Ricoh has bought Pentax

[pcolbeck]

This is interesting. Pentax is a famous brand that has been languishing a bit over recent years. Ricoh wants the company for its interchangeable lens technology and as a brand for consumer cameras so we might see a renaissance for Pentax.

[drossall]

Hadn't heard that. Definitely interesting. I'm a life-long Pentax user, although not the most active of photographers.

[Biggsy]

Does Ricoh have a lot more resources than Hoya (the previous owner)?

[rogerzilla]

Pentax could never work out where they wanted to be in the market - they made good amateur cameras, but never competed with Canikon in the professional space, except for the 67 which had a niche in fashion photography (despite its awful sync speed which meant having to buy leaf-shutter lenses if you needed fill-flash).  Ricoh never really got away from entry-level stuff like the KR10, although they made some very good compacts (GR1 and FF-9.  Ricoh do electronics better than Pentax, who are more of an optics company (they make spectacle lenses).

So it probably means more consumer DSLRs rather than something to compete with the Nikon D3x or whatever it's called.

[Biggsy]

I think it's simply too late for Pentax ever to be half as big as Nikon.  I just hope they carry on making a few robust cameras with great ergonomics.

They do have one professional DSLR, actually, but like the 67, it's very niche: the ten-grand 645D:



Pentax 645D wins TIPA Best Professional DSLR

[pcolbeck]

Pentax's design department has been doing well recently but the electronics as Roger says are a naff. These two are great looking digital pocket cameras but the electronics are a bit crap with over processing. If they kept the same design and optics team but used Ricoh electronics might be a winner:

Optio i-10



My favourite the Optio H-90, ace minimalist design

[Biggsy]

The naff electronics might apply to some of Pentax's compacts, but it doesn't to their DSLRs - except that AF consistency could be better.

[Biggsy]

I'd say Pentax a long time ago worked out where they wanted to be in the market.  They clearly concentrate on snapshooters to keen hobbyists.

They do the odd pro model as a quirky aside.  It's now more of a pride thing rather than a serious attempt to get into the pro market.  The 645D was in development for many, many years, and was even mothballed at one point.  It's rumoured to lose money.

[harrumph]

Does Ricoh have a lot more resources than Hoya (the previous owner)?

Ricoh is a big photocopier company with a small line in compact cameras. Hoya, apparently, wanted the medical/optical expertise of Pentax, and have kept that bit.

Ricoh are supposed to want the Pentax camera business for its interchangeable lens know-how and designs. I can't think why. Ricoh has its own GXR interchangeable lensor (lens+appropriate sensor, in a unit) technology, which makes eminent sense if you want to develop a compact system camera. They also have a long track record of making the best-handling compact cameras, and have nothing to learn from Pentax (or anybody else) in that department.

Why Ricoh would want to make DSLRs I cannot imagine - they don't sell cameras in America, where those behemoths are still popular.

[rogerzilla]

DSLRs are virtually the only cameras with big sensors though.  It's just unfortunate that they're so huge and ugly.

[dasmoth]

DSLRs are virtually the only cameras with big sensors though.  It's just unfortunate that they're so huge and ugly.

Historically true, but there does seem to be growing interest in alternatives.  Okay, the Leica M8/9 are a bit specialized, but there's now the Fuji X100 as well.  And that's been selling well enough that I can imagine other manufacturer are taking a look, though.

(Don't expect an X100-alike for £200 any time soon, though.  Even for APS-C cameras, the price of the sensor chip is a major determinant of price.  Much more so for 24x36mm cameras, of course.)

[rogerzilla]

Weren't CMOS sensors supposed to solve this?  That was over 10 years ago and a Canon 1D whatever is still a ****-off price.

[Exit Stage Left]

Sony NEX cameras have an APS C sensor, interchangeable lenses and £32 gets you a clip on viewfinder for the screen.

[dasmoth]

Weren't CMOS sensors supposed to solve this?  That was over 10 years ago and a Canon 1D whatever is still a ****-off price.

They did.  Remove "built like a main battle tank" from your requirements and you can get a new 5D (or a D700, if you swing the Nikon way) for well under £2000.  That wouldn't have happened without the CCD -> CMOS switch.

(Who's still using CCDs?  Leica are, and I think pretty much all the MF guys -- anyone else?)

[Exit Stage Left]

Thanks to the ingenuity of a Japanese bloke it's possible to utilise a slide loupe as a viewfinder on the Sony NEX, making manual focus on the huge range of lenses you can fit a lot easier. The screen folds out, so you can use it like a TLR.
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