> "Pentax is history." "Pentax is dead." ?"We're all doomed!" ?If I had a > dollar for every thread along these lines I've seen here, I could be retired > rather than working about 70 hours this week. > > Rick > ? > http://photo.net/photos/RickW
Well facts are: (you of course know already) 1. Pentax wasn't doing too good several years back. Evidence: Pentax was acquired by Hoya. 2. Hoya bought them, stripped them of the medical instruments division which was profitable, and then didn't infuse much cash into the camera division. Hoya either didn't want to do what it would take, or thought it was too much much effort with no guarantee of success, or not enough pay-off. Evidence: Hoya sold them. 3. Ricoh bought them, and since then we have two more K-5 models, not too much different than the original, no FF (or promise of one), no large sensor mirror-less even though one had been developed, marketed, sold, abandoned. I'm not stating there won't be new DSLR models, just the facts as they currently exist. 4. Ricoh removed the PENTAX moniker from the company name, but would like everyone to understand they remain committed. 5. There is now no imaging/photographic company having PENTAX in the name. At this point I see 4 potential possibilities. 1. Ricoh sells the PENTAX marque and associated technology rights. 2. Ricoh continues making K-mount bodies with the PENTAX name. (status quo) 3. Ricoh continues making K-mount bodies with the Ricoh name and not PENTAX. If so, then can it be said PENTAX is dead? 4. Ricoh stops making K-mount equipment period. One can argue against the facts all they wish. If they're not dead, then all signs are it's a slowly progressing disease that may end up in the same place. Strange how the life-cycle of companies is often an analogue to the human life-cycle. Competition in the marketplace is intense. Some win, some lose, some limp along for along time. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
