is a brand name used primarily by the Japanese multinational imaging and electronics company

Ricoh is a Japanese multinational imaging and electronics company (law), company. It was founded by the now-defunct commercial division of the Riken, Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (Riken) known as the ''Riken concern (business), Concer ...

for

DSLR A digital single-lens reflex camera (digital SLR or DSLR) is a digital camera that combines the optics and the mechanisms of a single-lens reflex camera with a digital imaging sensor. The reflex design scheme is the primary difference between ...

cameras, lenses, sport optics (including

binoculars Binoculars or field glasses are two refracting telescopes mounted side-by-side and aligned to point in the same direction, allowing the viewer to use both eyes (binocular vision) when viewing distant objects. Most binoculars are sized to be held ...

and

rifle scopes A telescopic sight, commonly called a scope informally, is an optical sighting device based on a refracting telescope. It is equipped with some form of a referencing pattern – known as a ''reticle'' – mounted in a focally appropriate po ...

), and

CCTV Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly t ...

optics. The Pentax brand is also used by

Hoya Corporation is a Japanese company manufacturing optical products such as photomasks, photomask blanks and hard disk drive platters, contact lenses and eyeglass lenses for the health-care market, medical photonics, lasers, photographic filters, medical flex ...

for medical products & services, TI Asahi for surveying instruments, and

Seiko , commonly known as Seiko ( , ), is a Japanese maker of watches, clocks, electronic devices, semiconductors, jewelry, and optical products. Founded in 1881 by Kintarō Hattori in Tokyo, Seiko introduced one of the first quartz watches and the ...

Optical Products for certain optical lenses.

Corporate history

Early history

The company was founded as Asahi Kogaku Goshi Kaisha in November 1919 by Kumao Kajiwara, at a shop in the

Toshima is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the eight central wards of the Tokyo Metropolitan area. Located in the northern area of Tokyo, Toshima is bordered by the wards of Nerima, Itabashi, and Kita in the north and Nakano, Shinjuku, a ...

suburb of

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, and began producing spectacle lenses (which it still manufactures). In 1938 it changed its name to , and by this time it was also manufacturing camera/cine lenses. In the lead-up to World War II, Asahi Optical devoted much of its time to fulfilling military contracts for optical instruments. At the end of the war, Asahi Optical was disbanded by the occupying powers, being allowed to re-form in 1948. The company resumed its pre-war activities, manufacturing binoculars and consumer camera lenses for Konishiroku and Chiyoda Kōgaku Seikō (later

Konica was a Japanese manufacturer of, among other products, film, film cameras, camera accessories, photographic and photo-processing equipment, photocopiers, fax machines and laser printers, founded in 1873. The company merged with Japanese peer Mino ...

and

Minolta was a Japanese manufacturer of cameras, camera accessories, photocopiers, fax machines, and laser printers. Minolta Co., Ltd., which is also known simply as Minolta, was founded in Osaka, Japan, in 1928 as . It made the first integrated autofocu ...

respectively).

Early 1950s to 2007

The period around 1950 marked the return of the Japanese photographic industry to the vigorous level of the late 1930s, and its emergence as a major exporter. The newly reborn industry had sold many of its cameras to the occupation forces (having had far more disposable income than the Japanese), which were well received. The

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

saw a huge influx of journalists and photographers to the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...

, where they were impressed by lenses from companies such as

Nikon (, ; ), also known just as Nikon, is a Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, specializing in optics and imaging products. The companies held by Nikon form the Nikon Group. Nikon's products include cameras, camera ...

and

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western can ...

for their Leica rangefinder cameras, and also by bodies by these and other companies to supplement and replace the Leica and Contax cameras they were using. Technische Sammlungen Dresden - Foto - Spiegelreflexkamera Pentax 1954 - Prototyp - DSC4363

Technische Sammlungen Dresden - Foto - Spiegelreflexkamera Pentax 1954 - Prototyp - DSC4363

In 1952 Asahi Optical introduced its first camera, the

Asahiflex The Asahiflex was a 35 mm single-lens reflex camera built by the Asahi Optical Corporation (later to become Pentax). It was regarded as the first SLR camera built in Japan. Asahi Optical introduced its first 35 mm camera in 1952. Unlike t ...

(the first Japanese SLR using 35mm film). The name "Pentax" was originally a registered trademark of the

East German East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

VEB

Zeiss Zeiss or Zeiß may refer to: People *Carl Zeiss (1816–1888), German optician and entrepreneur *Emil Zeiß (1833–1910), German Protestant minister and painter Companies *Carl Zeiss AG, German manufacturer of optics, industrial measurem ...

