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Sunday, August 04, 2013

A Latest Interview with the Japanese Ricoh Head



The Chinese Fengniao editors interviewed the Ricoh head who is in charge of the Pentax camera business just a few days ago, when he came to China for something:

http://qicai.fengniao.com/387/3874303.html
(in Simplified Chinese, Google English Translation Here.)

I've opted to translate some key excerpts of the interview and putting aside all the other marketing bullshits (although many things are still bullshiting, which I can't help and avoid!), as follows:


Q: With the integration of Pentax and Ricoh, will the brand Pentax be removed in the end?

A: No, we have no plan to do so. For those products which are special enough, they will continue to carry the Pentax badge, like the Q and WG series. Otherwise, some adjustments would be needed.

My comment: Did he mean that only mediocre products should carry the Ricoh badge? ;-p And do note that the K series is not mentioned! :-o


A: The ex-Pentax and Ricoh staff of the development team are now working together as a team and at the same place. They can complement each other for the shortcomings amongst them. Because of the integration, some staff are now travelling in longer distances. An Hi-end product is being developed by the team. (But what it actually is was not disclosed.)

My comment: I do not believe in what he said for that "hi-end" thing, according to his past tracking records! :-o 


Q: Now, what's going on for the Pentax Full Frame thing?

A: Our development team is still working on it and the project is not aborted.

Q: What Pentax is to do to tackle with the higher pixel count and new generation of sensors with new functions by the competitors, like the newly developed one used in the Canon 70D?

A: To be a responsible company, we are not chasing only the pixel count, as higher pixel count means worse noise and high ISO performance. That's the reason that we did not follow blindly.

My comment: I have only two words to say: BULL SHIT!

 
Q: All the 16MP Pentax cameras are with the same architecture?

A: No. They are different and the newer is better. If one is going to disassemble the cameras, the differences can be seen.

My comments: Bull shitting again, as usual. Is he going to tell us the K-30 and K-50 are much different, putting aside the body shell?! He forgot that there are also official specifications of the cameras?! Actually, Pentaxians are good at disassembling cameras and lenses! And my Blog has documented many of those, here.


Other things that told by the Ricoh Head himself:

- The K-01 Blue White (Smurfs) edition was endorsed by Marc Newson for the colour combination.

- The K-01 was not discontinued owing to the low demand. But it was discontinued owing to the higher demand than that the production could meet. 

My comment: Man, are you serious? Are you kidding? You are a LIAR!!


Oh, I've really given up at this point. This guy is really helpless and the replies are mostly junk. I do appreciate the direct and acute questions that the Fengniao editors have asked for us, for what we all Pentaxians have been concerning most, though! Thanks, guys! :-)

Comments (21)

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Just two clarifications. in the interview, Mr Kawauchi said:
1. Yes, Pentax will *always exist* at the product level,
2. In the future, *in the professional field's name is still a Pentax*.
Thus I believe we can at least relax regarding those two issues. If the Q, and K50 and even K500 are branded as Pentax, well, bodies above will too. That answers your question re K-mount products.
However, I have understood from the interview that some non-system, *compact* cameras are still under question re exact branding. They may be branded either as Pentax or Ricoh.
Uncle Vova's avatar

Uncle Vova · 609 weeks ago

Is this the interview of the expert?!
This is the chatter: a lot of empty words without the useful encouraging sense. No any sense.
Especially good illustration with the Full Frame camera: "Our development team is still working on it and the project is not aborted." (C)
In the same manner the Communist Party of the USSR was working at the building of Communism... more than 70 years... ;)))
Hey, Ricoh, more than 10 years have passed and we are ready to wait 60 years more - please don't hurry up!
It doesn't matter that some of us will not be among the alive 60 years after - our children will continue to live and wait... ;)
Ricoh, don't give up! Let your "development team still working on it and the project is not aborted"! Forever!
2 replies · active 608 weeks ago
Uncle Vova, not to discourage you from your right to rant, but consider this: not a single imaging company out there has gone through the hell as Pentax did during the last 4 years. Senior people laid off, cut down in size, then sold, then bought again and now expanded with Ricoh’s own team.
Imagine such thing happened to your family, I’d ask you how much time you’d have for undisturbed and clear thinking re major new life’s strategy.
Uncle Vova's avatar

Uncle Vova · 608 weeks ago

Z.T., could you please, use your own family for illustration of Pentax's troubles? Why do you so need my family for that?! Bad Idea.
Turning back to the Ricoh and former Pentax: it seems that Pentax is the deep past time. Let's see what will Ricoh show in the future...
Business is a business and as a customer I don't want to compassionate to any difficulties and troubles of my supplier's business: If it can make what I need - I will buy it, If no - I shall pay to other supplier.
I do not need discussion such as "we is still working and the project is not aborted" (C) for years. Where is the result of work?
Oh, yes, I see: the wonderfull line of Q-gadgets is the by-product of the Full Frame Camera Project.
Uncle Vova's avatar

