PENTAX

PENTAX (RICOH IMAGING COMPANY)

Pentax is a brand name used primarily by Ricoh Imaging Company for cameras, sport optics and CCTV optics. The brand is also used by Hoya Corporation for medical products & services, TI Asahi for surveying instruments, Seiko Optical Products for certain optical lenses. The company is best known for its ‘Pentax’ brand cameras,

starting with the pivotal “Asahi Pentax” single lens reflex camera of 1957, which followed Asahi’s series of cameras, the Asahiflex of 1952. The success of Pentax series was such that business eventually renamed itself “Pentax Corporation” after the product. Although the corporation ultimately merged into Hoya Corporation, it eventually was purchased by Ricoh, who continues to develop & market cameras under the Pentax brand. Today, Ricoh Imaging Co. Ltd. produces the heritage-rich, award-winning line of Pentax DSLR cameras, lenses and sport optics equipment as well as Ricoh’s offering of stylish & compact digital cameras, known for their wide-ranging rich set of features.

Ricoh Imaging Company Ltd. (Pentax), originally founded in 1919 under the name Asahi Optical Joint Stock Co., launched its 1^st SLR camera in 1950s under the Pentax brand. In 1952, Asahi Optical introduced its 1^st camera, the Asahiflex (the first Japanese SLR using 35mm film). The name ‘Pentax’ was originally a registered trademark of the East German VEB Zeiss Ikon but as all Germans patents were annulled with the country’s defeat, the name ‘Pentax, was taken by Asahi Optical company in 1957. Since then the company has been primarily known for its photographic products, distributed under the name “Asahi Pentax”. The company was renamed Pentax Corporation in 2002.

Pentax Corp. was the world’s largest optical companies producing still cameras, binoculars, spectacle lenses and a variety of other optical instruments. In 2004, Pentax had about 6000 employees.

Pentax has manufactured varieties of camera models which are Medium Format, DSLR Camera, Hybrid Camera and Compact Camera.