health of Pentax as a brand.

DougieD · 01-16-2016, 11:16 PM

I'm a relative newcomer to the Pentax brand, so I feel a bit out of place commenting on their business philosophy. But to me, Pentax seems like both a content and creative company. They certainly don't advertise heavily in North America. If at all. Maybe they're satisfied with things as they are.

Pentax makes eyepieces for telescopes. They're highly regarded by amateur astronomers, and fairly expensive. But how many do they really sell? I doubt they make a huge amount of money selling eyepieces. But they keep churning them out anyways...

**Digitalis** · 01-17-2016, 12:03 AM

Originally posted by jimr-pdx

Cameraworld pulled out of Pentax.. I cannot remember why.

That is an unfortunate choice of words..

pentax360 · 01-17-2016, 12:12 AM

Thanks a lot everyone for all your input.
I think after reading everyone's posts, there's no reason to be any more afraid of Pentax stopping production than any other company.

souless · 01-17-2016, 01:10 AM

digging out some aged information
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/38-photographic-technique/33697-buying-pentax-portland.html

Re: Any Pentax dealers in Portland, OR w/K7: Pentax SLR Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review

Not sure if all these info are still valid today....

mikeSF · 01-17-2016, 01:33 AM

Welcome and I do hope you decide to take the journey with us. I've owned 7 different Pentax cameras so far and have no doubt they will be around for many years. Heck, if they turned off the lights tomorrow, people would be using K mount lenses for another 10-20 years. Not to mention the adapted K-mount lenses that are increasingly popular on Sony and other brands. Well worth any risk, IMO. Ricoh is very strong and by all indications believes in maintaining and growing the Pentax line, so that is a good sign.

biz-engineer · 01-17-2016, 02:10 AM

The trend is that Pentax used to develop and maintain a wide range of products: Pentax spot optics (binoculars, scopes etc), weather/water resistant compact cameras (WG), bridges (X5) and a range of entry level (K30/K50/K01) and high-end DSLR (K-5,K-3) and Medium format, and + GR if you consider Ricoh's cameras.

Today, Ricoh+Pentax have reduced to one product line: DSLR FF. All other products having nothing or a slight refresh / redo of marketing offer of the same product.

If the FF sales are enough to feed Pentax folks, will be fine, otherwise, Pentax will classify in history of camera makers.

Cynog Ap Brychan · 01-17-2016, 02:59 AM

Originally posted by biz-engineer

Today, Ricoh+Pentax have reduced to one product line: DSLR FF.

What makes you say that? Please share your source of information.

**clackers** · 01-17-2016, 03:40 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by biz-engineer

If the FF sales are enough to feed Pentax folks, will be fine, otherwise, Pentax will classify in history of camera makers.

Don't know what's happened to you over the last couple of months, Biz-engineer.

You've become increasingly irrational, as if you're having a crisis of confidence.

JohnX · 01-17-2016, 05:13 AM - **1 Like**

Don't forget that photography for most people is a hobby, and it's rare for hobbies to be an investment, so, buy the kit, use it, enjoy your photography. Who knows what prices, manufacturers, etc will be like next year, let alone in 8-10.

RonHendriks1966 · 01-17-2016, 05:42 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by pentax360

Thanks a lot everyone for all your input.
I think after reading everyone's posts, there's no reason to be any more afraid of Pentax stopping production than any other company.

I think this is your answer. In the next years the number of players in camera manufacturing will get smaller. Who will stop or what players will go together no one knows.

On your purchase. The camera body you buy will have no economic value in three years. Depending on the lenses you buy some will lose value over the coming 5 years and some are good for the next 25 years. That is with all brands. So even when the brand you buy today will go out of business, you are still good to go for the next 5+ years and even some time longer. There are enough camera body's to buy in some years to come even when production would stop. On the bright side, you can then purchase some lenses that are now to expensive for grabs.

jimr-pdx · 01-17-2016, 07:34 AM

Samsung folks are feeling this today! The NX1 impresses reviewers and amazes owners, yet the NX mount has been quietly disappearing across Europe. It's still a great camera but owners talk like the cams will all self-destruct (I assume on April 1st?). Lens supplies will dwindle at some point but the cameras will be just fine; I grabbed a gently-used NX300 as my super-Q backup.

normhead · 01-17-2016, 07:42 AM

Quote:

Today, Ricoh+Pentax have reduced to one product line: DSLR FF. All other products having nothing or a slight refresh / redo of marketing offer of the same product.

Did you just say Ricoh +Pentax make one product? Really? Do you proof read your work?
25 years ago Ricoh sponsored my touch football team, in an unknown football league in Toronto. This is not a small company. At that point Ricoh SLRs were history, but Ricoh has a long tradition in the camera industry and used to make Pentax compatable gear. But they also make a lot of other stuff.

Thats like saying GE make one product. Light bulbs.

