Are we going to get Re-Branded John?

Just asking? (Tongue firmly in cheek)
Seriously how do you see this panning out?
Personally I feel Ricoh would be daft to take the name off the front of the higher end stuff but Sony did it to Konica Minolta Branding, although the change to Konica ownwership had already diluted that brand. I feel Pentax is a strong name but the way Ricoh use the phrase "Pentax cameras will continue to be produced, and that the Pentax name will certainly not be disappearing from existing product lines", is very ambiguos, typically Japanese in fact...
And before anyone starts, I know it's just the name on the front but it's a proud name and I'm proud of it...

It won't matter if Ricoh drop the Pentax name on future products. All existing Pentax kit is badged as is.

I do feel that Ricoh will lose sales on future DSLR's if they drop the Pentax name. Bargains could be had if their market crumbles.

Best regards

Badged as is? Pentax have factories in various parts of the world and they make things.

Of course, companies as such don't exist. They are a group of people and those people make up the company. (I'm not talking here in the legal corporate sense.) If Ricoh buy Pentax and keep all the Pentax employees and all the previous Ricoh ones leave, would the resulting company be Pentax or Ricoh? It would be called one thing and actually, for a while, be something else.

As for how I see it panning out, I have no idea yet. I'm not fretting about it, but I am shooting more images and having more enjoyment out of photography. I'm quite happy to watch and wait and see.

I'm shooting a lot more since I came back to Pentax/Ricoh/Whatever.
Enjoying my gear more and I very much want it to stay that way, I'm not fretting, not yet anyway...

"Pentax no longer exists as a culture or a company.
It died in 2007 - RIP. " Ex Pentax Employee.

See last comment on this RH article....

http://ricehigh.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-name-pentax-is-dismissed-from-cyber.htm...

-

Read that Algi, it's kinda what got me thinking.
To me at least the old phrase "what's in a name?" doesn't apply, I like the name the way it is...
Old-fashioned maybe?

I wonder about names such as Polaroid (on cheap products)
and Kodak (on batteries) It's probably someone just licensing
the name Will we see Pentax batteries in Pound Shops

It happened with Miranda once a great camera company
now used on cheap products in Curry's

-

A good name is often the result of good product or advertising, or a combination of the two. Pentax is no longer liked it used to be as Nikon & Canon are now the names that the vast majority of people think of in relation to cameras and lenses. However, people with a real interest in photography and its history are very aware of Pentax. I personally like the equipment and the brand name and I think it would be a very sad day if Ricoh removes the Pentax name from future products. I remember not so long ago Apple in the shadows as a computer company, look at Apple now. Pentax is an iconic name, Ricoh just has to get creative with its products and PR. Pentax can regain its mojo, but Ricoh has to want it too..

A rebranded John?

I can't see the forum being rebranded "Ricoh User"

Very well put.

Badged as is: presently badged as Pentax, regardless of where it's made.

There is no guarantee that that will remain the case. If Rich drop the name Pentax from their product line and produce a Rich DSLR, existing Pentax "glassed up" users will have no choice but to buy if the body is an improvement over the existing range, assuming that they will stay with the mount and want an improved camera.

More interesting is the possibility that Ricoh may be the new name on the next 645 bodies?

Best regards

It's the line that says "Pentax name will certainly not be disappearing from existing product lines" that's ambiguous to me, maybe they'll go all electronic? Leave the "Traditional"/existing products with Pentax on the front and as the all new come out replace them with Ricoh, so maybe a couple of years down the line they'll have an all Ricoh line-up?
We're talking EVF On Chip Focus, No Mirror,some new sensor tech, (XTrans might be nice?) and maybe just maybe, lots of focus points too? To be honest would it be all that bad? As soon as an EVF can show me exactly what the sensor sees and the rear screen show me and adobe RGB view, (I Think Panasonic's just (NEARLY)done that with the GX7?)
I'll throw OVF into the bin and spit on it frankly.


Then there's the potential bad stuff like new mount, lens incompatibility, lack of support, no new firmware, low re-sale value, that I just don't really want to think about!

Interesting, U.S. of A, yes but this caught my eye!
Talk about making up your own history!
Still Pentax does get a mention in there... He He

"The company now known as Ricoh Imaging Americas Corporation, was originally founded in 1919, under the name Asahi Optical Joint Stock Co. and launched its first SLR camera in the 1950s under the PENTAX name. Today, Ricoh Imaging Americas Corporation continues to produce the heritage-rich, award-winning line of PENTAX DSLR cameras, lenses and sport optics equipment as well as Ricoh’s offering of stylish and compact digital cameras, known for their wide-ranging, rich set of features."

http://www.us.ricoh-imaging.com/about/press/310/Ricoh_Imaging_Americas_Corporati...

let's be fair, Pentax was originally the name of an SLR produced by the Asahi company, now it's effectively the name of a DSLR produced by Ricoh.