Uncle Vova · 608 weeks ago

This is more interesting then the "news" from the text above. When somebody "is still working on it" (C) the result can be observed. http://www.photographybay.com/2013/07/21/canon-te...
FF is not a technical problem, it's the Ricoh management who has it feet on the brake. Hoya management sucked in this regard too.
2 replies · active 608 weeks ago
It was Pentax Ricoh who publicly admitted they're working on FF... what brake are you talking about?
Some are "working on" for ages and others sell real FF cameras right NOW on Amazon. (Yes, I've alread bought a Canon and Nikon FF.)
Where's the problem to get a FF sensor (Sony/Aptina), get a off the shelf Copal FF shutter, and a more beefy PRIME cpu and put it in a case ?
Dan Johnson's avatar

Dan Johnson · 608 weeks ago

I'm happy to hear any news from Pentax (as is usually the case after so much silence) but I have not forgotten the half truths over the past decade. They didn't mention the K-3 so they have an open door to rename that over-seas, the top of the line may be the D-645 (14bit color depth & a lens factor) which would benefit most from being able to capture images in 16bit color depth like all the other Medium Formats. Fugi used to make a U. V. Camera, Canon now makes a U. V. Camera, Ricoh should remake a P & S Zoom with a WORM Drive and make it U. V. & I. R. as well as water-proof (for Police & Fire Departments) rather than rebadging the K Series and feeding us half-truths every so often. Building great cameras should be their main concern, not taking credit for good work already done decades ago !
Pentax cameras will be renamed to Ricoh? Well - So Be It! I don´t care too much for the very name on it. As long as the product is worth buying it and fits to my already existing gear. The Problem is: I doubt this. If they realy go FF (I don´t think they can´t avoid it any longer even if they want to) they surely take the oportunity to get rid of many out-datet things like the mechanical aperture actuation. Perhaps it will still be called K-Mount but we can be shure to forget about all our old glass :-( They want to sell new (If they want to sell anything)
4 replies · active 608 weeks ago
No, they won't. Ricoh stated several times already they will keep using the Pentax brand, and the K-mount is here to stay.
Dean Koontz's avatar

Dean Koontz · 608 weeks ago

I'm an old guy and I remember arguing with a guy in the 80's who insisted to me that 8 track tapes would be around forever.
The K-mount may be here to stay but probably only in Chinese adapters for NEX cameras. Get real!
It's you who should get real, or rather stop the FUD. Ricoh Imaging will continue to produce Pentax K-mount cameras, in the foreseeable future.
No body knows but time will tell.
You have to create your own camera busyness, and drive it your way. Then you´ll stop suffering for not geting the news you want know.
1 reply · active 608 weeks ago
There is no need to DIY own's camera oneself. We can always buy from the others for what Pentax did not and do not make. Now, the Pentax line are full of mediocre, low-end and out-dated products which completely fall behind the competition. Never mind, maybe those are just all that you wanted?
I hope Ricoh/Pentax can become the No.3 camera maker again.

Making colorful boxes wont help. People need to take you seriously, and they wont take you seriously if you cameras are yellow, hot pink, electric blue, funky green etc and the lenses are called toy lenses.

Ricoh GRV - Now thats a great camera! Brilliant job Ricoh.

Please repeat that same seriousness with DSLRs- fix the Pathetic TTL system and bring something a pro wedding photographer can use.
Please get some help if you need it- there is no shame in admitting you have a problem. Getting those Sony sensors was the best thing Pentax has done in years. Please get your hands on some very reliable TTL flash system. Its a shame to sell a amazingly brilliant camera that can't handle TTL flash in 2013-14. Especially when your company was one of the pioneers of TTL flash metering in the 70s and 80s.

Would love to see Ricoh/Pentax give the giants a run for their money. You can do it!

Make a great camera- will buy it. What more can i say?
3 replies · active 608 weeks ago
RP will never be the no.3 player in the SLR/ILC market, they are now striking very difficultly to just survive!
Ricoh Imaging "striking very difficultly to just survive"? That's not true, but what else could be expected from the #1 Pentax hater?
They're losing their market share every year to become virtually negligible and no new product development is ever announced. With fanboys like you who seldom buy things but only with a motoring mouth to "support" everywhere Internet, how could they survive longer?
This is cool!

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