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07-04-2018, 03:50 PM - 1 Like   #481
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QuoteOriginally posted by newmikey Quote
... Pentax isn't even a company, it is a brand name ...
First, let me say I do understand that Pentax is not a company operating on its own and that Ricoh owns Pentax.

However, I think Pentax is more than just a brand name. There is cohesion to Pentax and whatever they churn out is the result of a coordinated effort.. such as that effort may be.

Now, KODAK is simply a brand. There is no Kodak mothership and Kodak is found plastered on various stuffs produced by completely unrelated companies. These companies have paid for the privilege to use the Kodak name/brand on their product.

Although it may not be technically correct, Pentax seems more like a division or business unit of Ricoh. If either division or BU is technically correct then I think calling Pentax a simple brand underplays what 'Pentax' is and especially compared to 'Kodak'. If Pentax is neither division nor BU, it is certainly more than Kodak and there ought to be some way to refer to the Pentax entity other than with the same term that describes Kodak...

+ since this thread is, or may be, no longer safe for work : Kodak is like a traveling companion for hire while Pentax is the brand to take home to meet the parents. It just aint right to use the same descriptor for both Kodak & Pentax :^|


Last edited by Tan68; 07-04-2018 at 03:55 PM.
07-05-2018, 01:59 AM   #482
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QuoteOriginally posted by Tan68 Quote
+ since this thread is, or may be, no longer safe for work : Kodak is like a traveling companion for hire while Pentax is the brand to take home to meet the parents. It just aint right to use the same descriptor for both Kodak & Pentax :^|
So what you're saying is that Kodak is a hooker where Pentax is just a golddigger engaged in serial monogamous relationships?

Please, everybody, get some sense of relevance and proportionality into this discussion. I have used Pentax cameras for nearly 45 years, the last 12 of which spent on the digital side. I have (and still do) owned other cameras as well. This is not about being precious about whether a nameplate indicates a company, brand, division or anything else. Just like with cars, one just uses the brand that happens to fit one's requirements at any given time, rethinking the whole thing the next time a purchase comes in sight.

I loved Saab when they were still an independent Swedish car manufacturer, they even kept making decent cars when the brand was sold off to GM and following that, to an independent entrepreneur who eventually ran it into the ground. No earth-shakes resulted, the world just shrugged and continued doing what it does best. Not saying Pentax is like Saab but the overall similarities do exist.

Even one of my previous employers got delisted from the Dow Jones, a company which stood at the basis of that very index and had been a major industrial force for over 120 years, now selling off divisions like crazy.

Nothing lasts forever and life goes on...
07-05-2018, 02:14 AM - 1 Like   #483
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QuoteOriginally posted by Tan68 Quote
First, let me say I do understand that Pentax is not a company operating on its own and that Ricoh owns Pentax.

However, I think Pentax is more than just a brand name. There is cohesion to Pentax and whatever they churn out is the result of a coordinated effort.. such as that effort may be.
Spot on!
When Ricoh acquired Pentax Imaging Systems from Hoya, they merged it with their own camera division - Pentax Imaging Systems being the larger, more important entity who absorbed the smaller one. The net result, what we perceive as "Pentax" continues. The brand, the products - now with cameras like the K-1 and lenses like the new D FA*s.
It's not exactly like people using Hasselblad, not DJI medium format equipment but not that far off either.

Let's not forget that Pentax was, at the beginning, "not a company but a brand name" - a brand of Asahi Optical. When their "golden years" happened.
07-05-2018, 02:14 PM - 1 Like   #484
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I don't know if this has already be said, but I think Pentax at the moment is lacking a "cheap" DSLR.

I'm talking in the price range of 500 with a kit lens and probably a FF at around 1K also with a kit lens.

So probably people instead of going for a D3300, with some good marketing they'll choose the Pentax entry-level.

07-05-2018, 02:27 PM - 2 Likes   #485
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Nonsense that Pentax is just a brand name. Ricoh did not just buy the right to the use of the Pentax name, but the products, patents, workers and factories and distribution channel. Pentax got a new owner in Ricoh.
07-05-2018, 03:08 PM   #486
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QuoteOriginally posted by Pål Jensen Quote
Nonsense that Pentax is just a brand name. Ricoh did not just buy the right to the use of the Pentax name, but the products, patents, workers and factories and distribution channel. Pentax got a new owner in Ricoh.
Exactly. The DNA from my 67 through MX through K7 to K-1ii and KP is clear and can be felt in the hand.
07-05-2018, 03:21 PM   #487
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QuoteOriginally posted by dekc Quote
I don't know if this has already be said, but I think Pentax at the moment is lacking a "cheap" DSLR.

I'm talking in the price range of 500 with a kit lens and probably a FF at around 1K also with a kit lens.

So probably people instead of going for a D3300, with some good marketing they'll choose the Pentax entry-level.
Not the clientele that Ricoh are looking for. Pentax is climbing the market tree with best in class build and core imaging functionality, more recently beginning to flex their optical muscles with state of the art and equal to best in class optics such as the HD PENTAX DFA*50/1.4. I'm beginning to see a trend where Pentax are looking for about €2k to €3k a year to keep current. 2018, K-1 upgrade and the aforementioned 50 is about €1,700, 2017 a lot would have put down €2k catching up with the zooms while 2016 would have been the K-1 and a zoom. Next year will be the DA*11-18/2.8 and the K-3 replacement (so about €2,500) DFA*85/1.4 (let's say €1,750) and announcement of the DFA*35/1.4 (guessing at €1,500).

