Super Members Mattias Burling Posted April 12, 2017 Super Members Share Posted April 12, 2017 This time its one of the smaller and more predictable brands, Ricoh (owner of Pentax). It feels like it was bound to happen. https://pentaxrumors.com/2017/04/11/ricoh-is-considering-to-withdraw-from-the-camera-business/ The Ricoh GR/GRii is one of the most loved street cameras out there and has been for years (I bought one, it holds up to the hype). The GR line goes back all the way to the film days and the 35mm versions are still very expensive and in high demand. Much better value than any digital. Their DSLRs are technical monsters and the Raw files are out of this world imo. But as we have seen in the past, that's not enough. My thoughts, I and many others predicted a few years ago that this would happen soon. The camera market is in no way big enough for all the brands competing. And it still isnt. Even after Samsung left. And Nikon and Panasonics restructuring. Its still to many chefs in a small restaurant. Personally I would be extremely surprised if one of Panasonic, Sony, Olympus or Nikon wont pull the plug, do huge downsizing or get sold within 5 years. (3 years is probably not to far of either.) Fuji might be on the list but as long as their film business keeps on outselling digital it might be fine. Canon and Leica are hugely profitable. Your thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Members Mattias Burling Posted April 12, 2017 Author Super Members Share Posted April 12, 2017 Update: Ricoh issued a statement denying the report, saying that they are focusing on expanding “high-value-added models” (Google translated from Japanese). http://www.itmedia.co.jp/news/articles/1704/12/news063.html I hope they stick with the GR and skip the rest Fuji I think hopes the absolute opposite. The x70 and gr are neck and neck. Yuan and Cinegain 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yuan Posted April 12, 2017 Share Posted April 12, 2017 Good news they're not closing up shop, I was looking forward to the GR III. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercer Posted April 12, 2017 Share Posted April 12, 2017 Definitely good news. I had a Pentax SLR years ago and although I only used it for snapshots, I loved the utilitarian design of it. I also owned a Q7 for a while and that little camera was a blast to go out and shoot with some old D-Mount lenses. It even had peaking. But it also has the worst rolling shutter I've ever seen. With Ricoh's background with Super 8, I've always hoped they would get more involved with video. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Andrew Reid Posted April 12, 2017 Administrators Share Posted April 12, 2017 12 hours ago, Mattias Burling said: My thoughts, I and many others predicted a few years ago that this would happen soon. The camera market is in no way big enough for all the brands competing. And it still isnt. Even after Samsung left. And Nikon and Panasonics restructuring. Its still to many chefs in a small restaurant. Personally I would be extremely surprised if one of Panasonic, Sony, Olympus or Nikon wont pull the plug, do huge downsizing or get sold within 5 years. (3 years is probably not to far of either.) Panasonic should think about a merger with Olympus if either of their camera divisions hit severe trouble. Focus on the high end models from now on only. Nikon I fear for more because they are not innovating and seem completely clueless about how to turn things around. They are also the most dependant just on cameras, whereas Panasonic and Olympus have other big presences in medical and consumer goods beyond cameras. Sony's stuff is selling well, no need to fear for them. They will soon over take Nikon and go into second place behind Canon. Quote Fuji might be on the list but as long as their film business keeps on outselling digital it might be fine. Fuji I am not sure about... on one hand they have a strong enthusiast following, on the other hand their sales aren't exactly Canon-like and they are quite dependant to the consumer photographic market. I think medium format isn't enough to save them if things keep on deteriorating. Quote Canon and Leica are hugely profitable. Out of everyone, Canon and Leica have the biggest share of the pro market and big big margins. They'll be around for a long time. Even if their products are obsolete in some ways... Canon don't understand apps and services, and Leica don't understand very much outside of their professional photography niche. Quote Your thoughts? Rioch seem to be mismanaging Pentax and I can see the Pentax brand being sold. They are definitely the next one in the danger zone, and far more likely to do a 'Samsung' than Panasonic or Olympus. Kisaha 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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