Comments on: Is Pentax for sale?

By: James

James — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 19:40:46 +0000

No, but that’s an interesting idea. It would allow Leica to enter the low-end to midrange camera market with a well regarded brand name without damaging the sales of their existing products. One potential problem: They would have to ramp up Pentax sales to make it self-sustaining, and Leica doesn’t have much experience in anything but low-volume sales.

By: Catastrophile

Catastrophile — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 18:20:49 +0000

is sumsong on to somesing? FF mirrorless??

By: PR admin

PR admin — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 16:00:33 +0000

the spam filter “spammed” it
I also got all of your email – thanks! I just cannot publish everything, I am trying to stay more “rumors” concentrated, but the Samsung stuff you sent me will be coming out soon.

By: Roman

Roman — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 11:45:16 +0000

Have anyone thought of Leica?!

By: Just a Thought

Just a Thought — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 03:05:32 +0000

Post did not post? Retrying.
Seems that both Panasonic and Samsung have put DSLR expansion plans on hold :

http://www.whatdigitalcamera.com/news/396215/samsung-nx-puts-dslr-development-on-hold.html

By: RichT

RichT — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 17:21:08 +0000

Samsung makes by far the best sense since it already has made DSLR cameras using Pentax’s K-mount and as far as I know is Pentax is their only customer for their higher end APS-C chip. Samsung was supposed to come out with their NX series which is supposed to compete with micro 4/3 but can’t seem to get it off the ground. It’s like they want to build cameras but don’t quite know how. Enter Pentax

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 17:08:23 +0000

Panasonic is in an unusually good position for the upcoming merging of video and still cameras, as all their recent products show. They are WAY ahead of everyone else with their contast-detect AF system, they can easily implement autofocus in video mode. Only Sony has a decent alternative to contrast-detect AF, but they’ve yet to release a video-DSLR

By: Just a Thought

Just a Thought — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 15:28:59 +0000

Sony and Panasonic are swimming in a sea of red ink – as are most Japanese firms including the Camera makers.
Not so with Samsunug – it’s rolling in cash as profits grow – yes profits.
Samsung is growing into Korea’s version of Sony. With growing profits,

I expect more R&D funds to go to new Digital camera designs – P&S first as it is very profitable and also to DSLRs. In a few years Samsung could (probably will) grab major market share from DLSR makers in Japan. The big end round with camera makers, will be between Sony and Samsung. Panasonic will be out of the still camera game as will most present day camera makers. Canon has a good chance to survive, but not others.

The following might be of interest:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=akG4VtPnsD4E

“Sony Corp., Japan’s biggest exporter of televisions, said the yen may strengthen, threatening to push Japanese electronics makers further behind South Korean competitors such as Samsung Electronics Co.”

“For Japanese companies, “it’s like a death warrant as things stand now and if this continues, they will have a very difficult time,””

“Sony may post an operating loss of 40.5 billion yen in the quarter ended Sept. 30, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of four analysts, while Osaka-based Panasonic may report profit tumbled 96 percent. All of Japan’s five biggest TV makers, including Sharp Corp. and Toshiba Corp., posted losses in the quarter ended June 30. ”

or this article:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=adwRkSD206Rw

” Oct. 6 (Bloomberg) — Samsung Electronics Co., Asia’s biggest maker of chips, flat screens and mobile phones, reported third-quarter earnings more than doubled, exceeding analysts’ estimates, helped by a rebound in prices.

Operating profit jumped to as high as 4.3 trillion won ($3.7 billion), compared with 1.48 trillion won a year earlier,”

By: Just a Thought

Just a Thought — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 15:09:29 +0000

Go into the average middle to upper income living room in North Ameraica or Europe or Asia and you are very likely to see the Samsung name on a flat panel TV or DVD player for example. Samsung outsells Pentax in P&S. You are correct in that you knew about Pentax and had not heard about about Samsung when buying a DSLR. As their DLSR distribution network grows that will change. Go back a few years and few people had heard of a Samsuung TV – Sony, Panasonic, Toshiba, Sanyo among other were the houisehold names.