07-05-2018, 03:29 PM   #488
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QuoteOriginally posted by robbiec Quote
Not the clientele that Ricoh are looking for. Pentax is climbing the market tree with best in class build and core imaging functionality, more recently beginning to flex their optical muscles with state of the art and equal to best in class optics such as the HD PENTAX DFA*50/1.4. I'm beginning to see a trend where Pentax are looking for about €2k to €3k a year to keep current. 2018, K-1 upgrade and the aforementioned 50 is about €1,700, 2017 a lot would have put down €2k catching up with the zooms while 2016 would have been the K-1 and a zoom. Next year will be the DA*11-18/2.8 and the K-3 replacement (so about €2,500) DFA*85/1.4 (let's say €1,750) and announcement of the DFA*35/1.4 (guessing at €1,500).
This looks about right. The idea that a company had to have a broad price range stems from the gogo days of everyone wanting a dslr. That is gone for good. Now it is a much more limited number of people wanting the best they can afford and cheap dslrs are unlikely to have a large audience. Sony has its own unique way of covering that by keeping old cameras in the line but even that will eventually play out. KP is probably going to eventually be the level of "inexpensive Pentax"
07-05-2018, 03:34 PM   #489
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QuoteOriginally posted by Mikesul Quote
This looks about right. The idea that a company had to have a broad price range stems from the gogo days of everyone wanting a dslr. That is gone for good. Now it is a much more limited number of people wanting the best they can afford and cheap dslrs are unlikely to have a large audience. Sony has its own unique way of covering that by keeping old cameras in the line but even that will eventually play out. KP is probably going to eventually be the level of "inexpensive Pentax"
and right now the K-70 is close to the arbitrary $500 requirement - the $500 cameras aren't WR.
07-05-2018, 04:34 PM   #490
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QuoteOriginally posted by reh321 Quote
and right now the K-70 is close to the arbitrary $500 requirement - the $500 cameras aren't WR.
It is that price because it has been around quite awhile. The test will be if they issue a direct replacement for the K70 level cameras.
07-05-2018, 06:44 PM   #491
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Thank you for posting this - and now that some time has gone by, about how many weeks need to go by before the opinion piece hits their online site? Did you mention the full actual title of the piece?, it could ease future searches Thanks

QuoteOriginally posted by TheGrandPrixKid Quote
Amateur Photographer a well respected weekly photo news and review publication in the UK has just Predicted end Pentax and K1ii likely to be it's last new Camera. Article written by Andy Westlake who is Technical Editor and a former DPReview reviewer, wrote that the slow down in the release of new lenses, camera bodies and Ricoh's reluctance to enter the mirrorless market will lead to the demise of Pentax due to lack of research and development. He says quote "Pentax isn't even a company in its own right any more" pointing to Pentax just being a brand name used by Ricoh. At the end of the article he says "it will be a real shame to see Pentax disappear, but the Pentax K1 mark ii would be a fitting last hurrah"

Although we've all read the writing is on the wall for Pentax in the past it has been easy to dismiss. But to read an article by a respected publication, by a knowledgeable and respected photojournalist is a bit more concerning than random stories from the mass online media. Anyone else read the article or have any thoughts?
07-05-2018, 06:52 PM - 2 Likes   #492
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QuoteOriginally posted by dekc Quote

So probably people instead of going for a D3300, with some good marketing they'll choose the Pentax entry-level.
Chasing the low end is disastrous in this market, Dekc!

Canon, Nikon and Sony are desperately trying to get out of it.

Penny pinchers buy a D3300, leave the kit lens on it with the hood backwards, don't buy another lens, can't get anywhere with their photography and just use their phone from then on.



07-05-2018, 10:47 PM   #493
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QuoteOriginally posted by normhead Quote
We really just need to burn down DPR wherever it is. They are breeding and spreading to other magazines like pink eye. So far no inoculation is available.

Every time I read the words DPR these days I feel dirty and spend hours in the shower trying to wash it off.

Reading a DPR review of cameras you actually own and use causes PTSD. It's like they do everything imaginable to try and make you angry, depressed and ready to jump off a bridge. They assault Pentax and Pentax users, who they consider to be in need fo "saving", with themselves as the appointed "saviours."

The trouble with "self appointed saviours" is they'll lie so they can take your money.

DPR is desperate. They need some clicks.

I predict Amateur Photography dies before Pentax does.
Very Funny ! Don't Feed The DPR Trolls....lol.

---------- Post added 07-05-18 at 22:54 ----------

QuoteOriginally posted by bertwert Quote
A pack of Pentaxians?
How about A "Plethora of Pentaxian's" ?
07-06-2018, 12:47 AM   #494
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QuoteOriginally posted by Pål Jensen Quote
Nonsense that Pentax is just a brand name. Ricoh did not just buy the right to the use of the Pentax name, but the products, patents, workers and factories and distribution channel. Pentax got a new owner in Ricoh.
I do think that is true. Just Ricoh should have changed a lot more in the company. Pentax was run as a tech-geek company. So Ricoh should have installed a new management, a new team for sales, a new team for social media. Leaving the Pentax people run Ricoh-Imaging made it look out of date in todays world.
07-06-2018, 01:02 AM   #495
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QuoteOriginally posted by clackers Quote
Chasing the low end is disastrous in this market, Dekc!

Canon, Nikon and Sony are desperately trying to get out of it.

Penny pinchers buy a D3300, leave the kit lens on it with the hood backwards, don't buy another lens, can't get anywhere with their photography and just use their phone from then on.
Not so wrong
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