[DogLover]

What did Pentax (or fill in appropriate brand name) ever do for me? Well that's obvious isn't it. Can you make a dslr and lenses?

No, but they don't exactly do it as a favor to you. Unless you got it free, they've had all the compensation they could ask for.

[D1N0]

No, but they don't exactly do it as a favor to you. Unless you got it free, they've had all the compensation they could ask for.

But what do the ingrates do? Put a flaming brand name on their products.

[BLACKDRAGON]

Am I missing something here? Lots of people seem to be worried/offended about the Ricoh name being on the back., the colour of the camera body, etc, to the point of wanting to deface the £1100 body of the camera just so the Pentax name reigns supreme. I've been a user of Pentax gear since 1967 and for me it's the best around. But are there some of us treating the K3 and it's predecessors like a Fashion statement, a camera not to be violated with the name of a company that appears to be not only keeping to the essence of Pentax but actually investing, planning and building a better future for Pentax??.
I'm not going to walk around smugly with a K3 when I buy one in the next year using it like a fashion piece and trying to look superior. It's a camera for taking high quality shots, a major step forward, something we have looked forward to for years, but it's still just a camera and a tool. If you look at the K3 it's a great step forward for Pentax, for the camera and for us, while still retaining the quality and character of the Pentax image, The fact that the name of the company that is taking the name of Pentax to greater heights, and for that I say "Thank You" to RICOH, appears discretely on the camera is irrelevant. If they want to stick their name on the back of the K3 it doesn't, for me, take away the Pentax character and essence and in fact if it wasn't for RICOH the name Pentax might well have slowly sunk into oblivion. The K3 is a great camera so let's use it as such and not fret about fashion or keeping the name of Pentax on a dusty pedestal where it had no future. I'll be able to use it with all the old lenses I've collected and when I pick it up I'll grin and think "Yeah, what a great camera" and then start taking shots with it in the hope of getting that perfect shot like I always do.

[Vylen]

Am I missing something here? Lots of people seem to be worried/offended about the Ricoh name being on the back., the colour of the camera body, etc, to the point of wanting to deface the £1100 body of the camera just so the Pentax name reigns supreme. ...

You have pessimists and optimists. The former are worried that this is the start of the Pentax name disappearing. The latter believe this is Ricoh showing their dedication to the brand.

We'll see what happens in a few years.

[BLACKDRAGON]

We'll see what happens in a few years.

Hi Vylen, you're right of course. I would though seriously doubt that Ricoh would abandon the Pentax name due to the almost magical value of a long established quality global brand especially as the present management seem to have their sights set on the future and raising standards using the Pentax image. I think what was irritating me was that here we have a long awaited major step forward with the K3 and there are worries about the Ricoh name appearing in a less than prominent place, the fashionable aspects, the look at me I've got a Pentax [swoon, gasp, admiring glance!!] posing, the suggestions of deliberately defacing an expensive high grade tool because it offends the proprieties of those who want to keep the exclusiveness of Pentax. Me?, I look at the K3 and think "WOW" what a great camera, what an advancement. I see sensors, resolution, great firmware, a well built tough body, the ability to use so many great lenses with even more WR lenses being introduced, controls laid out just as I want them........I see Pentax.

[jatrax]

Lots of people seem to be worried/offended about the Ricoh name being on the back.,

Define "lots"? I don't think it is 'lots' by any means. Certainly a few vocal posters have expressed their opinion that "Pentax is doomed" because Ricoh is on the back of the camera but I don't think that qualifies as "lots". I'm pretty sure all of that will go away once we have production models in hand, because we will have more to talk/complain about. Those who are too offended to carry a camera with Ricoh on it will move to some other brand or resort to extreme measures. Those who aren't will just carry on.

Some may have expressed an opinion that the quality of the image is what should be judged, not the brand on the camera (front or back) and I can understand that. I don't mind being a walking billboard for Pentax, but I can surely understand why some folks might object to it.

If I was going to complain about being a billboard I would start with the fact that I cannot buy a decent shirt at the store without some freak'n logo on it. I don't mind the logo exactly but I'm scared I'll wear a shirt with the wrong logo on it and get made fun of at work............

[BLACKDRAGON]

Hi jatrax, Define "lots"?? Well, I wasn't just confining the word to this Forum as I'm a member of several Photo Clubs and also other Photo Forums and, to be honest, the Fashionable aspects and the "Pentax won't be/isn't Pentax anymore" fretting seems to run through all of them. When someone looks at me and tells me their fashion sense and sensibilities are offended and they are talking about a great camera then, to me, they've left the arena of photography.

Some may have expressed an opinion that the quality of the image is what should be judged, not the brand on the camera (front or back) and I can understand that. I don't mind being a walking billboard for Pentax, but I can surely understand why some folks might object to it.

Actually I don't understand that!!. I drive a Ford and know when it's rolling the brand name is prominently on the back, front, and sides. I buy tools with the brand names on and am quite happy to still use them, in fact in certain cases [like Pentax] i see the brand and I am reassured, even given a bit more confidence. I also recognise that fashion and "statement" issues are important to some people but I find it bewildering that will become seemingly more important than the abilities and quality of the K3. Shirts of quality that I buy don't have brands stuck on the chest, my casual shirts and so on can have whatever they want on so long as they keep me covered!!

