[drfishfinder]

BS"D

FUD- Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt I have been a Pentax user since my Father(zt"l) helped me buy my Spotmatic 35mm equipment. When I went digital for my serious imaging my first DLSR was, a K10. It works great and I still use it often. Then I got a K7, I still prefer my K10 but I spend more time with my K7 for the higher image quality and other features. I wish my K7 had the remote software that I use with my K10 and cannot use with the K7 because Pentax decided not to make it compatible.

Now for the FUD, Ricoh is a copier company then they added printers. neither of those products would I ever buy. Now they have acquired the camera company I love for over 40 years what is going to happen. Will the lousy service and lack of innovation of Ricoh creep or run into Pentax and will i have to start looking for a new camera company to continue my digital growth.

Pentax just came out with an affordable 40 Megapixel system I am now going to wait to buy it because of this change of ownership. My big question is do i start saving for a Hasselblad or will the transition keep Pentax growing and innovating?

The FUD could cause me to rethink my direction with all my digital purchases in the near future and later cause me to jump ship altogether. I would like to hear from other long time users what are you thinking about and then going to do in both short and long term.

As we all know, keeping up with the latest technology in this business is not easy due to costs of both hardware and software. FUD is not what I needed now.

[Vylen]

Ricoh have made cameras before. Both film and digital. They've even made lenses for K-mount.

I don't really think there's anything to worry about.

And I don't see how Pentax being owned by Ricoh will change the fact the Pentax 645D is the "Best Professional DSLR" (TIPA 2011).

[RioRico]

FUD? I thought you were talking about the Mexican hot-dog company.

[Karl Stevens]

Ricoh is a copier company then they added printers.

Actually, Ricoh was a camera company, then they added other imaging products.

They've been making cameras since 1936 - the year the company was founded. They didn't start with office equipment until 1955.

Claiming that they're a "copier company" would be like saying that Pentax is a "medical equipment company".

[tuco]

BS"D
...
Pentax just came out with an affordable 40 Megapixel system ...

I guess that's relative.

[reeftool]

There are always questions to be asked when a company changes hands. As a plus, Ricoh wants to extend their offerings in the camera line and buying Pentax was probably a smart move. They could have easily spent nearly as much in R&D to develop a DSLR line with no certainty of success. Pentax is firmly established with a good, competitive line of DSLR's and lenses. I think Ricoh got a good deal. It's well known that shareholders and the board of directors weren't happy with the Pentax purchase so this sale was going to happen sooner or later anyhow and better it should go to a company who intends to build up their camera line.

I think the big question is what is going to happen down the road. Will Ricoh make big changes in the product line that might affect compatibility with our current gear? If I was seriously thinking of laying out thousands for a 645D system, I would be asking the same question. All anybody can do is speculate right now. The deal isn't even a done thing until October and who knows what might happen in the meantime. If you haven't read, Hassy also got sold last week so looming questions exist there also.

A hard reality to also consider is our current DSLR's are for the most part disposable electronic products with a likely life span of about 5 years. The more important question is whether or not the K mount will be around. Ricoh built K mount film cameras so they're in familiar territory. Whether or not they abandon it is really a wait and see. Most of us have far more invested in lenses than camera bodies. Our DA lenses without the aperture ring will be pretty much useless without a K mount body with the proper contacts to mount them on. I'm kind of optimistic myself. I thing Ricoh is going to make a good try of this deal.

[Ratmagiclady]

Well, I haven't been following things, but it remains to be seen whether or not Ricoh will provide just what this brand has needed: more investment, and maybe less 'austerity,' ....I'm not *too* concerned of if they take more of a hand in the brand direction: the cameras they're making as it is seem to be anything but cheap or heavily-amateurish. I'm not so scared that way.

I definitely hope they wouldn't bring a sudden end to the K-mount or stop developing the DSLR line: that just seems unlikely anyway, why buy Pentax at all if that was the plan.

Looks like it's going to be some time before I'm in the market for new gear, myself, so as usual I may as well just wait and see.

[monochrome]

Ricoh is an optics company much like Canon and Hoya - in fact, Ricoh's business structure is very similar to Canon, just smaller. End-products are irrelevant. Optics rule - Pentax optics rule all.