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07-01-2011, 09:06 AM - 1 Like   #211
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I'm actually feeling optimistic about this acquisition.
  • HOYA has never handled PENTAX well; it has failed to effectively market its products, even though they are technically superior in some respects to its competitors.
  • Ricoh says that it will use the PENTAX name for some of its own camera products, leveraging the strength of this brand.
  • Ricoh has high-quality camera equipment in the enthusiast compact class and has used the K mount in the past; in fact, Ricoh started off as a camera company.
  • Ricoh is significantly larger than HOYA and has enough R&D strength to accelerate the development of PENTAX technologies to make it a significant player in the camera market.
  • Ricoh also says that it plans to expand the "interchangeable lens portfolio" and develop "value-added businesses such as making it easy to view, save and retouch photos", signalling Ricoh's intent to become a significant player in the consumer camera market.
I believe that this will benefit the PENTAX community as a whole, with a much sturdier foundation for the legendary brand and products to stand on.

--DragonLord

07-01-2011, 09:08 AM - 1 Like   #212
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QuoteOriginally posted by Raffwal Quote
Sorry, but I don't buy that. If you're buying a house and have negotiated the deal for some time, the seller hardly makes significant changes to the house two days before signing the contract without your approval.
+1. Ricoh knows very well what they are buying. I'm sure the board has even seen some of the prototypes at Pentax's R&D Department. The launch of the Q was a very strategic one, planned in conjunction with Ricoh.
07-01-2011, 09:13 AM - 3 Likes   #213
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QuoteOriginally posted by GibbyTheMole Quote
What I absolutely need from the new Ricoh/Pentax:

1) Solidly built, reliable DSLRs at least equal in all respects to the current lineup.
2) The same backwards-compatible K-mount. This is the main reason I went with Pentax in the first place.

What I would like to see from the new Ricoh/Pentax:

1) A little advertising so people at least know they exist.
2) A few stores in the US where you can actually walk in, pick up and check out, and buy their stuff.
3) More of the non-limited lenses, particularly in the over 300mm selection.

What I don't care about:

1) FF. If I wanted a Nikon or Canon, I'd have bought one. Besides, since I shoot a lot of nature stuff with tele lenses, I consider the 1.6x crop factor a plus.
2) Funky colors.
3) What brand they slap on their cameras.

Ricoh has made some very good cameras in the past. I had friends in the 1980s with Ricoh SLRs I would've been proud to own. But just because a company once was a good one, doesn't mean they always will be. Let's hope the folks at Ricoh are smart enough to realize the opportunity they have, and to at the very least, keep a good thing going.
+1 And to your list I would add that most of us would really appreciate more openness from Ricoh toward its customers than we got from Hoya. A mission statement from Ricoh shortly after the deal closes would be very useful. And assuming the deal closes in October as stated in the release, it would be great if we at least got a serious lens roadmap by the end of the year.

Things like this will go a very long way toward boosting confidence on the part of the photo community in general and Pentaxians in particular. And market (and marketplace) confidence is what Ricoh will need a lot of in the first few years of this episode.

In the meantime - and in the absence of additional information - I am prepared to err on the side of optimism. I wish Ricoh and Pentax all the best and I hope they work hard to make me want to remain a Pentaxian.
07-01-2011, 09:14 AM   #214
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QuoteOriginally posted by magkelly Quote
What got me about that first article was the supposed sales figure for last year and the 10th place bit. I thought Pentax was in like 3rd or 4th place behind Canikon and 13% down with all the success of the K-x/K-7? Those figures being down really surprised me. I thought Pentax was doing better, not worse.
I believe the "10th place" figure refers to ALL digital camera sales including the P&S cameras. There are many many more players in that marketplace. However, when you consider only digital SLRs, Pentax is pretty firmly in 3rd or 4th place. I've always thought that being involved in the P&S market sort of dragged Pentax down, mainly because they consumed R&D funds on products with little economic value. Perhaps now, as I suggested in another thread, all of the P&S and compact cameras will be rebadged as Ricoh while the Pentax brand is limited and reserved to the digital SLRs and the K-mount lens lineup.

