standard' length classes one must always remain aware that lenses are often manufactured in large batches and may be held in inventory for years. We don't really know what lenses are in actual production, nor do we know the 'internal' lens roadmap. If we actually knew these plans and inventories our immoderate comments might be better quantified. Unfortunately it is much too easy to beclown ourselves making assertions based on ... ether.

Which, if improperly administered, has a deleterious effect on reason.

[audiobomber]

Zero development of a DFA400 or DFA600 successor.

Those are highly specialized lenses, with rarified sales potential. How much would modern equivalents cost? Standard zooms are accessible to all and sell in numbers and are attractive to people contemplating the brand.

[biz-engineer]

Those are highly specialized lenses, with rarified sales potential. How much would modern equivalents cost? Standard zooms are accessible to all and sell in numbers and are attractive to people contemplating the brand.

That's a good point, and that likely how Pentax marketing think. Of course the sales potential of supertele lenses is rarefied, those high dollars customers are leaving Pentax to give their money to Nikon or Canon (me , not yet, but I know about some of this forum member selling k mount gear of the market place as they are getting equipped with Nikon).

[audiobomber]

That's a good point, and that likely how Pentax marketing think. Of course the sales potential of supertele lenses is rarefied, those high dollars customers are leaving Pentax to give their money to Nikon or Canon (me , not yet, but I know about some of this forum member selling k mount gear of the market place as they are getting equipped with Nikon).

I read PF and DPR forums daily. The number of "I just bought a Pentax camera" posts exceeds the number of "I'm leaving Pentax" post by several fold. There are people leaving Nikon and Canon too, all the time.

I'm not worried about it. I think Ritax is well placed, they just need to get the FF launched with a few lenses, then a MILC with Pentax AF adapter.

[jatrax]

(me , not yet, but I know about some of this forum member selling k mount gear of the market place as they are getting equipped with Nikon).

I know quite a few that have posted "just sold my Nikon gear and bought a Pentax". I think your concerns were valid about 5 years ago. You don't like Ricoh, fine we get it, but I do not think your opinion is shared by many who have been here through the Hoya years. The difference is dramatic and positive.

I'm sorry but I just don't understand your issue. You don't like Ricoh because they are not developing a 400mm or a 600mm prime? (How do you know they are not? Posters that have been reliable in the past say "2016 is year of primes") Or because they have their own camera line? (I don't think a GR takes anything away from a DSLR) Or because they have added new lenses to the list? (What's is wrong with filling out the lens map?) Or because they brought out a new coating? (It's better than SMC, and is competitive with what the other brands are using) Or because they have lenses that overlap focal lengths? (You do realize you only have to buy the things that make sense for you, not everything they make?)

Ricoh marketing said himself in an interview that the K-S1 concept was a failure. And as I can see, he was right, from the number of K-S1 users on flickr.

Would like to see a source for that statement from RIcoh. I do not recall reading it. I do not believe Flickr is any sort of source for camera popularity, they are unreliable on adding cameras to the reports.

[johnmflores]

I am ok with Ricoh owning Pentax because they are both two syllables with two vowels. This is of critical importance to my photography. I once submitted photos to my publisher and immediately got an email back, "Did you take these photos using a camera win four syllables?" I was caught using a Panasonic! Never again!

[biz-engineer]

Well, before the acquisition of Pentax camera business by Ricoh, you'd have banned Ricoh products, as any other competitor brand. But now, you say that it's all good. When I see the A7 being bullied, I can understand that Pentax Forums is a pro-Pentax site (as Nikon do not promote Pentax products on their sites). But now, when I see GR or Theta being promoted on Pentax Forums, I really don't understand since Ricoh decided that Pentax would be the brand of high-end dslrs line, and Ricoh products would be the brand of a separate line of products.

[yucatanPentax]

Thank you, officiousbystander, for stating the obvious. (I can't help laughing at the way that reads -- great user name!)

Flickr is not a measure of anything at all. There are many photo-sharing, photo-storage websites around. By default, then, one website is not the measure of anything, because there are other choices and Flickr is not mandatory. Flickr is in fact notoriously unreliable as to many data points. It is a place to store and share photos, not to accumulate accurate data. I don't use Flickr and so all my photos from years of using K100D, K200D, then K30, and K01 do not appear there. That's just one example.

Pentax does belong to Ricoh and so we're going to hear the name Ricoh on a site where Pentax is discussed. I don't get the issue. But I guess a lot of things just whoosh over my head!

[biz-engineer]

I don't get the issue.

You write that you don't see the point because you don't want to see it. The issue is in marketing terms what is called brand dilution. Often in the industry, products are designed and manufactured by the same staff, but product concepts, features, quality levels and pricing, distribution channels and brand names are different. Regarding Ricoh marcom strategy, there was already a fiasco when Ricoh purchased Pentax camera unit, but then they clarified it. How about Pentax Forum?

---------- Post added 20-07-15 at 08:35 ----------

Pentax does belong to Ricoh and so we're going to hear the name Ricoh on a site where Pentax is discussed.

So in this case, Pentax Forum could expand its database with all of the current and legacy Ricoh camera and lenses.

