[Blue]

Looking at a marketing point of view. If i were the head of Ricoh. I would be looking at slowely distancing my self from Pentax. The name now is just a name. And with better marketing and better camera technology. And only two cameras to choose from. When I had a real winner i would market it as Ricoh-Pentax. And in a few years drop Pentax. As Ricoh would be associated with exceptional cameras. I hope anyway. And with a new name with a first class product it could really market on quality without any one looking back at the problems with Pentax. Personally if handled right. It could be a breath of fresh air for Pentax people. But then again I bought stock in the dot com stock.. And that tanked also.. LOL

Actually, it is not just a name. It is a photographic division which Hoya is transferring to a temporary company to transfer to Ricoh. It has Personnel and equipment. Lastly, the Pentax name is too historical to mash or drop. Ricoh better take a look at the crap-fest over at Sony when the got the Minolta photography unit from Konica-Minolta without the name.

[Kunzite]

Blue: +1

When I had a real winner i would market it as Ricoh-Pentax. And in a few years drop Pentax.

That's exactly the mistake Konica-Minolta made.

[eddie1960]

I'm with Blue and Kunzite here. the #1 reason for the purchase was the established Brand. pretty stupid to phase it out. Sony should have bought the rights to Minolta name for cameras and not just the division, they would have been a couple of years ahead in marketing just from that move alone

[Zygonyx]

Yes.

A good suggestion for RICOH, as i heard the other day that Kodak was studying the sale of it's digital image processing activities : just buy it !!!
That would make RICOH able to create and sale it's own sensors.

[bezuidar]

Ricoh will continue to call Pentax PENTAX !


Good thinking Ricoh! a Pentax will always be a Pentax!!

[eddie1960]

Yes.

A good suggestion for RICOH, as i heard the other day that Kodak was studying the sale of it's digital image processing activities : just buy it !!!
That would make RICOH able to create and sale it's own sensors.

that's one way to guarantee availability on the 645D sensor

[jerryleejr]

Hi folks, this is my 1st post here.

I recently bought back into Pentax after selling all my lovely gear almost 30 years ago. I was shocked to find, a week after I bought my K-5 (the reason I bought Pentax), that Pentax was up for sale. My initial reaction was dismay and regret that I didn't buy a Canon or Nikon, but I've splashed out and bought a few lenses and am praying that the god of G.A.S. (Gear Aquisition Syndrome) doesn't let me down. Hopefully the people at Ricoh will develop the platform to where it should be after all this time.

Wow I am so glad I am not the only one, the difference is I have sold all my gear was looking very open minded at all my options and was about to jump ship to other brands until I found this forum and especially this thread. So unless something happens in the short term I will probably get a K-r and K-5 so me and the wife both can play around.

While you have thought this through and I agree with most of what you said, I have a problem with this statement...



/rant
Many people actually shy away from Pentax because the lower price for features. They feel there must be a problem with Pentax cameras to be sold at the prices they are.

Pentax's entry level dSLR (K-r), is more expensive than the entry level dSLRs from Canon (XS) and Nikon (D3000). But in features, the Pentax K-r compares closer to their mid-range models, Canon 550D/600D and Nikon D5100, and still costs much less.

While I think Pentax prematurely discontinued the K-x and could use a greater range of models, the offerings for both Canon and Nikon borders on the ridiculous. They have so many models that even their own users are confused as to what camera model is right for them. Canon offers 13 dSLR models at this time, ranging from $550 to $7000. Nikon now sells 10 models ranging from $500 to $8000.

Using B&H for pricing the Pentax K-r kit sells for $625. Between the Canon 1100D/T3 and the Nikon D3100 kit at $599, and the Canon 500D/T1i kit at $649. Another forum (Reddit) I spend time on, anytime those Canon cameras are questioned the Canon users say to stay away from those 2 dSLRs and suggest spending more on an upper range.

For the price of a camera with nearly the same features as the K-r, say the Canon 600D/T3i kit ($899) or Nikon D5100 kit ($800), someone could buy the Pentax K-r with 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 DA-L and 55-300mm DA-L kit for $786 and have money left over for the memory card.
/end rant

I would like to see an expanded lineup for Pentax. Maybe a model like the K-5 without weatherproofing to fill the gap between the K-5 and K-r. And then a full frame model, a full frame with weatherproofing, and a medium format without weatherproofing to fill the huge gap between the K-5 and 645D.

I really think the sale to Ricoh is a good thing and have hope for a more aggressive sales plan and a faster R&D to store shelf roadmap.

Thanks Bob you saved me a heck of alot of typing, My first DSLR purchase was a matter of budget as much as I loved and wanted the ist*D I could only afford a Canon Rebel and at the time I had a bit invested in Pentax Lenses but my dad took those off my hands which allowed me to purchase the Canon which was a great introduction to Digital for me and now that I am ready to upgrade I am leaning heavily on coming back to Pentax. Would I like to see a FF offering sure but if not I can make the K5 work until I can get the 645D or equivalent at time of purchase. Who knows by the time I am ready to upgrade again there very well might be the models you have suggested.

JJ