[cateto]

I agree, the sky is falling, and after reading this my K10D will stop working.

A pity since yesterday I did some good shots in Brussels and planned to do a few more tomorrow. But hey, this is just life.

[reeftool]

I also must add that nearly EVERY company in the WORLD that manufactures ANYTHING is cutting back production and hunkering down right now. This article mentions that many will be retirees who will not be replaced. Pentax took a loss last year. So did everybody else and I bet much bigger ones. It also states that they expect to be profitable by the middle of 2009. If they pull that off it will probably make Pentax the only camera company making money.

Could Pentax go under? Sure, but so could Canon or Nikon. Being bigger doesn't mean much these days. The old saying "the bigger they are the harder they fall" rings very true right now. It's the BIG companys that are failing. GM, AIG, Citi, etc. Hoya is reorganizing the management structure of Pentax in a way they think will make the company profitable. They are NOT shutting down factorys which means they are probably selling what they produce, they just aren't making money and price increases aren't an option right now.

[mattdm]

And what, your K20D will suddenly not work for you?

By the way, welcome, to a fellow Bay area Pentaxian!

I agree, the sky is falling, and after reading this my K10D will stop working.

A pity since yesterday I did some good shots in Brussels and planned to do a few more tomorrow. But hey, this is just life.

Oh, here we go again....

[cateto]

^ Even in the (extremely improbable IMO) hypothetical case that Pentax just disappeared and nobody purchased its assets (lenses know-how, K mount, camera making, interface, etc), still the K10D I purchased a couple of years ago would still be a damn fine camera for the price, a solid tool to make good photographs that would work for many years and more than compensate my investment on it.

But further: IF Pentax died as independent brand, the worst possibility I can imagine is their assets being purchased by some strong electronics company, Samsung being first in row. Which is exactly what happened with Minolta and Sony.

Do you see many Minolta users unhappy? I do not, and the A900 looks a terrific camera for the price.

So whatever the future holds for Pentax, I'm not worried for its ecosystem at all.

---

Last edited by cateto; 03-18-2009 at 09:04 AM.

[Confused]

In reply to reeftool's comment:

price increases aren't an option right now.

Well, taking into account the recent weakening of the UK £ against the Japanese ¥, a quick check online to my chosen supplier reveals that Sigma's 10-20mm has risen to an eye-watering £399.00, whereas last year it was available for a bargain-basement £289.00. By any stretch of the imagination, that effectively amounts to a 25% price increase, or at least that's what it feels like to me !!

Best regards
Richard

[mithrandir]

Much R & D is being done by niche companies. This reduces cost to using companies by spreading the cost and allows better products for the consumers. One interesting company that crossed my radar lately:
Apical Imaging - Home
Some interesting work being done with curves. Look under Dynamic Range link.

[GaryM]

I also must add that nearly EVERY company in the WORLD that manufactures ANYTHING is cutting back production and hunkering down right now. This article mentions that many will be retirees who will not be replaced. Pentax took a loss last year. So did everybody else and I bet much bigger ones. It also states that they expect to be profitable by the middle of 2009. If they pull that off it will probably make Pentax the only camera company making money.

Could Pentax go under? Sure, but so could Canon or Nikon. Being bigger doesn't mean much these days. The old saying "the bigger they are the harder they fall" rings very true right now. It's the BIG companys that are failing. GM, AIG, Citi, etc. Hoya is reorganizing the management structure of Pentax in a way they think will make the company profitable. They are NOT shutting down factorys which means they are probably selling what they produce, they just aren't making money and price increases aren't an option right now.

Exactly. And why is this being treated like big news? Did people expect Pentax to be the only company in the world to not be cutting back right now?

[vizjerei]

I really like the way Nikkei put as headline if they say Hoya cut 400 jobs as headline, it won't be as dramatic I am sure. By saying Hoya cut half of the stuff, it does make it sounds like the sky is falling

[ogl]

Sony cuts approx.6000 jobs.

Do everybody know that K-m was developed by 3 men?

[dcmsox2004]

what, no stimulus package from our government, i am outraged...

[kolouch]

Our K10D, K20D, etc. will not stop working, but many people needs some future while they are spending money in photo gear. If pentax crashes I don't want shoot with K20D in year 2020, it will be old machine.

[asdf]

I just got my k20d today?

Go out and take photographs.

[Kunzite]

Our K10D, K20D, etc. will not stop working, but many people needs some future while they are spending money in photo gear. If pentax crashes I don't want shoot with K20D in year 2020, it will be old machine.

Well, my K20D is still working - for now. My next camera (not that I need any, but it looks like Pentax will have something really interesting next year) will also work. It won't be my last Pentax camera, btw; in 2020, who knows how my new, shiny Pentax camera will look like?
And I plan to buy few new lenses, guess what - I expect them to work too

[gazonk]

Sony cuts approx.6000 jobs.

Do everybody know that K-m was developed by 3 men?

I read this in FT today:
FT.com / UK - Modest manufacturers provide a sturdy foundation

[OregonJim]

Our K10D, K20D, etc. will not stop working, but many people needs some future while they are spending money in photo gear. If pentax crashes I don't want shoot with K20D in year 2020, it will be old machine.

Blah. I'm still shooting with a 50-year-old Spotmatic, a 33-year-old K1000, and a 30-year-old ME Super. Even if Pentax disappeared today, there's enough gear on the used market to keep me happy for the rest of my life. Even my *istDL will still be producing great images in 2020 (assuming it doesn't break). No worries.