Mike

07-01-2011, 09:15 AM   #215
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At first blush the thought that comes to mind is "Is the 1st of July
in Japan the equivalent to the 1st of April in the USA?"

Whell, whether it was true or not I gathered Hoya made lower quality filters compared to most of the alternatives when I was asking in 2007, and I ended-up staying away from them and bought competitors. Again, didn't know how true it was being a newb to the field, but I went with what others with years of experience told me. And from that I didn't think too highly of Hoya snapping-up Pentax for that reason. Butthat period brought us some remarkably good cameras, so that has certainly changed my perspective.

Likewise now. When I looked at Ricoh's camera offerings over the years 2007 I'd say "Eh... not very exciting or impressive or anything I'd ever consider buying." Over the years I'd very literally ask myself "how do they stay in business and for how much longer?" And here I can't believe they have enough 'juice' to be the acquirer. But honestly, I don't know much about them and all their other lines of business, so I was looking at them through a very narrow field of view; but never had a reason to look further into them or it.

So all this is to say like with what came out of Pentax's days with Hoya, other great[er] things may come from this. As long as the Pentax name and dedication to the mount does not go away, I'm in a "content to wait and see" state.
07-01-2011, 09:17 AM   #216
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QuoteOriginally posted by GibbyTheMole Quote
What I absolutely need from the new Ricoh/Pentax:
New fantasies of Pentax forums...Nothing is changed. The same dreams were in HOYA time..
07-01-2011, 09:18 AM   #217
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I'm somewhat uneasy about this all, to be honest. but one thing I think that may be very satisfying is that Ricoh obviously saw the camera division as a real opportunity. something Hoya never did. I remember when Hoya bought Pentax and it was all "the world is over". and then most peoples opinions changed when pentax started making hits such as the K-x, K-7, K-5, the finally realized 645D, because they all seemed to give thanks to Hoya. but the way I have always seen it is, Hoya has done very little if anything to realize the brand. they have sunk so little into Pentax and have thus in my opinion done nothing to help the brand during its ownership of the camera division. all the great products have all been uniquely Pentax and I don't think Hoya can have any thanks in that. in my opinion they have only hurt Pentax in the long run by getting rid of people, history and established brand recognition. we all know Hoya was only after the profitable medical division, and we all assumed at some point Hoya would dissolve Pentax. I think moving the camera division to Ricoh could be a real kickstart for Pentax because Ricoh has a genuine interest and willingness to invest in consumer digital cameras. Hoya doesn't. its nice that both companies want to work together to retain the brand name, but that is as we all know nothing more than business. Ricoh is interested in profiting from cameras, Pentax is a camera company at heart. that sounds like a good partnership to me and Ricoh has the capital to make it work if they want to I think. so who knows. ill wait and see, but I do know this will only reignite the firestorm of canikon fanboys bashing pentax, just like when hoya bought them. :/

07-01-2011, 09:18 AM   #218
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QuoteOriginally posted by Asahiflex Quote
+1. Ricoh knows very well what they are buying. I'm sure the board has even seen some of the prototypes at Pentax's R&D Department. The launch of the Q was a very strategic one, planned in conjunction with Ricoh.

I agree! Now just think what might be announce in conjuction with Ricoh finally getting ownership of Pentax in October.

Dave
07-01-2011, 09:19 AM   #219
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QuoteOriginally posted by MRRiley Quote
I believe the "10th place" figure refers to ALL digital camera sales including the P&S cameras. There are many many more players in that marketplace. However, when you consider only digital SLRs, Pentax is pretty firmly in 3rd or 4th place.
EVIL + DSLR market: Pentax is 1.5% of market.
P&S from Pentax are almost unknown.
07-01-2011, 09:26 AM - 2 Likes   #220
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Really, this news is in some ways quite shocking--rumors of Hoya looking for a buyer for the camera business had pretty much dried up. Let's just say, it could be worse. After all, Pentax only sold for $124 million. Pentax costs other camera companies a desent bit of sales compared with that number, and don't at least one of the big companies liscence Pentax anti-shake patents? So any of the big camera companies could have bought Pentax just to kill it and take the patents (and maybe keep the 645D and finally have entry into medium format). Nor did it go to an electronics company that might not understand the needs of DSLR users (to say the least). Considering the price, why did Samsung not buy Pentax? Clearly they could have afforded it. It tells me that 1. they have confidence in their brand name now, and 2. they see NX as the solution--they have no need for DSLRs and for a company that makes them anymore. So at least it went to a proper camera company (at heart). They are rather quirky, but so has Pentax been since the digital switch. Let us just hope the Ricoh camera trends of high-price niche, poor marketing, and poor historical decision making change with this purchase.