You seriously need to get back to a neutral outlook here, where stuff you say is actually true. One bad SDM lens and you totally lose touch with reality. That's not healthy.

jddwoods · 01-17-2016, 08:03 AM - **1 Like**

There seems to be a wealth of dealers who stock Nikon and Canon DSLR cameras but not Pentax/Ricoh. Looking at the cameras they are always the most basic entry level cameras and budget zoom lenses. The higher level Nikon and Canon cameras and lenses are just as hard to find as Pentax.

MadMathMind · 01-17-2016, 08:09 AM

Originally posted by johnhilvert

While only about one one in 20 interchangeable lens devices are Pentax these days, there remains a strong disproportionate interest in the brand.

I suspect this is due Ricoh/Pentax making backward lens mount compatibility fundamental to its future. So the market of Pentax users is broad and rather loyal notwithstanding, it is not a top brand purchase these days. I also suspect Pentax users hold onto their gear much longer than other brands.

In the video game world, the nerds would argue about "attach rate," which is the number of games a user buys for a given system. For a while, the PS3 was selling a lot of units but not moving as many games; people were buying it to play Blu-ray movies and use a media hub. That's fine for the user but Sony only makes money on the software license.

It's something similar with cameras. Canon especially sells a lot of units to people who buy the lowest Rebel model kit and never buy anything else again. Canon makes some profit on that but it doesn't really help their bottom line all that much. It's market share but it's not useful market share. When that camera dies or just grows too old, the guy may replace it with another brand since he has nothing keeping him in the Canon system.

There's no way to measure "useful market share," the percentage of your buyers who are repeat buyers. That's the slice that makes the money.

honey bo bo · 01-17-2016, 08:16 AM

Originally posted by clackers

P360, go for another brand if you just want to run with the herd

Go with a cell phone e.g. iPhone Samsung one of the better brands. Many more advances to come for these Swiss Knives. Even Go-Pro the latest fad is oversold - layoffs coming!
Ricoh will be around for a long time with their imaging division but the photographic div only as long as the $$$$profits are there. Same for Nikon , Canon etc. .
Used pentax & 26 million lens will keep the appetite going for some time after the new production shuts down.

01-17-2016, 01:33 AM	#20
mikeSF Pentaxian Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: East Bay Area, CA Photos: Gallery Posts: 6,620	Welcome and I do hope you decide to take the journey with us. I've owned 7 different Pentax cameras so far and have no doubt they will be around for many years. Heck, if they turned off the lights tomorrow, people would be using K mount lenses for another 10-20 years. Not to mention the adapted K-mount lenses that are increasingly popular on Sony and other brands. Well worth any risk, IMO. Ricoh is very strong and by all indications believes in maintaining and growing the Pentax line, so that is a good sign. Last edited by mikeSF; 01-18-2016 at 10:19 AM.

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01-16-2016, 11:16 PM	#16
DougieD Forum Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Southwestern Ontario Posts: 88	I'm a relative newcomer to the Pentax brand, so I feel a bit out of place commenting on their business philosophy. But to me, Pentax seems like both a content and creative company. They certainly don't advertise heavily in North America. If at all. Maybe they're satisfied with things as they are. Pentax makes eyepieces for telescopes. They're highly regarded by amateur astronomers, and fairly expensive. But how many do they really sell? I doubt they make a huge amount of money selling eyepieces. But they keep churning them out anyways...

01-17-2016, 12:03 AM	#17
Digitalis Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Melbourne, Victoria Photos: Gallery Posts: 11,694	Originally posted by jimr-pdx Cameraworld pulled out of Pentax.. I cannot remember why. That is an unfortunate choice of words..

01-17-2016, 12:12 AM	#18
pentax360 Pentaxian Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: OR Posts: 436 Original Poster	Thanks a lot everyone for all your input. I think after reading everyone's posts, there's no reason to be any more afraid of Pentax stopping production than any other company.

01-17-2016, 01:10 AM	#19
souless Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Taipei Posts: 110	digging out some aged information https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/38-photographic-technique/33697-buying-pentax-portland.html Re: Any Pentax dealers in Portland, OR w/K7: Pentax SLR Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review Not sure if all these info are still valid today....

01-17-2016, 02:10 AM	#21
biz-engineer Pentaxian Join Date: Feb 2015 Photos: Gallery Posts: 12,232	The trend is that Pentax used to develop and maintain a wide range of products: Pentax spot optics (binoculars, scopes etc), weather/water resistant compact cameras (WG), bridges (X5) and a range of entry level (K30/K50/K01) and high-end DSLR (K-5,K-3) and Medium format, and + GR if you consider Ricoh's cameras. Today, Ricoh+Pentax have reduced to one product line: DSLR FF. All other products having nothing or a slight refresh / redo of marketing offer of the same product. If the FF sales are enough to feed Pentax folks, will be fine, otherwise, Pentax will classify in history of camera makers.

01-17-2016, 02:59 AM	#22
Cynog Ap Brychan Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Gloucester Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,199	Originally posted by biz-engineer Today, Ricoh+Pentax have reduced to one product line: DSLR FF. What makes you say that? Please share your source of information.

