[Blue]

Ricoh's compact digitals seem to have a good reputation.

I just hope Ricoh lets Pentax make a FF so I don't have to buy one from Sony!

Sony is in pretty bad shape overall based on their financial reports. So is Fuji. They both report losing over $400 million in 2010.

[Francis]

What these companies need to do is convince people that they:
a) Need more than one (expensive) model of theirs
b) Need several (limited) lenses
c) Need all the accessories they can carry along

i.e. Marketing/Advertising

The thing is that cameras CAN last almost forever and if a normal consumer has one, it is difficult to convince him/her to buy another unless they get something they feel they need, that isn't in their current model.

[SteveM]

Pentax won't die. I think it will serve several corporations before it is finally put to death. And maybe never put to death. Loosing money is important to large company's. Buy that I mean a way to exaggerate the bottom line in regards to the profitable divisions.

"Loosing money is important to large company's."

Answer - you mom is calling....you need to clean up your room.

"Buy that I mean a way to exaggerate the bottom line in regards to the profitable divisions."

Answer - Yes, tell the government you've lost money the send out the quarters financials........grade 2 style. Then go to jail for fraud.

Thanks!

[Eriol]

Ricoh to buy Hoya's Pentax camera business-sources

Is this old news?

To me this acquisition sounds great. Actually, Ricoh has a longer tradition and experience in consumer photography, and they also had a quite decent SLR business with some fine cameras and lenses. My first SLR was a Ricoh KR-10 super and I loved it a lot.

I assume (and this is what Ricoh sais if understand it correctly) that Ricoh will keep the SLR business under the brand name Pentax and hopefully they also keep the Pentax engineers and researchers in this business unit. On the other hand, the consumer-oriented non-SLR camera segments will probably be merged under a brand name "Ricoh" - we'll see.

Hoya fortunately did not severely touch the R&D side of Pentax camera business - this made it possible for Pentax to develop some fine cameras like the K-x, K-7, K-r and K-5 (not to forget the 645d!) under Hoya's reign; the marketing was the bigger problem IMHO. Let's hope that Ricoh will keep up the brand name and quality, and acknoledge the current camera models rather than doing a break here and start it all over again.

I think the Pentax Q was already developed in view of this acquisition, and Ricoh will probably not keep their own full product range (GXR ...).

Eriol

[séamuis]

I think the Pentax Q was already developed in view of this acquisition, and Ricoh will probably not keep their own full product range (GXR ...).

I really doubt the GXR platform will be going anywhere soon. I'm actually quite optimistic as to how the GXR system will grow now that Ricoh has Pentax under its wing. I will be watching the GXR system very closely from now on.

[cbaytan]

I read all the post I guess I couldn't see the question I expected, so here it goes, wasn't that the Ricoh tried to make an FF camera with ?Siemens? sensor and they doomed all the dSLR business and shot down the production? If I remember correctly? Or was it Konica-Minolta?

[detritus]

"Loosing money is important to large company's."

Answer - you mom is calling....you need to clean up your room.

"Buy that I mean a way to exaggerate the bottom line in regards to the profitable divisions."

Answer - Yes, tell the government you've lost money the send out the quarters financials........grade 2 style. Then go to jail for fraud.

Thanks!

i like this reply.

and just to add, losing money can be packaged as something good under some circumstances - to reduce the tax bill, to take a one-time charge to clean up the books, to help some poor CEO keep his job.

but no one would go out of their way to lose money if they can spend the same effort to actually make money

which is what all rational business entities do, be it pentax, hoya or ricoh.

[JohnBee]

BTW there's an official announcement stating that the Pentax name will be preserved by both companies: Ricoh to acquire HOYA's PENTAX Imaging Systems Business / News Release | Ricoh Global

[falconeye]

BTW there's an official announcement stating that the Pentax name will be preserved by both companies: Ricoh to acquire HOYA's PENTAX Imaging Systems Business / News Release | Ricoh Global

BTW, that's info from a thread I created to help people understand if the PENTAX brand name will now die. It will not!

-> https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-news-rumors/150827-facts-about-pen...der-ricoh.html

I thought, making it a new thread makes this important info stand out more. For all people browsing this forum to find the answer.

More info I posted in the other thread too:



Ricoh actually posted a PDF:

-> http://www.ricoh.com/release/2011/pdf/0701.pdf

Partial quotes from the PDF:

Asahi Optical Co., Ltd., the predecessor of PENTAX, developed Japan’s first single-lens reflex camera in 1952 and has a long history as a leader in the camera market.

PENTAX cameras are well known for their superior performance in taking natural-looking photographs. PENTAX maintains high consumer satisfaction ratings with its superb lens technology and enjoys strong support from a solid fan base.

The PENTAX lineup has a mutually complementary relationship and little overlap with the Ricoh brand, which focuses on high-end compact digital cameras.

Strengthening the digital camera business
␣ Enhanced interchangeable-lens cameras to meet expected future growth
␣ Expansion of product lineup and interchangeable lens portfolio

Possible entry into the image archiving business using medium format digital cameras

Ricoh mentions Asahi, the Pentaxian fan base, and seems to like both K mount and 645D.