Really, this is a great purchase for Ricoh. Or at least, it can be if they manage it right. But they have bought one of the biggest names in amerature/professional photography, one far better than their own, and bought it for a song. They completely got left behind on the digital switch in the camera buisness, and now they have the chance to regain everything they lost. I think it's pretty clear that Ricoh (unlike say Hoya) wants Pentax camera for everything Pentax camera--both the name and the product lines. Ricoh certainly has the money to now make this work, and that they are purchasing Pentax suggests that they want to drop some money now to become a player in cameras again.

The only (and the biggest) question remains how will things work out. Will there be a clash of corporate cultures? Will they be able, for the first time in over 20 years, to be able to effectively market Pentax (goodness knows they havn't been very effective at marketing their own camears)? How much will they care about non-Japanese sales and support? Will they care about lenses? I'm certain they won't drop the Pentax name (it's better than their own), but we may indeed see Ricoh Pentax.

The best thing Ricoh can do right now is reach out to the Pentax community and expain their plans for the Pentax camera division. They have to assure people the K-mount will continue, and so they are safe to keep purchasing. Second, release a lens-roadmap with an agressive schedule of new releases. That will really bolster confidence in the new ownership and future direction of Pentax. This really could be a great devolpment for all of us Pentax users, and I will say I don't think we could have found a better buyer than Ricoh.
07-01-2011, 09:28 AM   #221
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QuoteOriginally posted by audiobomber Quote
Man, I would hate to live life as you do. No new product is good enough, all news is bad news, every new development will lead inevitably to disaster. IMO you should be banned, you've become the resident troll.
Biggest mistake and false impression.
Some of cameras and lenses are really good.
07-01-2011, 09:29 AM   #222
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QuoteOriginally posted by MRRiley Quote
I've always thought that being involved in the P&S market sort of dragged Pentax down, mainly because they consumed R&D funds on products with little economic value. Perhaps now, as I suggested in another thread, all of the P&S and compact cameras will be rebadged as Ricoh while the Pentax brand is limited and reserved to the digital SLRs and the K-mount lens lineup.

Mike
I concur. I recently bought a P&S and eliminated Pentax in short order for a variety of reasons. I hope Ricoh can actually sort through, develop and communicate a niche for each. Then throw in some real marketing! So much potential! Does management have what it takes? It will be very interesting to see how things develop.
07-01-2011, 09:31 AM   #223
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QuoteQuote:
Pentax is the world's tenth largest digital camera brand by shipments, with just 1.5 percent of the market
at that market share and the only real reason hoya bought pentax was for medical equipment, I would say that the only way from here is up.
I have an old ricoh camera which is not as good as a pentax, it was very good for the price.
around this area pentax has really dropped in numbers. the report also says ricoh want to improve on its dslr business which to me means some new blood in the pentax brand.
I think pentax has great products but they need better marketing if they want to move up from tenth place

cheers
07-01-2011, 09:36 AM   #224
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QuoteOriginally posted by macTak Quote
Really, this news is in some ways quite shocking--rumors of Hoya looking for a buyer for the camera business had pretty much dried up. Let's just say, it could be worse. After all, Pentax only sold for $124 million.
By the way, Samsung bought very small Israel CMOS sensor developer TransChip Israel Ltd. (Employees: 33) for 70 million USD several years ago (October, 2007).
07-01-2011, 09:39 AM   #225
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QuoteOriginally posted by stevebrot Quote
Historically, not so.


Steve


(Owner of several Ricoh cameras)
I had to laugh.
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