[biz-engineer]

I just sold all my camera equipment and I am seriously considering buying a Pentax K1 and a couple of lenses.

That's a very good question. Here are the things to consider (seriously, despite all the news, some people selling they Pentax gear etc...):
- Digital cameras get obsolete before they break.
- Lenses have a longer life time.

So, if you buy cameras bodies, whether Pentax continues or not, is not a problem because technology will evolve and you may want something else in the future anyway, so whether the next camera upgrade will be a k mount camera or not does not matter much. Now, if you buy many lenses (such that the cost if significantly more than the cost of the camera body), then you should think twice before buying.
If you buy a couple of lenses, it's not such a big deal, the risk is not having the right camera to mount them on when you will want a new camera, if the Pentax mount is gone.

If I take my case. I own the K1 and ALL the new DFA lenses. For the K1, I'm happy and I'm Ok, because it will last long enough. For the lenses, hummm, I wished I had not purchased ALL of them but perhaps half of them only ;-)

See for yourself how it goes.

[disconnekt]

Every large company has at least 6 subsidiary company's under their "brand name" umbrella that are in different fields, and there's always going to be a year where one of them doesn't make as much money as the parent company thought/wanted. Happens to everybody, just look at what happened with Nikon recently when they had a number of their workers retire all at once, they ended up losing money and because of that they had to restructure (aka rebudget) the company.

As far as camera companys go, (at least to me) Pentax tends to get more shit from everybody than others over the smallest "not so good" thing that happens. But at the end of the day they're doing fine, and are going to be fine for the forseeable future.

[Sofaking]

Hi,

I just sold all my camera equipment and I am seriously considering buying a Pentax K1 and a couple of lenses. However I am a bit worried about doing so given the recent reports of financial problems with Ricoh. Today there was another article (I saw it at DP Review) saying they are about to do major cost cutting..
I don't know much about the history of Pentax - whether Pentax has been struggling for a long time and such talk of it's "demise" is not new and not worrisome..... But is this not the right time to jump into buying Pentax stuff?
The K1 seems to be an amazing camera, and I am interested i dong some landscape photography. But I'm not sure it would be wise to invest in a dying brand....
Any thoughts about this?
Thanks,
Jmbern1

I still have 23 Pentax lenses...
But moved over to Nikon when the K1 did not show up.
You'll find the K1 to be a good body, but lacking a lens ecosystem.
Please try to find a modern prime at 35mm, 50mm or 85mm equivalent....
The detractors here will quote the FA Limiteds 31/1.8, 43/1.9 and 77/1.8..
These are good lenses, but dated.
It's like a supermodel at 40. Sure, she's pretty, but......
Don't live on past glories.
I see the writing on the wall, the nail in the coffin....

BTW, I'm currently using a Nikon D750 with the 85/1.4G, 58/1.4G and 35/1.4G. I'm not a fan of the 50/1.4G, but even this is better than the FA 50/1.4....
I also have an Olympus OMD system. I was surprised that the EM1 Mark 1 with the 45/1.8 outperformed the K5IIs with FA50/1.7 for detail!

[BigMackCam]

I still have 23 Pentax lenses...
But moved over to Nikon when the K1 did not show up...

I see the writing on the wall, the nail in the coffin....

That's a little rich, given Nikon's losses and re-structuring

[Blue]

I still have 23 Pentax lenses...
But moved over to Nikon when the K1 did not show up.
You'll find the K1 to be a good body, but lacking a lens ecosystem.
Please try to find a modern prime at 35mm, 50mm or 85mm equivalent....
The detractors here will quote the FA Limiteds 31/1.8, 43/1.9 and 77/1.8..
These are good lenses, but dated.
It's like a supermodel at 40. Sure, she's pretty, but......
Don't live on past glories.
I see the writing on the wall, the nail in the coffin....

BTW, I'm currently using a Nikon D750 with the 85/1.4G, 58/1.4G and 35/1.4G. I'm not a fan of the 50/1.4G, but even this is better than the FA 50/1.4....
I also have an Olympus OMD system. I was surprised that the EM1 Mark 1 with the 45/1.8 outperformed the K5IIs with FA50/1.7 for detail!

Lens ecosystem . . . o.k. you are just making stuff up now.