Ikon (from "

Pentaprism A pentaprism is a five-sided reflecting prism used to deviate a beam of light by a constant 90°, even if the entry beam is not at 90° to the prism. The beam reflects inside the prism ''twice'', allowing the transmission of an image through a r ...

" and "

Contax Contax (stylised as CONTAX in the Kyocera era) began as a German camera model in the Zeiss Ikon line in 1932, and later became a brand name. The early cameras were among the finest in the world, typically featuring high quality Zeiss intercha ...

") and acquired by the Asahi Optical company in 1957. Since then the company has been primarily known for its photographic products, distributed 35mm equipment under the name "Asahi Pentax" and medium format 120 6x7cm equipment under the sub brand "Pentax 6x7" (from 1969 to 1990) and "Pentax 67" (from 1990 to 1999). Equipment was exported to the United States from the 1950s until the mid-1970s by

Honeywell Honeywell International Inc. is an American publicly traded, multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It primarily operates in four areas of business: aerospace, building technologies, performance ma ...

Corporation and branded as "Heiland Pentax" and later "Honeywell Pentax". The company was renamed Pentax Corporation in 2002. It was one of the world's largest optical companies, producing still

camera A camera is an Optics, optical instrument that can capture an image. Most cameras can capture 2D images, with some more advanced models being able to capture 3D images. At a basic level, most cameras consist of sealed boxes (the camera body), ...

, spectacle lenses, and a variety of other optical instruments. In 2004, Pentax had about 6000 employees.

Merger with Hoya

In December 2006, Pentax started the process of merging with

to form 'Hoya Pentax HD Corporation'. Hoya's primary goal was to strengthen its medical-related business by taking advantage of Pentax's technologies and expertise in the field of endoscopes, intraocular lenses, surgical loupes, biocompatible ceramics, etc. It was speculated that Pentax's camera business could be sold off after the merger. A stock swap was to be completed by October 1, 2007, but the process was called off on April 11, 2007. Pentax president Fumio Urano resigned over the matter, with Takashi Watanuki taking over as president of Pentax. However, despite Watanuki's previously stated opposition to a Hoya merger, on May 16 it was reported that Pentax had accepted "with conditions" a sweetened offer from Hoya, according to a source familiar with the matter. Pentax was under increasing pressure from its major shareholders, Sparx Asset Management in particular, to accept Hoya's bid. On August 6, 2007, Hoya completed a friendly public

tender offer In corporate finance, a tender offer is a type of public takeover bid. The tender offer is a public, open offer or invitation (usually announced in a newspaper advertisement) by a prospective acquirer to all stockholders of a publicly traded corpo ...

for Pentax and acquired 90.59% of the company. On August 14, 2007, the company became a consolidated subsidiary of Hoya. On October 29, 2007, Hoya and Pentax announced that Pentax would merge with and into Hoya effective on March 31, 2008. Hoya closed the Pentax-owned factory in

, and moved all manufacturing facilities to

Cebu, Philippines Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas Regions of the P ...

and

Hanoi, Vietnam Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is ...

Ricoh Imaging Company

Japanese optical glass-maker

stated on July 1, 2011, that it would sell its Pentax camera business to copier and printer maker

, in a deal the Nikkei business daily reported was worth about 10 billion yen ($124.2 million). On July 29, 2011, Hoya transferred its Pentax imaging systems business to a newly established subsidiary called Pentax Imaging Corporation. On October 1, 2011, Ricoh acquired all shares of Pentax Imaging Corp. and renamed the new subsidiary Pentax Ricoh Imaging Company, Ltd. Hoya will continue to use the Pentax brand name for their medical related products such as endoscopes. On August 1, 2013, the company name was changed to Ricoh Imaging Company Ltd.

Products

The corporation is best known for its "Pentax" brand cameras, starting with the pivotal "

Asahi Pentax The Asahi Pentax series, by the , was a pivotal development in modern photography. They were the earliest Pentax cameras. Background In 1957, the Asahi Optical Company (later "Pentax") introduced the Pentax, a 135 film, 35 mm Single-lens ...

single-lens reflex camera A single-lens reflex camera (SLR) is a camera that typically uses a mirror and prism system (hence "reflex" from the mirror's reflection) that permits the photographer to view through the lens and see exactly what will be captured. With twin le ...

of 1957. Asahi's first series of cameras, the

of 1952, had been the first Japanese-made SLRs for 35mm film, and the Asahiflex IIB of 1954 the first Japanese SLR with an instant-return mirror. The Asahi Pentax itself was the first Japanese fixed-pentaprism SLR. In 1969 under the sub-brand "Pentax 6x7", the company started to produce medium format 120 6x7cm cameras. In 1990 the company renamed the sub-brand from "Pentax 6x7" to "Pentax 67". The company produced Pentax 67 cameras until 1999 and ceased distribution in 2002. The success of the "Pentax" series was such that the business eventually renamed itself "Pentax Corporation" after the 35mm product line. Although the corporation ultimately merged into

, it eventually was purchased by

, which continues to develop and market digital cameras under the Pentax brand. Currently, Pentax DSLRs are manufactured in

, while digital Pentax lenses are manufactured in

, under Pentax Ricoh Imaging Products.

