Ricoh to buy Pentax

[JohnTaylor]

I was just thinking yesterday about how Hoya was basically scre***g Pentax, and if I had the courage and money, it might be possible to buy it and energise Pentax back into a powerhouse of a brand. Looks like Ricoh beat me to it

However, I dont feel Ricoh will do well. After all, Ricoh has an even smaller presence than Pentax. Hopefully time will prove me wrong, and they will beef up the lens range with f1.4 primes across the board, WR the whole lens range, all the while maintaining the now excellent range of dslr's

 

[P3ntx]

Richo GXR is number one in HK! The market here is based on crowd followers.

 

[torak]

Ricoh is basically doing a "Sony"

Back in 2006 Sony had zero presence in the SLR market. Minolta is in a financial crisis and is falling way behind in the DSLR race due to lack of funds and other problems, and Sony took this opportunity and bought over Minolta, continued the Alpha mount and made it the 3rd largest marketshare now. If it wasnt for Sony, the Alphas might cease to exist now...

So Ricoh, with a larger piggybank, might be better for Pentax in the long term, rather than having Pentax under Hoya.

 

[creampuff]

I've been so busy that I missed this news completely.
But on reflection, I honestly believe this is a positive move for both Hoya and Ricoh. Hoya was the white knight who came at the right time to bump off the ultra-conservative and frankly clueless old Pentax management and saved the company financially. For this I am grateful to them. Their innovative approach helped them roll out new models that brought Pentax back on track, regaining new users and stopping the declining market share. But in the larger scheme of things, Hoya with its long history as a maker of optical glass nevertheless never had a tradition of making cameras nor was involved in photo imaging per se. Now that they have rejuvenated the Pentax brand, it makes financial sense to reap a financial gain by selling it to a company with a proven history in imaging, which Ricoh definitely has.

For Ricoh, the acquisition of Pentax is definitely a boost for them. For one, they would gain the bigger brand recognition that they have never managed to have all this years. It also makes sense to retain the Pentax name sp as to not kill the golden goose now that the Pentax user base has grown over the last few years. The challenge for Ricoh is to channel their energies that have allowed them to come up with unique (so would say quirky) line-up of cameras to become a full fledged mainstream brand that will occupy the mind share of the camera buying public. Overnight they've become a DSLR player and their experience in compact cameras will no doubt filter into future Pentax compact cameras. So I see this news as positive. On a personal note, my first camera was a Ricoh 500GX rangefinder and I still have fond memories of the fine images I had from that 40mm Rikenon lens. The other good thing is my sis-in-law currently works in Ricoh... :bsmilie:

 

[hamustar]

Ricoh has been making some well-applauded high-end and innovative cameras which are positioned on the niche market. This thinking could be very well compatible with Pentax's mission of "Be Interesting". With Pentax being revived by Hoya, we could see better synergies with Ricoh.
Let's hope for the best !

But i hope the new name isn't Ricoh-Pentax.....abbreviates to RIP

 

[UncleFai]

Imagine your DSLR interfacing seemlessly with your photocopier... the possibilities are infinite!

 

[machiavellian]

Imagine your DSLR interfacing seemlessly with your photocopier... the possibilities are infinite!

eh that's Fujitsu's tagline la dey! Hahaha

 

[pinholecam]

Imagine your DSLR interfacing seemlessly with your photocopier... the possibilities are infinite!

Photocopier makers like to make cameras (.... hmmm... or is it the other way around.. :think: )
Anyway, Canon, Samsung, Fuji-Xerox, Ex. Konica-Minolta, Ricoh all make photocopiers.


Maybe they will be the first ones to come up with an interchangeable sensor back DSLR (GXR+DSLR combo).

 

[detritus]

Photocopier makers like to make cameras (.... hmmm... or is it the other way around.. :think: )
Anyway, Canon, Samsung, Fuji-Xerox, Ex. Konica-Minolta, Ricoh all make photocopiers.

Maybe they will be the first ones to come up with an interchangeable sensor back DSLR (GXR+DSLR combo).

i'll rather they offer options

- interchangeable K-module for the GXR :thumbsup: instant mirrorless solution.

