[ebk]

Well, they're owned by Ricoh anyway. It's not as if the sticker contained all the electronic, is it ?

in the past i was a fan of the Ricoh slr,
in the digital time the fan feeling went away

[mikemike]

No Pentax no sale

If the product doesn't meet your needs you shouldn't buy it and if someone else makes a better product you should buy it, surely you don't blindly buy anything Pentax releases. But if you are in the market for a camera you can take swimming, you will look at the choices and pick the one that might suit you best. They might need to win your business where you would have bought the pentax by default, but maybe they are confident that this product is so compelling that if you complete that evaluation you will buy it.

[Asahiflex]

Changing the name on a box does not change the contents of the box.

I'm not that brand loyal; if Ricoh chooses to rename the Pentax 645D to Ricoh 645D then that's fine to me (because I will never be able to afford one) but if they choose to rename the upcoming K-mount DSLR's (or MILC's) to Ricoh then that's fine to me too. Of course I will miss the Pentax name but I'm sure I'll recover from that sooner than later :P

[Mistral75]

(...)

I'm not that brand loyal; if Ricoh chooses to rename the Pentax 645D to Ricoh 645D then that's fine to me (because I will never be able to afford one) but if they choose to rename the upcoming K-mount DSLR's (or MILC's) to Ricoh then that's fine to me too. Of course I will miss the Pentax name but I'm sure I'll recover from that sooner than later :P

...says the one whose nickname is Asahiflex

I am still missing the Asahi and Takumar brand names...

[thibs]

...says the one whose nickname is Asahiflex

I am still missing the Asahi and Takumar brand names...

They used Takumar only one time in decades, I think it was a prototype of K10 with DA40 renamed to Takumar 40 and the top plate silver retro looking.

[monochrome]

They used Takumar only one time in decades, I think it was a prototype of K10 with DA40 renamed to Takumar 40 and the top plate silver retro looking.

Yep. Other than on about 25,000,000 lenses.

[LaurenOE]

It amazes me that so many folks "pretend" to not care about brand names or the like.
Like it shows some kind of maturity for caring less?

If brands did not matter, then we'd all be buying things in plain boxes and going with whatever generic goods were sold to us.

Since that is not the case, I wish folks that "Poo-Poo" on brand awareness would stop being so hypocritical of those of us who care about "Pentax".

This is "Pentax Forums" not "Generic Cameras We Love Forums".

---

Last edited by LaurenOE; 02-05-2014 at 08:23 AM.

[Blacknight659]

Is anyone happy about the rebranding? At the end of the day I personally like the name Pentax better than Ricoh. I am very grateful for the acquisition of Pentax by Ricoh because I believe it is why we are seeing so much life out of the company. However, I am a little tired of the rebranding. I would be more comfortable is they would choose one name and stick with it. Although if they do choose Ricoh for the name, it will be a bit annoying to have miss matched names on my lense vs my future camera bodies.

[altopiet]

i can't wait to see reviews of the converter.....

[JimmyDranox]

Sorely, Ricoh has a strategy. A very wrong one. A strategy based not on marketing laws, but on vanity.

Of course, they can put whatever name they want. They can brand the camera ''Snail''. But they will not gain new costumers, because Ricoh is not known for young costumers, far less than Pentax. And the people who will see the new WG camera on the shelfs, will think that's a chinese clone camera of Pentax.

I don't take into account my personal preferences, or anyone on the forum. I'm talking about marketing principles that can lift or break a company.

LaurenOE, very good point.

[Zygonyx]

Changing the name on a box does not change the contents of the box.

I'm not that brand loyal; if Ricoh chooses to rename the Pentax 645D to Ricoh 645D then that's fine to me (because I will never be able to afford one) but if they choose to rename the upcoming K-mount DSLR's (or MILC's) to Ricoh then that's fine to me too. Of course I will miss the Pentax name but I'm sure I'll recover from that sooner than later :P

I agree, and a lot of preceeding posters do as well.

I don't really bother about Pentax or Ricoh.

My point is threefold :
- They are not doing what they said when taking over Pentax (about 2 1/2 years ago), and what they said when changing PRIC's name (about 9 month ago),
- They are not clarifying things or product lines (mixing Ricoh with Pentax on K-3 is no good ; changing "only" the brand on WG is no good),
- They haven't really innovated under the Ricoh branding (but for the Theta, and admittedly but to a lesser extent with the APS-C GR)

Don't forget that it is not only OUR perception that counts, but the CUSTOMER TO WIN's , COMMUNICATIONS MEDIA and RETAILER's perceptions.