[Kunzite]

In a lens ecosystem, the big lens eat the little lens.
I'm glad Pentax doesn't have a lens ecosystem; otherwise my D FA 150-450 would get fatter, while the DA Limiteds would be MIA.

[cpk]

Originally posted by talgarik
even Minolta is still with us, though now they call them Sony
This is IMHO akin to saying that the moldering reanimated corpse of the person you loved is still that person, even while they are clawing at your throat and spilling undead ichor all over your clothes.

Agreed!!

[wtlwdwgn]

I would say if you are that concerned with the viability of the Pentax brand you should look elsewhere. If you worry about having a Pentax you won't enjoy owning and shooting with one. Buy something you'll be happy owning and shooting with. We did.

BTW, buying camera gear is NOT an investment. It's a deep, dark hole that our money flows into.

[pakinjapan]

...Today there was another article (I saw it at DP Review) saying they are about to do major cost cutting...

of cause I don't know everything but I view it as a positive thing. It mean they are still serious in the business and focus on the brand survival on it own rather than those finding a new owner / new main share holder. I would be more concern if this was the time a bit before and after Hoya takes over Pentax. Now with Ricoh, and I am seeing them doing everything they can in the today fast moving market, I am not worry too much now.
however, as @wtlwdwgn said. you should get a system / brand you're comfortable using. Don't force yourself into a brand you are not sure of it survival.

[boriscleto]

Olympus had big losses and ties to the Yakuza in the recent past. Is this the wrong time to have bought a circa 1979 Olympus XA?

[pathdoc]

It's like a supermodel at 40. Sure, she's pretty, but...

For all you know, the supermodel was using her modelling fees to pay for a degree in aerospace engineering, and now she is the hottest name in spacecraft design.

We don't dwell on past glories - we glory in current performance. If you prefer something else, by all means - but some of us are very, very pleased with what we've got.

[Blue]

In a lens ecosystem, the big lens eat the little lens.
I'm glad Pentax doesn't have a lens ecosystem; otherwise my D FA 150-450 would get fatter, while the DA Limiteds would be MIA.

I doubt about Pentax tho because they are doing nothing for future. Ricoh already announced that they lost quite a lot of profits.

http://www.mirrorlessrumors.com/nikkei-reports-ricoh-facing-biggest-crisis-ever/ (Ignore TinusVerdino who is a Pentax fanboy trolling without proofs and evidence)

This is not the first time. To me, DSLR is limited to improve performance. Also, people don't need DSLR anymore due to its size and weight. They would prefer mirrorless or smartphone.

Nikon also having a lot of troubles too since Sony became 2nd in USA.

K-1 is a amazing camera but It seems that Ricoh/Pentax does not making profits from Photography in the world that much. If this gonna happen for a long period of time, they might gonna sell Pentax or else.

[MarkJerling]

Hi,

I just sold all my camera equipment and I am seriously considering buying a Pentax K1 and a couple of lenses. However I am a bit worried about doing so given the recent reports of financial problems with Ricoh. Today there was another article (I saw it at DP Review) saying they are about to do major cost cutting..
I don't know much about the history of Pentax - whether Pentax has been struggling for a long time and such talk of it's "demise" is not new and not worrisome..... But is this not the right time to jump into buying Pentax stuff?
The K1 seems to be an amazing camera, and I am interested i dong some landscape photography. But I'm not sure it would be wise to invest in a dying brand....
Any thoughts about this?
Thanks,
Jmbern1

Welcome to the forum. As I posted in this thread, (where the issue has been discussed to death) https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/16-pentax-news-rumors/344092-pentax-not-...oomed-37.html: The facts are - Pentax cameras are selling better now than they did a year ago or a year prior. (Review the Ricoh financials readily available on their website) They're paying dividends and they're paying bonuses. So, why are they losing money in the camera business? Simple really. Just look at the financials. Depreciation of plant and equipment. So, they're profitable as far as camera sales go, but they have to allow for depreciation of plant and equipment. It's that simple. If they did not have to allow for the depreciation, they'd be making a substantial profit in their camera business.

The financials are there for all to see. Now, on sites like DPR, this gets twisted to the demise of Pentax. That's just nonsense.

[MarkJerling]

I see the writing on the wall, the nail in the coffin....

I'll just say....