- continue development / enhancement of DSLRs and come up with a credible lens development roadmap to update / improve current lens selection (replacing SDM would be a good idea).

i really don't think that fusing the 2 flagship products - interchangeable sensor back and DSLR can mix its gonna end up being an unnecessary solution looking for a non-existent problem.

 

[digitalpimp]

Good times ahead for Pentax. Always been a fan. Can't wait to see what the merger will cook up.

 

[newghost]

Richo GXR is number one in HK! The market here is based on crowd followers.

its still a niche market here but GXR rocks!

 

[P3ntx]

I had never imagined this would be a reality, when I bought the GXR, I was thinking how great if I had the auto multi-section white balance and the live in manual mode on the lcd showing exact exposure before u press the trigger on Pentax camera, Richo is very advance… in fact, if u have a GXR to fin out.

 

[detritus]

i think the biggest question is: what will the local situation be?

the current distributor is doing a decent job currently. will ricoh establish a local presence and distribute directly? will they re-assign distributorship? (someone else is distributing ricoh currently)

judging by the current availability of ricoh products in SG, my sense is that it is no better than pentax.

there's quite a bit of unknown in the local scene even though at the macro level, the takeover looks good.

 

[P3ntx]

Detritus!

That an interesting highlight u mentioned about!

 

[Bridgerock]

Think it will be status quo if they want to keep their own products streamed into other countries. To re-certify and qualify distributors will take time and it will cause shortages and also other nightmares (repairs and etc...who to look for...or send to other countries how to get it back to owner...). They can re-look at the distributors after things are more stabilized. Feel that it should be performance based so that the quality of service can be improved.

Most importantly, will Ricoh inject good R&D monies into Pentax? I feel Pentax will do much better with the monies though. Cash is King!

 

[detritus]

Think it will be status quo if they want to keep their own products streamed into other countries. To re-certify and qualify distributors will take time and it will cause shortages and also other nightmares (repairs and etc...who to look for...or send to other countries how to get it back to owner...). They can re-look at the distributors after things are more stabilized. Feel that it should be performance based so that the quality of service can be improved.

Most importantly, will Ricoh inject good R&D monies into Pentax? I feel Pentax will do much better with the monies though. Cash is King!

i see the first issue as more immediately problematic than the 2nd. R&D money is an issue that is transparent to most consumers. it is also unlikely to have an impact on their product line immediately. who care's how much their R&D budget is? i only care that they keep up a credible and creative product pipeline. i care about the outcome, not the input.

as for the local supply situation moving forward (now till end of year), i may not share your confidence.

the main decisions will only become apparent after October and there are a lot of unknown-unknowns between now and then.

 

[Bridgerock]

True that as end users, you may not care about that. But R&D requires lots of money. Without the necessary funds, even innovative ideas or etc can be shelved, no new products will ever be launched. If the worst case is to happen, think for a couple of years things will look rather dry/stagnant for Pentax.

 

[detritus]

True that as end users, you may not care about that. But R&D requires lots of money. Without the necessary funds, even innovative ideas or etc can be shelved, no new products will ever be launched. If the worst case is to happen, think for a couple of years things will look rather dry/stagnant for Pentax.

ok. go and tell tell ricoh that you demand that they shovel oodles of money into pentax's R&D budget then. good luck with that. :bsmilie:

all i'm saying is that i'll rather worry about something that impacts me within the next 6 - 12 mths than to teach ricoh how to run their R&D programme.

 

[Bridgerock]

This is just for discussion topic.; ) Not to say I am right or wrong. Everyone look at things in a different angle.

I myself also kinda concerned about this Pentax spin off to Ricoh since I just got a Pentax DSLR and this happens. -___-'''

 

[otc]

This is just for discussion topic.; ) Not to say I am right or wrong. Everyone look at things in a different angle.

I myself also kinda concerned about this Pentax spin off to Ricoh since I just got a Pentax DSLR and this happens. -___-'''

Great discussion, nice tread and great input from u too.

No worries. I, myself have 20 to 30 K mount lenses. I think I am still buying what suits me for my needs

marcus