=> My resumed question is : do you Ricoh think these branding changes and mixes are gonna help you develop your market shares ?
=> My concluding answer is : no, to the contrary.

[gazonk]

Well, let's face the facts: After a good start (classics like the first Optio S models), the P&S division of Pentax detoriated and produced an incredible heap of me-too really bad performing P&S cameras. Even some of the W series models are not all that good, for instance the low light performance of my daughter's W80 is worse than that of my now soon 8 year old W10 (the lens is better in the W80, though).

So I wonder if it's better that customers forget Pentax as a P&S brand anyway, and that Ricoh should focus on the proud DSLR and MF heritage of Pentax.

[LaurenOE]

Sorely, Ricoh has a strategy. A very wrong one. A strategy based not on marketing laws, but on vanity.

Of course, they can put whatever name they want. They can brand the camera ''Snail''. But they will not gain new costumers, because Ricoh is not known for young costumers, far less than Pentax. And the people who will see the new WG camera on the shelfs, will think that's a chinese clone camera of Pentax.

I don't take into account my personal preferences, or anyone on the forum. I'm talking about marketing principles that can lift or break a company.

LaurenOE, very good point.

Yep. I wonder if Ricoh vanity is based in something? Is there a corporate need to mark territory? Is it something Japanese or specific to Ricoh?

In Ricoh's world view, did Pentax somehow rain on their parade in the past and this is "payback"?

Are we, as Pentax users, being subjected to retaliation for being Pentax customers?

Was there some secret cabal where Ricoh engineers were secretly employed by Pentax and now the truth is coming out?

It amazes me how Ricoh is "marking their territory".

[monochrome]

Is anyone happy about the rebranding? At the end of the day I personally like the name Pentax better than Ricoh. I am very grateful for the acquisition of Pentax by Ricoh because I believe it is why we are seeing so much life out of the company. However, I am a little tired of the rebranding. I would be more comfortable is they would choose one name and stick with it. Although if they do choose Ricoh for the name, it will be a bit annoying to have miss matched names on my lense vs my future camera bodies.

It amazes me that so many folks "pretend" to not care about brand names or the like.
Like it shows some kind of maturity for caring less?

It brands did not matter, then we'd all be buying things in plain boxes and going with whatever generic goods were sold to us.

Since that is not the case, I wish folks that "Poo-Poo" on brand awareness would stop being so hypocritical of those of us who care about "Pentax".

This is "Pentax Forums" not "Generic Cameras We Love Forums".

Sorely, Ricoh has a strategy. A very wrong one. A strategy based not on marketing laws, but on vanity.

Of course, they can put whatever name they want. They can brand the camera ''Snail''. But they will not gain new costumers, because Ricoh is not known for young costumers, far less than Pentax. And the people who will see the new WG camera on the shelfs, will think that's a chinese clone camera of Pentax.

I don't take into account my personal preferences, or anyone on the forum. I'm talking about marketing principles that can lift or break a company.

LaurenOE, very good point.

They aren't stupid and they aren't vain. They're doing what their market research tells them will yield the highest profit over the intermediate term. If the Pentax brand had such powerful, magic cache' they would have released the Pentax GR. Pentax doesn't have positive brand recognition any more. It means nothing outside our little community.

Pentax destroyed the brand from the inside all by itself, starting in 1988. Just look at the crappy, ugly, plastic products!! Sure - there was a gem in there every once in a while, but most of the time they exploited their history at our expense. FA-J lenses??? HAHAHAH!! Dealer support?? They should sell us because we're Pentax. I swear, I know 2 retired former Pentax Reps who went to Canon in the 80's and I know why.

Aside from the K10D what has Pentax done in the last 15 years???

The K3. And that's at least half Ricoh.

Hoya merely consumed the entrails.

I don't like it - but blaming Ricoh doesn't do anyone any good.

I do care. Unfortunately there aren't enough people like me left in the world to keep the brand name relevant and marketable, and certainly not enough between 25 and 54. Today doesn't really matter. 2024 matters, when today's 25-44 are 35-54.

Pentax is K-nmount, Q and 645. Forget about Ricoh around the edges. Pentax as a brand is the money shot.

[JimmyDranox]

I do care. Unfortunately there aren't enough people like me left in the world to keep the brand name relevant and marketable, and certainly not enough between 25 and 54. Today doesn't really matter. 2024 matters, when today's 25-44 are 35-54.

Tell this to Apple funs.