Pentax's future is safe?

Nicky2007 · 11-02-2009, 11:05 PM

Read that Hoya, the owners of Pentax were thinking of setting up a partnership with an electronic firm, e.g. Samsung, to save Pentax which was the only division within the Hoya group that was not turning up any profits.

Meantime, also read that Digital River had signed up to sell Pentax cameras online in Europe. This is must be a relief for the guys at Hoya. Apart from that I think Pentax need a new team in product design development.

What do you think?

Andy Stanton · 11-02-2009, 11:11 PM

I really like Pentax DSLR's. They offer more for the money than any of Pentax's competitors. It would be a shame if the company went under.

f4ding · 11-09-2009, 05:38 PM

Yea, hopefully they will find new ways to stay afloat. I have the K20D and definitely want more lense option in the future.

Nicky2007 · 11-09-2009, 07:32 PM

Hmmm, latest news is that Digital River will only sell Pentax accessories, not cameras. Hoya's ownership of Pentax may be a repeat of the Compaq-DEC syndrome.

Years back when Compaq was a cash-rich PC manufacturer, it bought over DEC a troubled high-end 64-bit server manufacturer. The management of Compaq hasn't got a clue on how to turn DEC around. In the end, Compaq was bought over by HP, killing the DEC brand in the process.

Similarly, Yashica bought over Contax. Not only did Yashica killed the Contax brand but Yashica itself sank. What can be seen is that Hoya's management lack the know-how to manage a camera manufacturer like Pentax. Making glass is not the same as making cameras.