[jatrax]

Tochigi plant pictured above had Pentax's camera museum,

Any information on whether this was saved and if it is still within the Pentax family?

[RonHendriks1966]

Any information on whether this was saved and if it is still within the Pentax family?

No it's Hoya's plant.

[jatrax]

No it's Hoya's plant.

I meant the museum. I guess I was hoping that it was moved elsewhere. Maybe I am nostalgic but such things are a part of corporate history and are important to remind employees of the history and values of the company. It would be terrible if it was destroyed.

[RonHendriks1966]

I meant the museum. I guess I was hoping that it was moved elsewhere. Maybe I am nostalgic but such things are a part of corporate history and are important to remind employees of the history and values of the company. It would be terrible if it was destroyed.

That is closed. No idea where the inventory went. It was excessive overhead to Hoya.

[THoog]

Now there's a question for the Photokina interview - and one that they might be able to give a direct answer! "What happened to the Pentax museum?"

If Hoya had sold off the museum collection publicly, I think we would have heard about it. Not that I wouldn't put it past them to melt it all down to extract precious metals...

[jatrax]

That is closed. No idea where the inventory went. It was excessive overhead to Hoya.

Sad, sad, sad. hopefully it went into storage and not the dumpster.

[Daikokuya]

JCII Camera Museum has inherited most of the stocks in Pentax's camera museum.

http://www.jcii-cameramuseum.jp/

JCII stands for Japan Camera and optical instruments Inspection and testing Institute, which is a little bit weird name. But it's Japan Camera Museum in short.

Have you ever visited the CP+? If so, you may have seen some old cameras and lenses exhibited there. They are from Japan Camera Museum which sponsors the CP+.

---------- Post added 08-08-14 at 05:15 PM ----------

Those are photos taken before the closure.

PENTAX CAMERA MUSEUM

????????????????? [?????]?????????by POCHI?? - ???????

?????: 【??】????????????

It looks like Pentax camera museum had not only its own legacy gears but also other brands such as Leica and Rollei. By the way, don't be afraid of clicking the links above which show the sequence of "?". They are all blog posts.

---

Last edited by Daikokuya; 08-08-2014 at 05:20 PM.

[jatrax]

Thanks for posting that!!

[rawr]

I think some Pentax (and certainly some K-mount Ricoh items from the past) may also be on display at the Ricoh camera history section of the Ring Cube in Tokyo. I'm sure I saw some photos of Pentax gear there on a Flickr page somewhere.

[Daikokuya]

I think some Pentax (and certainly some K-mount Ricoh items from the past) may also be on display at the Ricoh camera history section of the Ring Cube in Tokyo. I'm sure I saw some photos of Pentax gear there on a Flickr page somewhere.

You may be correct. Japan Camera Museum says that "most" of the gears in Pentax camera museum were transferred to it. So it's possible that Ricoh now has the rest.

[monochrome]

It appears to still be owned by Hoya, they list it in their locations.
HOYA CORPORATION

Here's an old picture of the factory complex from Asahi Optical Historical Club. I stumbled across this today fooling around re-reading Pentax history.

[mee]

I'm mildly looking forward to the 'The sky IS falling' thread potentially coming late September... well... as opposed to the ones posted this month, last month, and every month for the past 3 or 4 years.

[monochrome]

I'm mildly looking forward to the 'The sky IS falling' thread potentially coming late September... well... as opposed to the ones posted this month, last month, and every month for the past 3 or 4 years.

Well, as I signed, "One way or another, come September this place is gonna be jumpin."

[JPT]

I think some Pentax (and certainly some K-mount Ricoh items from the past) may also be on display at the Ricoh camera history section of the Ring Cube in Tokyo. I'm sure I saw some photos of Pentax gear there on a Flickr page somewhere.

The last time I went there I don't remember seeing any Pentax cameras, but I wasn't looking specifically. That place is really pokey and I don't think they have space to add any Pentax stuff. I think the only reason they keep it is because it's on the main Ginza crossing and it allows them to put billboards of Ricoh and Pentax cameras in the most prestigious location in Tokyo. By the way, if anyone comes to Tokyo, there are a hundred better things to do than go there, so don't waste your time. The Pentax Forum in Shinjuku is more welcoming and has a nice gallery (usually landscape) but it's more of a showroom and service centre and it doesn't have a display of old cameras. Once you know how to find it it's easy to access.

Fujifilm's new showroom in Tokyo Midtown is really nice. It has a big museum section and a gallery with multiple exhibitions going on. It's actually worth a visit if you're in the Roppongi area.

[Alizarine]

the sky has indeed fallen, at least for Google maps, lol