[yucatanPentax]

If this is about "brand dilution," that was never mentioned in your original post.

Brand dilution. Pentax has almost zero market presence outside of Japan. Nikon and Canon have huge market presence elsewhere. Can Pentax get any more diluted outside of Japan?

~ All we are is dust in the wind. ~

Anyway, Ricoh lenses are already listed in the database. Ricoh is frequently mentioned. No such standalone company as Pentax exists. It is a brand name owned by Ricoh. It may rub you wrong to hear about what Ricoh plans for Pentax, but that's just life. There's also the Ricoh Theta. The WG-M1.

I admit I'm puzzled by the whole issue. I don't think it is that I don't want to see it. I think it's that there isn't one. Maybe... Are you just asking if there should be a dotted line on this website somewhere, so that "Ricoh" is kept on one side and "Pentax" on the other? Well... this messy Internet! Curse it all!

P.S. My very (user)name promotes Pentax. I wish everyone would work as hard as I do. Dang it all. Dad-gummed Internet. Phooey!!!

---------- Post added 07-20-2015 at 02:19 AM ----------

Ohhhhh, {shudder}, the horror! The horror!

For Sale: Ricoh GR

Ricoh Lenses - Pentax Lens Review Database

[clackers]

Well, before the acquisition of Pentax camera business by Ricoh, you'd have banned Ricoh products, as any other competitor brand.

Ricoh have been very good for Pentax - FF coming out, for starters.

None of the previous owners had the confidence to do that.

In Hoya's case, it's been argued that cameras were an unwanted aspect of acquiring Pentax's assets.

[Na Horuk]

The question is, who is better, Ricoh or Hoya? Is there another company that would be better than Ricoh? Keep in mind that Canon is a printer company, as well. And Nikon is owned by.. Mitsubishi, right?
I'm sure most of the Pentax tradition, vision, will stay. This means affordable, solid cameras. Small, high quality primes. This is important for Pentax. But we can't pretend that this is enough. Pentax needs some daring cameras! K-01, K-S1! Pentax needs some regular super zoom lenses, and needs some high end lenses that are made according to modern standards (as in, big, heavy, lots of technology in them). If Pentax just sells K-50 and K-3 with DA limited lenses.. sure, it would be enough for a lot of us, but its not enough for the market at large.
So I hope Ricoh will supply some money, some R&D, allow Pentax to expand. And I hope Pentax will not just forget its tradition, its core.

That said, Ricoh products? They are hardly a threat to Pentax. They are mostly P&S cameras and the GR (which has always been a popular camera with a good quality lens, so its not bringing Pentax down at all). The other Ricoh products have little to do with taking photos, many are not even available for sale to individuals. The only part that got me a little worried was when the robust Pentax WG cameras were rebranded as Ricoh. I didn't like that, because those are good little cameras and Pentax was kind of well known for them.

Oh, and not allowing other brands a big presence on these forums is just a defensive mechanism. There are many Canon, Nikon, Sony, Panasonic, Samsung, Fuji, Olympus users out there. They could drown out the Pentaxians on our own forums. This is why posts, discussion, photos here should be relevant to Pentax is some way. Canon and Sony are tolerated, because a lot of them use adapted Pentax lenses, but this is still not a Sony forum. And still there are subforums for general talk and so on. I think the limits are quite sensible. sometimes people just get fed up with some users, who mention their awesome Sony camera in every single post lol but that happens in any community. If someone always talks about this one thing that the others don't even have in common... I don't go on dates to McDonalds and then talk about veganism the whole time I'm there. Common sense, I think. There are other places dedicated for such talk. And in that place, you can still do things, talk, whatever, but there are some limits

[6BQ5]

Good golly ...

1) Does the camera work?

Yes.

2) Does the camera natively accept K-mount lenses?

Yes.

3) Does the sensor in the camera have excellent dynamic range, low noise, and wonderful color sensitivity?

Yes.

4) Does the camera have all the shooting features you need?

Yes.

5) Does the camera feel good in the hand?

Yes.

-----

OK, now that we covered the essentials, we can move on to taking pictures with the camera regardless of make/model/brand/name/label.

[jatrax]

there was already a fiasco when Ricoh purchased Pentax camera unit, but then they clarified it.

LOL. "Fiasco"??? Seriously? If you are talking about 'Ricoh' on the back of the camera that is seriously funny. No one but a few die hards on this forum ever gave a rodents rear end what was on the camera. (Sorry Lauren) And maybe they are just taking turns? Maybe the next camera out will have "Ricoh" on the back.

I do try hard to understand another poster's viewpoint even if I do not agree. But in this case, I just don't get it. The only bad thing that can be said about Ricoh now owning the Pentax brand is that they put their name on the back of the k-3? Sorry, they can put Ricoh on the front if they want to as long as it takes my k-mount lenses.

I really don't understand since Ricoh decided that Pentax would be the brand of high-end dslrs line, and Ricoh products would be the brand of a separate line of products.

Maybe we should have the forum renamed "Ricoh Forums" with a Pentax sub-forum? Ricoh is the company now, not Pentax.

OK, now that we covered the essentials, we can move on to taking pictures with the camera regardless of make/model/brand/name/label.

+100.