Corporate cooperation and competition

In 2005, Pentax Corporation partnered with

Samsung The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...

to share work on camera technology and recapture market ground from Nikon and Canon. Pentax and Samsung subsequently released new DSLR siblings from this agreement. The

Pentax *ist DS PENTAX *ist DS is a digital SLR camera produced by Pentax. The *ist DS produces a 6.1 megapixel resolution image. The *ist DS was a lower-prices follow-on to the Pentax *ist D. In September 2005 the Digital Imaging Websites Association (DIWA), a ...

and *istDL2 also appeared as the Samsung GX-1S and GX-1L, while the jointly developed (90% Pentax and 10% Samsung) Pentax K10D and K20D gave birth to the

Samsung GX-10 The Pentax K10D and similar Samsung GX-10 are 10.2-megapixel digital single-lens reflex cameras launched in late 2006. They were developed in a collaboration between Pentax of Japan and Samsung of South Korea. The K10D was announced on 13 Septem ...

and GX-20 respectively. Some Pentax lenses are also rebranded and sold as

Schneider Kreuznach Schneider Kreuznach () is the abbreviated name of the company Jos. Schneider Optische Werke GmbH, which is sometimes also simply referred to as Schneider. They are a manufacturer of industrial and photographic optics. The company was founded on ...

D-Xenon and D-Xenogon lenses for Samsung DSLRs. However, both brands are completely compatible with Pentax and

DSLRs. In 2017,

announced its departure of the camera market. Hoya is focusing its main business on the following areas: information technology, eye care, life care, optics, imaging systems. Pentax’s main

competitor Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, indivi ...

s include

Olympus Olympus or Olympos ( grc, Ὄλυμπος, link=no) may refer to: Mountains In antiquity Greece * Mount Olympus in Thessaly, northern Greece, the home of the twelve gods of Olympus in Greek mythology * Mount Olympus (Lesvos), located in Les ...

Panasonic formerly between 1935 and 2008 and the first incarnation of between 2008 and 2022, is a major Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka, Kadoma, Osaka P ...

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

(imaging/camera business),

Fujifilm , trading as Fujifilm, or simply Fuji, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, operating in the realms of photography, optics, office and medical electronics, biotechnology, and chemicals. The offerings from th ...

, Sangi,

Kyocera is a Japanese multinational ceramics and electronics manufacturer headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It was founded as in 1959 by Kazuo Inamori and renamed in 1982. It manufactures industrial ceramics, solar power generating systems, telecommuni ...

(life care business).

Europe and Asia

Asahi Pentax (all 35mm equipment) Pentax 6x7 (medium format 120 6x7cm equipment from 1969 to 1990) Pentax 67 (medium format 120 6x7cm equipment from 1990 to 1999)

North America

Honeywell Pentax (medium format 120 6x7cm equipment from 1969 to 1990)

Subsidiaries

Asia

* Pentax Industrial Instruments Co., Ltd. * Pentax Optotech Co., Ltd. * Pentax Service, Co., Ltd. * Pentax Fukushima Co., Ltd. * Pentax Tohoku Co., Ltd. * Pentax Trading (Shanghai) Co.,Ltd. * Pentax (Shanghai) Corporation * Pentax Hong Kong Ltd. * Pentax Cebu Philippines Corporation * Pentax VN Co., Ltd.

Europe

* Pentax Europe GmbH * Pentax U.K. Ltd. * Pentax France S.A. * Pentax Schweiz AG * Pentax Scandinavia AB * Pentax Nederland B.V. * Pentax Europe n.v.

North America

* Pentax of America Inc. (Pentax Medical Company) * Pentax of America Inc. (Pentax Imaging Company) * Pentax of America Inc. * Pentax Medical Company * Pentax Imaging Company * Microline Pentax Inc. * Pentax Canada Inc. * KayPentax (Pentax Medical Company) * Pentax Teknologies.

Notes

References

* ''The Japanese Historical Camera.'' 日本の歴史的カメラ (''Nihon no rekishiteki kamera''). 2nd ed. Tokyo: JCII Camera Museum, 2004. *

Corporate history

Early history

Early 1950s to 2007

Merger with Hoya

Ricoh Imaging Company

Products

Corporate cooperation and competition

Europe and Asia

North America

Subsidiaries

Asia

Europe

North America

See also

Notes

References

External links