is a brand name used primarily by the Japanese multinational imaging and electronics company
Ricoh for
DSLR 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), 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 for medical products & services, TI Asahi for surveying instruments, and
Seiko 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 and
Minolta 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 and
Canon 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](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/Technische_Sammlungen_Dresden_-_Foto_-_Spiegelreflexkamera_Pentax_1954_-_Prototyp_-_DSC4363.jpg)
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), ...
s,
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 ...
, 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
Hoya Corporation 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
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 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 province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 ...
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
Hoya Corporation stated on July 1, 2011, that it would sell its Pentax camera business to copier and printer maker
Ricoh, 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
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 ...
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
Hoya Corporation, it eventually was purchased by
Ricoh, which continues to develop and market digital cameras under the Pentax brand. Currently, Pentax DSLRs are manufactured in
Cebu, Philippines
Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 ...
, while digital Pentax lenses are manufactured in
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 ...
, 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 and
GX-20 respectively. Some Pentax lenses are also rebranded and sold as
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 ...
Schneider Kreuznach D-Xenon and D-Xenogon lenses for Samsung DSLRs. However, both brands are completely compatible with Pentax and
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 ...
DSLRs. In 2017,
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 ...
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
competitors include
Canon,
Nikon,
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,
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, Sangi,
Kyocera (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.
See also
*
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 ...
*
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 ...
*
List of digital camera brands
This is a list of digital camera brands. Former and current brands are included in this list. With some of the brands, the name is licensed from another company, or acquired after the bankruptcy of an older photographic equipment company. The a ...
*
List of Pentax products
The following is a partial list of products manufactured under the Pentax brand.
Film cameras
35 mm SLR cameras
M37 screw mount
Cameras using the M37 lens mount.
* Ashiflex I (1952–1953)
* Asahiflex Ia (1953–1954) — also sold as t ...
*
List of photographic equipment makers
*
Pentax cameras
*
Pentax lenses
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.
*
External links
Pentax Ricoh Imaging Company(digital cameras, binoculars, etc. – Ricoh)
Pentax Medical Company(endoscopic imaging devices – Hoya)
Pentax New Ceramics(hydroxyapatite – Hoya)
Pentax Surveying Instruments(TI Asahi)
Pentax lenses(Seiko Optical Products)
{{Major imaging companies
Fuyo Group
Companies formerly listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange
Japanese brands
Lens manufacturers
Manufacturing companies based in Tokyo
Manufacturing companies established in 1919
Photography companies of Japan
Technology companies disestablished in 2008
Japanese companies established in 1919