 | |
 Former headquarters inItabashi, Tokyo | |
Native name | ペンタックス株式会社 |
|---|---|
Romanized name | PentakkusuKabushiki gaisha |
| Formerly |
|
| Company type | PublicTYO:7750 (–2007);Subsidiary ofHoya Corporation (2007–2008) |
| Industry | Imaging |
| Founded | November 1919; 106 years ago (1919-11) Tokyo,Japan |
| Fate | Merged intoHoya; digital camera business spun off toRicoh |
| Successor |
|
| Headquarters | Maenochō,, Japan |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Products | Cameras and photographic equipment;binoculars,spotting scopes andtelescopes; medicalfiberscopes andendoscopes; medical fineceramics products; information and communications products; components; industrial products; eyeglass lenses |
| Revenue |  JP¥157.3 billion (Business year ending March 31, 2007) |
| JP¥3.57 billion | |
Number of employees | 1,661 (as of March 31, 2005; non-consolidated Pentax Corp. only) |
| Website | Pentax |
Pentax Corporation (ペンタックス株式会社,PentakkusuKabushiki gaisha) was a Japanese camera and optical equipment manufacturer. Currently, it exists as thePentax Life Care Business Division ofHoya's medicalendoscope business, as well as the digital and film camera brand of Ricoh Imaging, a subsidiary ofRicoh.
Pentax, founded in 1919 asAsahi Kogaku Goshi Kaisha, a town workshop specializing in polishing eyeglass lenses, developed Japan's first single-lens reflex camera, theAsahiflex, in 1952. In 1938, it changed its name toAsahi Optical Co., Ltd.. In the mid-1950s, Asahi Optical Co., Ltd. acquired the German brand Pentax, andAsahi Pentax Corporation was established in Japan as a sales company. In 2002, Asahi Optical Co. changed its name to Pentax Corporation. By 2006, Pentax's domestic market share in digital cameras had declined to 4%. In 2007, Pentax was acquired byHoya and subsequently merged with the company the following year. In 2011, Hoya spun off the Pentax brand's digital camera business, which was then acquired byRicoh, leading to the establishment of Pentax Ricoh Imaging (currently Ricoh Imaging).
As a response to growing interest in film photography, Pentax launched the Pentax 17 on June 17, 2024. The Pentax 17 is ahalf-frame film camera.[1] This launch marks the first Pentax film camera in over two decades.
The original company was founded as Asahi Optical CoAsahi Kogaku Goshi Kaisha in November 1919 by Kumao Kajiwara, at a shop in theToshima suburb ofTokyo, and began producingspectacle lenses (which it still manufactures).[2]Asahi means in Japanese "Rising Sun" and was chosen as a symbol of hope.Kogaku means "optical" or "optics", whileGoshi Kaisha is a Japanese term for a "limited partnership company," which was its original legal structure.
In 1938, it changed its name toAsahi Optical Co., Ltd. (旭光学工業株式会社,Asahi Kōgaku Kōgyō Kabushiki-gaisha); 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 (laterKonica andMinolta respectively).
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.[3] TheKorean War saw a huge influx of journalists and photographers to theFar East, where they were impressed by lenses from companies such asNikon andCanon for theirLeica rangefinder cameras, and also by bodies by these and other companies to supplement and replace the Leica andContax cameras they were using.
In 1952, Asahi Optical introduced its first camera, theAsahiflex (the first Japanese SLR using 35mm film). The name "Pentax" was originally a registered trademark of theEast German VEBZeiss Ikon (from "Pentaprism" and "Contax") 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; being imported byHoneywell 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 stillcameras,binoculars, spectacle lenses, and a variety of other optical instruments. In 2004, Pentax had about 6000 employees.
In December 2006, Pentax started the process of merging withHoya Corporation to form 'Hoya Pentax HD Corporation'.[4] 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.[5] 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.[6] 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 publictender offer for Pentax and acquired 90.59% of the company.[7] 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.[8] Hoya closed the Pentax-owned factory inTokyo, and moved all manufacturing facilities toCebu,Philippines andHanoi,Vietnam.[9]
On July 1, 2011, Hoya stated that it would sell its Pentax camera business to copier and printer makerRicoh, in a deal the Nikkei business daily reported was worth about 10 billion yen ($124.2 million).[10] 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 subsidiaryPentax Ricoh Imaging Company, Ltd.[11] 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 toRicoh Imaging Company Ltd.[12]
Asahi Optical Co Ltd is best known for AsahiPentax 6x7 medium format film cameras and the later Pentax Corporation is best known forPentax 67 medium format film cameras.
In 1990, the Asahi Optical Co. Ltd renamed the sub-brand from "Pentax 6x7" toPentax 67. The company produced Pentax 67 cameras until 1999 and ceased trading 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 intoHoya Corporation, it eventually was purchased byRicoh, which continues to develop and market digital cameras under the Pentax brand. Currently, Pentax DSLRs are manufactured inCebu,Philippines, while digital Pentax lenses are manufactured inHanoi,Vietnam, under Pentax Ricoh Imaging Products.[13]
In June 17, 2024, Pentax launched their latest product, the Pentax 17. The Pentax 17 is a half-frame camera with a fixed zone focusing lens, a magnesium alloy body, and a price tag of $500. The Pentax 17 is the company's first film camera in over two decades.[14]
In 2005, Pentax Corporation partnered withSamsung[15] to share work on camera technology and recapture market ground from Nikon and Canon.[16] Pentax and Samsung subsequently released new DSLR siblings from this agreement. ThePentax *ist DS and*istDL2 also appeared as theSamsung GX-1S andGX-1L, while the jointly developed (90% Pentax and 10% Samsung) PentaxK10D andK20D gave birth to theSamsung GX-10 andGX-20 respectively. Some Pentax lenses are also rebranded and sold asSamsungSchneider Kreuznach D-Xenon and D-Xenogon lenses for Samsung DSLRs. However, both brands are completely compatible with Pentax andSamsung DSLRs. In 2017,Samsung announced its departure of the camera market.[17]
Hoya is focusing its main business on the following areas: information technology, eye care, life care, optics, imaging systems. Pentax’s maincompetitors includeCanon,Nikon,Olympus,Panasonic,Sony (imaging/camera business),Fujifilm, Sangi,Kyocera (life care business).
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)
Honeywell Pentax (medium format 120 6x7cm equipment from 1969 to 1990)
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
| Acquisitions |
|  | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Products and services |
| ||||||
| Places | |||||||
| Other | |||||||
