Originally posted by Kunzite It might not be exactly the same, but there are many similarities. Lumix is a Panasonic brand. Pentax is a Ricoh brand. Panasonic writes Lumix on their cameras. Ricoh writes Pentax on their cameras. Panasonic writes the company name on their Lumix cameras. Ricoh wrote once the company name on a Pentax camera. Lumix users are fine with that. Pentax users are in despair, the sky is falling and the brand dead and buried; wait, that's a difference
As a base line comparison in the simplest of terms, ignoring the individual histories of all corporate
identities mentioned, you are correct: Ricoh and Panasonic are, (at present), company names and
Pentax and Lumix are, (at present), brand names.
Originally posted by Kunzite Sony... that's a different story, and there are more differences than the Panasonic/Lumix. One important difference was that Sony didn't had the right to use the Konica-Minolta brand. Another - we're in agreement that Sony (or Samsung for that matter) would never accept to promote a prominent brand like Pentax. They killed the NX brand because it was too "strong", right?
Sony is indeed a different beast. They are the "Beast". I'm sure they would slap "Sony" on a Leica and
call it their own if they ever had the chance.
As for Panasonic, (a company I do like a lot, FWIW), I think they took the conservative approach. They
entered the camera field slightly more than 10 years ago with no prior experience and no public attachment
to the name Panasonic as a camera maker. If Lumix succeeds, they can elevate awareness that Panasonic
is behind the reigns. If Lumix fails, they can downplay the Panasonic name and not have the stigma trickle
back on their other, more established markets. Different approach for different folks.
As for Pentax under Ricoh's stewardship: I'm excited. I think the Pentax legacy is in better shape now than it
has been since the late '70s / early '80s. I have no personal desire to see the name 'Pentax' go away but
it's far more important to me that the core values of Pentax remain irrespective of the the badge on the
camera. I'm just predicting what I see: Ricoh is progressively edging the name "Pentax" to the margins.
It's not difficult to follow the dots and draw the picture.
Don't forget that Ricoh, unlike Panasonic, does have a long history as a camera maker.