Something about Pentax
27.2.2020
Translation: machine translated
Pentax is a curious marginal phenomenon. Despite a vanishingly small market share, the brand persists. Likeable - like a small football club that simply never gets relegated. Will Pentax even end up celebrating a retro revival because it is sticking with SLR cameras? That would be cool, but the chances of that are slim.
"Why don't you write something about Pentax?", "Why don't you ever test a Pentax camera?", "You forgot to mention Pentax?" - I hear comments like these from time to time. For me, however, there is hardly any reason to write about Pentax. The market share is barely measurable, the line-up is extremely narrow and there hasn't been a new camera for two years.
The fact that Pentax is such a curious fringe phenomenon also makes the brand interesting in a way.
The Linux effect
The first thing that stands out: Pentax has a very loyal fan base. Where does that come from? A Pentax user would say: It's obvious - because the cameras are good. I would say: It's the feeling of being a close-knit group: It's us against the rest of the world.
You know it yourselves, dear Pentax users: you are as rare as rainbow-coloured puking sabre-toothed unicorns. Being special is great, but it also means that you feel misunderstood by the majority.
It's a bit like Linux users on PCs in the past. A vanishingly small minority that can't understand why the rest of humanity is so stupid. Here is one user's explanation of why Pentax is no longer successful:
The uninformed person who walks into a shop assumes that they will get the best results with the brand they see most often among professionals, no matter how poorly equipped their entry-level models are.
The maltreated soul of a Pentax user
The world out there is full of sheep who mindlessly follow the herd and buy Canikony - simply because that's what everyone else is doing. This is the world view, but it is constantly being cracked. For example, when well-known test magazines rate the well-known cameras better or - even worse - completely ignore Pentax.
The guys from DPreview don't always treat Pentax with love. But now there's the big cuddle in Pentax Week. [...] Balm for the maltreated Pentax soul
You can really feel sorry for them, the Pentaxians. Here's a little balm for the soul from me too.
My first SLR camera was a Pentax. That was before the age of digital photography. I bought an old Pentax MX secondhand. A beautiful, robust, reliable and very handy device without any bells and whistles. If you did without exposure metering, you could even use it completely without electricity.
This camera was a huge improvement for me - especially with the fast lens - compared to the dumpy Kodak Instamatic I had as a child. For the first time, I really enjoyed taking photos.
I didn't realise the retro value of this camera at the time, so at some point I simply got rid of it. I regret that today.
Keep going until it's cool again
Pentax has been part of Ricoh since 2011. In an interview with two Ricoh representatives, they said that SLR cameras also have their advantages and that in two to three years, some users will return from mirrorless systems to SLRs. A bold statement from which we can conclude one thing above all: Pentax or Ricoh is obviously not planning to introduce a mirrorless system.
What does Ricoh plan to do with Pentax? Either nothing at all, except to let the system slowly fall asleep. The fact that new lenses are still being released sporadically speaks against this. On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Pentax brand, Ricoh announced that a new camera will be launched in 2020. It will be an APS-C SLR camera. Nothing more is known.
The other possibility would be that Pentax continues to build SLR cameras until the brand is the only one left and then has a monopoly in the niche.
There are enough examples of products or brands that became cool again at some point because they remained true to themselves - regardless of all fashion trends and new developments. Vinyl records, Nokia mobiles, disc scooters, swing festivals ... or, of course, photography with film. Can Pentax become synonymous with SLR enthusiasm?
Is the retro revival realistic?
With Canon and Nikon, Pentax only has two competitors in the SLR sector. These will most likely withdraw from the sector in the medium to long term. The strategy would therefore not be impossible. However, Canon and Nikon are still much more active than Pentax. And one thing is certain: the two top dogs will only withdraw from the SLR market when there is nothing more to be gained there. The niche must become very small before Pentax can become the sole ruler there. And even then, there will still be a huge second-hand market for the Canon and Nikon systems.
Pentax will probably face yet another problem. The production of an SLR camera is much more complex and costly than that of a record. That is why this technology cannot be kept alive as easily as the vinyl trend.
Electronics is a merciless mass market. In order to offer high-tech products at an acceptable price, at least parts of them have to be manufactured in large quantities. Sensors, processors, autofocus modules, etc. are first installed in the professional models and later second and third utilised in the cheaper cameras.
Pentax generally has small quantities and so few models that there can hardly be any secondary utilisation. Sensors could perhaps be taken over by Sony, but building an entire camera from cheap components will be difficult.
The dead live longer - but not forever
I fear that Pentax will not survive in this form for much longer. The saying goes: The dead live longer. But Pentax has been dead as a company since 2006, when it was taken over by Hoya and sold on shortly afterwards. The brand still exists. This year it will be one hundred years old. But no one seems to be in the mood to celebrate.
Cover image: shutterstock.com
David Lee
Senior Editor
David.Lee@digitecgalaxus.chMy interest in IT and writing landed me in tech journalism early on (2000). I want to know how we can use technology without being used. Outside of the office, I’m a keen musician who makes up for lacking talent with excessive enthusiasm.
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