[Adam]

Define "lots"? I don't think it is 'lots' by any means. Certainly a few vocal posters have expressed their opinion that "Pentax is doomed" because Ricoh is on the back of the camera but I don't think that qualifies as "lots". I'm pretty sure all of that will go away once we have production models in hand, because we will have more to talk/complain about. Those who are too offended to carry a camera with Ricoh on it will move to some other brand or resort to extreme measures. Those who aren't will just carry on.

Some may have expressed an opinion that the quality of the image is what should be judged, not the brand on the camera (front or back) and I can understand that. I don't mind being a walking billboard for Pentax, but I can surely understand why some folks might object to it.

If I was going to complain about being a billboard I would start with the fact that I cannot buy a decent shirt at the store without some freak'n logo on it. I don't mind the logo exactly but I'm scared I'll wear a shirt with the wrong logo on it and get made fun of at work............

After reading people's comments and seeing their reactions to the news, I would say that the impact of the logo on the back of the camera will be minimal. Sure, some die-hard Pentax fans may be turned off by it, but they're in no way a majority. And even those who dislike it will probably end up getting the camera

[jatrax]

Well, I wasn't just confining the word to this Forum as I'm a member of several Photo Clubs and also other Photo Forums and, to be honest, the Fashionable aspects and the "Pentax won't be/isn't Pentax anymore" fretting seems to run through all of them.

I've seen that as well, but how do you know it's not the same small group posting on every camera forum they can find? Like I said it doesn't matter to me whose name is on the camera as long as it takes my lenses and makes pictures that I like. But I'm perfectly happy if somebody has an issue with it. Makes no difference to me, and like Adam says if the k-3 is good enough even the detractors will likely buy it.

[Pioneer]

After reading people's comments and seeing their reactions to the news, I would say that the impact of the logo on the back of the camera will be minimal. Sure, some die-hard Pentax fans may be turned off by it, but they're in no way a majority. And even those who dislike it will probably end up getting the camera

But a lot will not. I realize I am in the minority but I will wait and see.

[Kunzite]

After reading people's comments and seeing their reactions to the news, I would say that the impact of the logo on the back of the camera will be minimal. Sure, some die-hard Pentax fans may be turned off by it, but they're in no way a majority. And even those who dislike it will probably end up getting the camera

I doubt many of those who are put off by the logo actually wanted to buy the camera. It sounds more like an excuse for an already made decision.

I dislike it, and I dislike the fact that Pentax lost their independence (Hoya's doing) and had to be acquired by Ricoh (apparently, better than with Hoya). But my next Pentax camera will have Ricoh under the back LCD; because what I want are Pentax products, the matter of who owns whom and what's written under the back LCD are trivial in comparison.
Jumping ship won't get me Pentax products, nor Pentax under the back LCD. How's that a solution?

[RockvilleBob]

I say "Thank you Ricoh for introducing a great new camera. A camera that preserves my investment in Pentax K mount lenses and a camera that is second to none in the APS-C marketplace." I anxiously await delivery.

[totsmuyco]

I say "Thank you Ricoh for introducing a great new camera. A camera that preserves my investment in Pentax K mount lenses and a camera that is second to none in the APS-C marketplace." I anxiously await delivery.

During my film days, I’ve never used Pentax. I’ve used Canons and Nikons however; I have always envied people who used the OMs during the 80s to the 90s. Last 2008, after 15 years, I started my journey back to digital photography by acquiring an Olympus E-410 with the standard 2 lens kit. The following year I expanded my system with an E-30, a flash unit and a 35 mm macro only to find out that rumors were flying around that Olympus will kill the 4/3 systems. And yes, 10 years after the E-1, Olympus announced that they will no longer make 4/3 cameras but have provided a solution to 4/3 lens owners through m4/3 specifically the E-M1.
I am sure that the E-M1 is a fine camera. I’ve read the feedback from users and I think the camera will provide Olympus the sales that they are looking for. Yet, I do not believe in investing more lenses for a dead system and only to use adaptors in the future when my cameras need replacement. Plus, to fully appreciate the OMD cameras, one needs m4/3 lenses. Olympus lenses are so expensive and if I would compare pumping money into a new OMD system versus investing into a Pentax system I would say you save more on the latter.
Photography for me is both a hobby and an investment. I believe that a system must provide growth to its users. I’m just glad to see that the K mount has been here for years and will still be used in the future. I don’t know about you guys but, as a new Pentax user I really don’t mind having the name Ricoh at the back of the camera as long as my investment will allow me to grow into it through the years. I would still say thanks for improving the system. I hope I can afford to upgrade my system in the future.

[monochrome]

My company was bought by another. For a few years we had both names in our public brand. Then most of the best legacy sales and management professionals went to other Firms, leaving only the best of the acquiring company and the remaining people from mine.

Naturally, since the weight of employees was then heavily skewed to the acquiring company, we dropped my old company name from the brand - what would be the point of keeping it?

Guess what happens if every legacy user leaves Pentax because there is a small, 5-letter word on the LCD?

[Kunzite]

Guess what happens if every legacy user leaves Pentax because there is a small, 5-letter word on the LCD?

As in "we would hate the Pentax name to disappear, so let's make it happen"? Pentaxians are strange...