By: Sky

Sky — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 09:38:50 +0000

“Why they would sell Pentax seems strange.” – because it’s income-less company without big perspective to improve it’s position on market and total lack of advert strategy???

“Samsung brand is now better known around consumers than Pentax” – I don’t think so. Before I bought DSLR I had no idea that Samsung produces DSLRs, and even months after I didn’t know that – I never, ever seen any Samsung DSLR in shop. While Pentax was quite well known to me and Pentax cameras are avaible almost everywhere.

By: Sky

Sky — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 09:33:57 +0000

And still Sony raised 2-3 times faster than Canon and Nikon…

By: Sky

Sky — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 09:31:30 +0000

Yep…. you are right about it.

By: Sky

Sky — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 09:27:17 +0000

Panasonic in current situation isn’t a good player in DSLR market. They are total margin of market (like… 1% of share) and already invested A LOT in 4/3 system. I don’t see why they would want to throw all they did till now into trash and buy Pentax, turn entirely to Pentax-K mount and stay this way…

By: dyna

dyna — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 09:24:32 +0000

Panasonic could swallow Samsung. Matsushita is HUGE with over 1200 subsidiary companies. Panasonic ain’t afraid of no Samsung ghost!

By: dyna

dyna — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 09:23:29 +0000

It is already. None of the kids growing up today owned a Pentax in school. Back in the 70′s and 80′s a bunch of cats had the Pentax K1000 or ME series cameras or, if they were lucky, one of the ZX-5n or PZ-1p bodies…. today Pentax has had so little presence that the purchasing youth has no familiarity with the brand and, sadly, it is brand familiarity that sells right now. Trust me: at the counter, with way, way too many consumers, it doesn’t matter who has the better camera for them, based on the needs described to the sales associate… no. What matters is who their friend or family member TOLD THEM TO BUY or whatever they saw on dpreview or Amazon or, god forbid but it happens, Ashton Kutcher had.

It’s true. It’s not a majority but it’s damn near the mean. And it’s scary. Means a lot of people aren’t looking at the K7 or the A850 or the E30 when these cameras can clearly stand out from their major competitors for a number of reasons. Means Canon and Nikon don’t have to work as hard: their years of whipsawing public opinion like to old-horse politicians have paid off. And will for sometime yet.

By: dyna

dyna — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 09:18:57 +0000

Sony and K/M already had a long standing partnership and the buyout was seen as mutually beneficial. Besides, Sony only bought the optical division. The rest of Konica-Minolta is still going…

By: dyna

dyna — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 09:17:46 +0000

No way.

By: dyna

dyna — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 09:17:28 +0000

Sadly, your thinking here is backwards: Tokina has been designing or building lenses for Pentax. And before Tokina,it was Tamron. Which isn’t unsual: Tokina and Tamron build a lot of lenses for a lot of major manufacturers. Over 70% of Tamron’s production gets someone else’s name put on the front of it. So it’s nothing to worry about. Tokina will go on with or without Pentax. They were fine before, they will be fine after. Always the #3 trying harder.

By: Just a Thought

Just a Thought — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 05:39:13 +0000

My main bet is on Sigma buying Pentax (if its really for sale).
An out of the money side bet is Tokina buying Pentax if Sigma does not want it.

Pentax is very well run, as is Hoya. Why they would sell Pentax seems strange.

Samsung has technology cross-license with Pentax, so they have no need to buy Pentax. . Samsung brand is now better known around consumers than Pentax, so little to no benefit to Samsung with such a move.

Samsung is flush with cash. Buying Pentax would be no big deal for Samsung. I suspect that if Samsung is fishing to buy something, I doubt it would be a minnow like Pentax. Samsung is making billions in profits while its Japanese competitors are bleeding with no end in sight and recently the Yen started to rise creating even more problems for Japanese firms. Samsung is becoming a major threat to Japanese dominance in consumer markets that they play in. Sony and Panasonic must be more than a tad concerned. Wonder if Samsung would consider buying Panasonic. That would send shock waves thru Japan.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 04:30:10 +0000

really?