01-17-2016, 03:40 AM - 1 Like	#23
clackers Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Melbourne Photos: Albums Posts: 16,397	Originally posted by biz-engineer If the FF sales are enough to feed Pentax folks, will be fine, otherwise, Pentax will classify in history of camera makers. Don't know what's happened to you over the last couple of months, Biz-engineer. You've become increasingly irrational, as if you're having a crisis of confidence.

01-17-2016, 05:13 AM - 1 Like	#24
JohnX Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: London Posts: 1,116	Don't forget that photography for most people is a hobby, and it's rare for hobbies to be an investment, so, buy the kit, use it, enjoy your photography. Who knows what prices, manufacturers, etc will be like next year, let alone in 8-10.

01-17-2016, 05:42 AM - 1 Like	#25
RonHendriks1966 Banned Join Date: Jan 2009 Photos: Gallery Posts: 9,675	Originally posted by pentax360 Thanks a lot everyone for all your input. I think after reading everyone's posts, there's no reason to be any more afraid of Pentax stopping production than any other company. I think this is your answer. In the next years the number of players in camera manufacturing will get smaller. Who will stop or what players will go together no one knows. On your purchase. The camera body you buy will have no economic value in three years. Depending on the lenses you buy some will lose value over the coming 5 years and some are good for the next 25 years. That is with all brands. So even when the brand you buy today will go out of business, you are still good to go for the next 5+ years and even some time longer. There are enough camera body's to buy in some years to come even when production would stop. On the bright side, you can then purchase some lenses that are now to expensive for grabs.

01-17-2016, 07:34 AM	#26
jimr-pdx Pentaxian Join Date: May 2010 Location: now 1 hour north of PDX Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,897	Samsung folks are feeling this today! The NX1 impresses reviewers and amazes owners, yet the NX mount has been quietly disappearing across Europe. It's still a great camera but owners talk like the cams will all self-destruct (I assume on April 1st?). Lens supplies will dwindle at some point but the cameras will be just fine; I grabbed a gently-used NX300 as my super-Q backup.

01-17-2016, 07:42 AM	#27
normhead Pentaxian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Near Algonquin Park Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 40,451	Quote: Today, Ricoh+Pentax have reduced to one product line: DSLR FF. All other products having nothing or a slight refresh / redo of marketing offer of the same product. Did you just say Ricoh +Pentax make one product? Really? Do you proof read your work? 25 years ago Ricoh sponsored my touch football team, in an unknown football league in Toronto. This is not a small company. At that point Ricoh SLRs were history, but Ricoh has a long tradition in the camera industry and used to make Pentax compatable gear. But they also make a lot of other stuff. Thats like saying GE make one product. Light bulbs. You seriously need to get back to a neutral outlook here, where stuff you say is actually true. One bad SDM lens and you totally lose touch with reality. That's not healthy.

01-17-2016, 08:03 AM - 1 Like	#28
jddwoods Pentaxian Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Newark, Delaware Posts: 1,035	There seems to be a wealth of dealers who stock Nikon and Canon DSLR cameras but not Pentax/Ricoh. Looking at the cameras they are always the most basic entry level cameras and budget zoom lenses. The higher level Nikon and Canon cameras and lenses are just as hard to find as Pentax.

01-17-2016, 08:09 AM	#29
MadMathMind Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Houston, TX Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,717	Originally posted by johnhilvert While only about one one in 20 interchangeable lens devices are Pentax these days, there remains a strong disproportionate interest in the brand. I suspect this is due Ricoh/Pentax making backward lens mount compatibility fundamental to its future. So the market of Pentax users is broad and rather loyal notwithstanding, it is not a top brand purchase these days. I also suspect Pentax users hold onto their gear much longer than other brands. In the video game world, the nerds would argue about "attach rate," which is the number of games a user buys for a given system. For a while, the PS3 was selling a lot of units but not moving as many games; people were buying it to play Blu-ray movies and use a media hub. That's fine for the user but Sony only makes money on the software license. It's something similar with cameras. Canon especially sells a lot of units to people who buy the lowest Rebel model kit and never buy anything else again. Canon makes some profit on that but it doesn't really help their bottom line all that much. It's market share but it's not useful market share. When that camera dies or just grows too old, the guy may replace it with another brand since he has nothing keeping him in the Canon system. There's no way to measure "useful market share," the percentage of your buyers who are repeat buyers. That's the slice that makes the money.

01-17-2016, 08:16 AM	#30
honey bo bo Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2014 Posts: 768	Originally posted by clackers P360, go for another brand if you just want to run with the herd Go with a cell phone e.g. iPhone Samsung one of the better brands. Many more advances to come for these Swiss Knives. Even Go-Pro the latest fad is oversold - layoffs coming! Ricoh will be around for a long time with their imaging division but the photographic div only as long as the $$$$profits are there. Same for Nikon , Canon etc. . Used pentax & 26 million lens will keep the appetite going for some time after the new production shuts down.