And they didn't buy Pentax for the Pentax Q as this particular product would not be complementary with high-end compacts. Therefore, "interchangeable-lens" must mean K-mount (and/or non-compact mirrorless).

And they seem to be prepared to make new products.

[Rondec]

Perhaps it's better to wait and see just what Ricoh's intentions really are come October 1. Actually, it will probably be more like this time next year. I think that if they were serious about the camera market and the Pentax brand they would make an announcement stating their full intentions. For example, an update of the lens roadmap to show how the plan to increase availability in that direction. There are several designs that are no longer in production that could be put back in production or be redesigned to take advantage of newer technologies. "Flagship" lenses like the 600 f4, 250-600 f5.6, 400 2.8 could be modernized and placed back in limited production. A stated intention of redesigning the SDM system and expanding the use of an improved system would go a long way towards reassuring the user base. Finally, expanding the available bodies would help. Say a body lineup consisting of low end (aps-c like the K-r), mid range (aps-c like the K-5), mid range (FF like the 5D but cheaper), high range (aps-c ala 1DMKIV), high range (FF like the 1DsMKIV), lowrange MF (cut down 645D), and 645D?

EDIT: Oh yeah, add in a 1.4X and 2X teleconverter set with SDM or SDM II passthrough...

I'd say that it will be a little while before whatever Pentax was taking will change. There are new cameras currently in the pipeline -- K5 and kr sequels. Hopefully new lenses that are currently being worked on. I doubt that Ricoh will change any of that right away -- certainly it will take six months to a year before we see the results of any changes they put into place.

On the other hand, they certainly can get rid of some of the secrecy that has been present since the Hoya take over.

[JohnBee]

I'd say that it will be a little while before whatever Pentax was taking will change. There are new cameras currently in the pipeline -- K5 and kr sequels. Hopefully new lenses that are currently being worked on. I doubt that Ricoh will change any of that right away -- certainly it will take six months to a year before we see the results of any changes they put into place.

On the other hand, they certainly can get rid of some of the secrecy that has been present since the Hoya take over.

Personally. I'd love to see a roadmap.
I think this would really help Pentax gain momentum.

Also, an increase in FW activity would really help too.
TBH I'm not very concerned about it all, the K-5 works just fine for me.
However, it would be nice to see Pentax gain stability and market share due to this. God knows they could use some real advertising too. There's just so many areas that could benefit from a proactive development company. I just can't see it getting any worst tbh.

[audiobomber]

As a consumer, I'd love to see a roadmap, but I can understand why most businesses, including most camera companies, don't publish one. A roadmap announces your intentions to your competitors, giving them an opportunity to prepare a competitive response. Announcing a product early is sometimes beneficial, but I would say secrecy and confidentiality are the norm for most businesses, until the product is ready to launch. As a secondary issue, it's an embarrassment to the company and shakes consumer confidence when a product is announced on the roadmap and hasn't appeared several years later (e.g. DA supertele, 1.4X TC, etc).

[uccemebug]

As a consumer, I'd love to see a roadmap, but I can understand why most businesses, including most camera companies, don't publish one. A roadmap announces your intentions to your competitors, giving them an opportunity to prepare a competitive response.

I'm not sure that many of the competitors are aiming at the same space in which Pentax has staked a claim, though. The following quote comes from the Mike Johnston / Carl Weese article that someone recently linked to above (or in another thread). I don't see anyone else putting together a list like this:

I want several more family members. I want an 18mm (24mm-e) f/2. I really want a 23mm or 24mm (35mm-e) f/2, which would become my standard lens for digital capture just as the 35mm Summicron was my standard lens on 35mm film for decades. While I’m at it, I’ll also ask for a DA Limited Standard lens that fills the role of the classic 85mm f/1.8 for 35mm film. It doesn’t hurt to ask.

This portion of the lens road map would seem to write itself....

[fs999]

Couldn't Asahi buy Pentax ?

Because I'm really thursty...

[m8o]

I read all the post I guess I couldn't see the question I expected, so here it goes, wasn't that the Ricoh tried to make an FF camera with ?Siemens? sensor and they doomed all the dSLR business and shot down the production? If I remember correctly? Or was it Konica-Minolta?

Much as this is, I felt compelled to throw my own 'out of left field' thoughts at this.

You probably didn't see that because few here a) probably knew that b) or think missteps made in the past dictates the direction they have to go in the future.

A man with a big gun was once famed to say "a man's got to know his limitations"; works equally well for "companies" too. Sounds like whatever entity that actually was at the time didn't know their limitations. Pentax's recent 3 camera body deliveries has proven their limitations are well beyond the needs of what you describe, and 'failure' is far from 'inevitable' ; that won't stop the perhaps 1/3 of the 'community' here rooting for that [failure] however.

...what side of that line will you be on? [asked of all readers, not just the one I am quoting] That governs something I like to call one's "coefficient of likeability".