Originally posted by THoog I was thinking along those lines, but I guess the relevance depends on how you view the relative merit of the two camera brands. Some seem to feel that the Ricoh name would diminish the value of the Pentax brand, but to be brutally honest, the Pentax camera brand had become sickly enough to be the unwanted cast-off of a medical imaging business acquisition. Sure, Pentax means a lot to us, but extinction or assimilation were not far away - and it didn't sound like a lot of companies were interested in assimilating Pentax.
That's exactly my thinking. I'm rapt that a large successful company has taken on the brand, and I've been able to buy a very good camera which I can use my 1970s SMC50/1.2 on.
If future cameras have Ricoh or something else on the front of them rather than Pentax I will get over it. As many have commented though, it is unlikely that Ricoh will drop the Pentax name because it is a recognised brand and is probably worth a bit more than Ricoh is in camera circles.
Don't get me wrong, I'm a Pentax tragic from way back. My first was a second hand K2 which I bought back in about 1983 (for $200 AUD including the above mentioned lens in as new condition). If the Pentax brand disappeared I would be disappointed, but I would get over it. As long as someone keeps supporting the Pentax K mount I will be happy.