[Pål Jensen]

C'mon...there's being a fanboy and then there's being ridiculous.

There's enough material here for a whole congress to cite Fawlty Towers...

[Uluru]

There's enough material here for a whole congress to cite Fawlty Towers...

Geez, I really don't understand you; do you really want for Pentax and Ricoh brand to be consumer-numb, stuttering, cryptic and utterly confusing? Because that is what they are right now. And you think that is fine and cannot be improved?

[Aristophanes]

The latest K-mount roadmap has no FA 50/1.4.

[c.a.m]

I think Pentax (Japan) has quietly introduced a new product: the X-5 "Digital SLR" with 1600 effective megapixels (click for details). Who needs 'full frame?'

Products | RICOH IMAGING

Is it a language translation issue? Or mass confusion in the basement storeroom?

On the other hand, the Pentax Canada web site (now "Ricoh Imaging Canada") seems to be reasonably legible and presents the products in a clear, navigable manner.
- Craig

[woodywesty]

Is there one person responsible for Pentax USA? Does he have any communication with the higher ups in Japan? Does he live in a cave? Does he read this forum?

I really don't know what to think about whats going on at Ricoh but my fear is that they don't know either. They don't just need a business plan, they need a marketing department! I'm just amazed at the lack of information and confusion as to what their plan is for Pentax. I'll stick with Pentax for numerous reasons partially because I'm not one who is interested in a full frame camera (the 5ll is a wonderful camera) but I would like to know if Ricoh is serious about designing and selling new glass. Now that I think of it... What exactly is Ricoh responsible for designing and building while owning Pentax??? Did they support/direct the design and development the 5ll camera???

Bob

[Pål Jensen]

Geez, I really don't understand you; do you really want for Pentax and Ricoh brand to be consumer-numb, stuttering, cryptic and utterly confusing? Because that is what they are right now. And you think that is fine and cannot be improved?

I just don't find it very confusing and much prefer it to the Leica web page where I can't, with my attention span, find the most important aspect for a digital camera among all the drivel. I'm sure the Pentax web page can be improved though....

[Uluru]

I just don't find it very confusing and much prefer it to the Leica web page where I can't, with my attention span, find the most important aspect for a digital camera among all the drivel. I'm sure the Pentax web page can be improved though....

Thank God. For a moment I thought you were Jim Malcolm.

[6BQ5]

I don't think the "Pentax" name will disappear. LIke others have posted here already, my opinion is that the "Pentax" name has a lot of capital and there's no danger of it going out of business like Kodak. When I was getting my K-30 back in June I was searching for lens availability. I forgot my exact search terms but I found one page after another at some point in my clicking filled with stories of people posting how much they want to like Pentax but Pentax doesn't have the exact desired product. Now, if Pentax doesn't come out with a couple of serious contenders soon then this generation will forget about the name and know only Canon and Nikon.

Pentax could go super upscale. Keep the K-5, K-50, and K-500 for "normal" people and then go upscale with a new series of FF (here we go again! ) and "Asahi" branded lenses. This could be like Chevrolet and Cadillac - all General Motors but different targeted audience. Have a "tight and right" product line, like 9 cameras total and a handful of great lenses. Think Apple. How many products do they have in their line up and consider how much money they make on them.

In addition to restructuring their website, Ricoh is probably doing a lot of internal business restructuring, tax processing, new processes, etc. The website just happens to be the most visible thing to the public and so we notice it.

[Uluru]

Is there one person responsible for Pentax USA? Does he have any communication with the higher ups in Japan? Does he live in a cave? Does he read this forum?

I really don't know what to think about whats going on at Ricoh but my fear is that they don't know either. They don't just need a business plan, they need a marketing department! I'm just amazed at the lack of information and confusion as to what their plan is for Pentax. I'll stick with Pentax for numerous reasons partially because I'm not one who is interested in a full frame camera (the 5ll is a wonderful camera) but I would like to know if Ricoh is serious about designing and selling new glass. Now that I think of it... What exactly is Ricoh responsible for designing and building while owning Pentax??? Did they support/direct the design and development the 5ll camera???

Bob

Corporations are vertically aligned hierarchical structures, where position means "stay there to hold the structure in place", and initiative is perceived as a destructive factor because it moves towards restructure of such a shape.

Thus what Ricoh Imaging USA knows and works, is insignificant because they won't step forward and show any kind of initiative not dictated from above. Jim Malcolm, John Carlson, et al are all more interested to keep their place and not disturb the hierarchy because the world of Ricoh Imaging for them is just that — some goals we end users are not invested in.

Being mostly b2b company, they won't reach out and do something entirely new for you, the end user, something unprecedented, exciting. However, being just partially consumer oriented, they need people like you and me coming in, and briefly listening to our wishes — like they did in recent phone interviews with PF members from the US — which they then filter through the net of already established corporate goals. The net consisting of strategies and goals of different sizes and complexities which may be who-knows-what, because we have no clue about them.

[Clinton]

Stop this whining. There's nothing wrong with Pentax web page.

C'mon...there's being a fanboy and then there's being ridiculous.

And then there is this thread, once again proving that we are so STARVED for information from Pentax about FF, about the Name change, about the lenses, that any nugget of information will cause a 20 post thread to erupt.

Nothing to see here, move along.

[Uluru]

And then there is this thread, once again proving that we are so STARVED for information from Pentax about FF, about the Name change, about the lenses, that any nugget of information will cause a 20 post thread to erupt.

Nothing to see here, move along.

I've just looked through the Volkswagen Group websites.

Just imagine the rage Porsche, Audi, Bugatti, etc. owners and fans would show if the branding exercise went through the same torture as Ricoh did with Pentax?

Why Ricoh don't ask themselves: do people really care about the holding company name? Wolkswagen thinks it would be an obstacle in delivering a clear message, exciting experience.

Volkswagen group had done that same exercise far more efficiently; their Audi website, Bugatti site, Porsche site, etc. don't confuse people like Ricoh does, because there is one message there — either Bugatti, or Audi, or Porsche ... because although being vehicles on four wheels, each of them has a different flavour, style, appeal to different people, with different perspective on life, etc.

[stevebrot]

Hasn't these lenses been available on the Pentax Japanese site for years? I don't think they ever was removed from Japanese market.

My thoughts as well.


Steve

[Nuff]

I think Pentax (Japan) has quietly introduced a new product: the X-5 "Digital SLR" with 1600 effective megapixels (click for details). Who needs 'full frame?'

Products | RICOH IMAGING

Is it a language translation issue? Or mass confusion in the basement storeroom?

On the other hand, the Pentax Canada web site (now "Ricoh Imaging Canada") seems to be reasonably legible and presents the products in a clear, navigable manner.
- Craig

That would be language issue. In Japanese the big numbers are usually counted in "man" 万 it stands for 10,000. So it's only 16mp.

[Quicksand]

That would be language issue. In Japanese the big numbers are usually counted in "man" 万 it stands for 10,000. So it's only 16mp.

Maybe THAT is a translation issue, but no amount of linguistic hand-waving will turn the X-5 into an actual Single Lens Reflex camera.

[c.a.m]

That would be language issue.

Nuff, thanks for that.

I was being a bit 'tongue in cheek' with my observation about the 1600 Mp (it's obviously a 'typo'). However, I wonder if the indication that the X-5 is a "Digital SLR" is also a translation issue - I think there's no excuse for sloppy editing or checking on such an important designation.

- Craig