Happy 100th Birthday Pentax!

November 27th, 1919, marked the founding of Asahi Optical Joint Stock Company, the original parent company of what later became known as Pentax.

Asahi had humble beginnings—it was founded by Kumao Kajiwara, a younger son of an old Japanese Samurai family, in the Tokyo suburb of Toshima, for the manufacture of lenses for eyeglasses. After many years of manufacturing lenses, including camera lenses for Konica and Minolta, Asahi Optical Co. Ltd. (as it was by then known) introduced its first camera, the Asahiflex, in 1952. It was the first Japanese SLR-type camera to use 35mm film. Asahi acquired the name "Pentax" (a portmanteau of "pentaprism" and "Contax," a Zeiss brand name at the time) from East German VEB Zeiss in 1957, and from then on all its cameras were called Asahi Pentax. Honeywell was an early importer of Asahi cameras into the United States, where they were labeled Honeywell Pentax.

The beautiful, high-value K-1 II

Recent years saw the company name officially change to Pentax Corporation in 2002. In a complicated and somewhat contentious merger, Pentax became a consolidated subsidiary of Hoya Corporation, a precision instruments company with its roots in glass and optics, in the Summer of 2007. Hoya split off the camera-making imaging division (its chairman calling its acquisition a "mistake") and sold it to Ricoh, a copier manufacturer with a spirited devotion to cameras and photography, only four years later, in 2011. The company was at first called Pentax Ricoh Imaging Co. Ltd., but in 2013 was simplified to Ricoh Imaging Co. Ltd. The old word Pentax, which is now used by no fewer than four separate companies for a variety of products, returned once again to being a model and brand name where cameras are concerned. Thus far, the greatest production of the Pentax-Ricoh partnership is the very highly regarded K-1 Mark II full-frame DSLR. [UPDATE: Yr. Hmbl. Ed. may have misspoken. See the Featured Comments below.]

Happy 100th Birthday and congratulations Pentax, and thank you Ricoh!

Mike
(Thanks to Ned B.)

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(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

Greg Heins: "It’s crazy, I know, but I tend to judge cameras by how they feel to use and by what the final prints look like. On both counts, my K-1 and 645Z consistently bring me joy. Not that I’ve tried everything else, but still...."

Tex Andrews: "Re 'Thus far, the greatest production of the Pentax-Ricoh partnership is the very highly regarded K-1 Mark II full-frame DSLR.' Oh, but I beg to differ! And I own this camera (upgraded version), and it is splendid. But I would say that thus far the greatest production remains 2014's 645Z. At its introductory retail price, it was at the time by far the least expensive digital medium format camera made, and it came with stellar DR and ISO range specs, plus video and more, all in a very robust, weatherproof body. I also own this camera.

"The K-1 Mark II is a very fine camera, but broke little new ground in the market's overall context, except perhaps in price. The 645Z was quite the bombshell, on the other hand, even more so than the 645D of 2010. So much so that both DPReview and DxO Mark both chose to bury their testing results for years (DPR has a somewhat lame excuse...DxO has none), as those results at the time made it the best camera out there in terms of IQ. Fuji has since caught up and with one camera exceeded Pentax's great achievement, but it's notable that the 645Z remains thoroughly competitive five whole years later, going on six. That is a whole lot of time in the camera world! Happy Thanksgiving, Mike!"

Mike replies: I must have had a synapse-lapse—as I was writing this post somewhat hurriedly yesterday afternoon (our last training session for pool league was yesterday evening), the medium-format Ricoh-Pentaxes completely slipped my mind.

At this moment, for Thanksgiving, you can save $3,199.95 on this camera and 55mm lens kit. That's not the price, that's the discount. Over the years since 2014 I've never heard a bad thing from a 645Z owner about the camera, and I've encountered a number of owners who, like Tex and Greg, are quite content with theirs. If I had to guess, I would say that's probably partly due to the satisfactory nature of the camera itself, and partly due to the calm, easygoing, phlegmatic disposition that seems to be characteristic of Pentaxians.

In any event, yes, I stand corrected, the greatest production of Ricoh's stewardship of Pentax thus far would be the 645Z.

Gaspar Heurtley: "I’ve been a Pentax film shooter since I was a kid,. My first camera was a Spotmatic my father gave to me when I was about ten years old. Still have it and use it from time to time. In digital I’m an Olympus shooter (I use a good old trusty E-M5 Mark I), but the lens I use the most, by far, is the Super Takumar 50mm ƒ/1.4 from that Spotmatic. I find the 100mm equivalent to be just perfect for my style of shooting, and after using that lens for more than 25 years (I’m 37 now) I know exactly how it’s gonna work in any scenario at any given aperture. As much as I like my E-M5, I really don’t care which body I use, just as long as I can keep taking pictures with that Super Takumar. I don’t think I’ve ever been that committed to anything."

Mike replies: You and Henri. He used the latest M bodies as they were introduced, but always stuck by his faithful fifty, a seven-element collapsible 50mm Summicron (1953–1960). It's not a bad thing to remain committed to a lens. Cartier-Bresson also sometimes carried a 35mm and an 85mm, but the then-President of Magnum Photos, when I visited in New York City, told me that you could page through book after book of his contact sheets (some of which I got to look through) and see only an occasional single picture that wasn't taken with the 50mm.

Dillan: "The first camera that I ever used was my parent's Pentax Program Plus, an SLR camera from the early 1980s. I enjoyed it so much that I have been shooting ever since."

Tom: "What Greg said. The ergonomics of Pentax cameras feels natural to me. The 645Z may have a few too many buttons, but at least it's nearly impossible to push one by accident, like say the GFX 50R. I've had more Pentax cameras than I care to list (see above photo) and along with some superb lenses using them is second nature. Photo is of my printer room with a display of old film cameras. Top shelf bodies are all Pentaxes (pun intended), except the Yashica 124G and a squirt gun camera."

Comments

[Stephen Cowdery]

The only camera company with five interchangeable lens mounts, all of which can still be used (provided the FFD is equal or lesser) on modern cameras!

[Mike Plews]

A Honeywell Pentax H1a was the first new camera I owned. Bought it in high school and loved it and still have a fondness for screw mount Pentax cameras.

[Phil]

The first SLR I ever used was my Dad's SP500 with the 55/1.8 Super-Takumar. I still have them. My first serious gear purchase (at the age of 19) was a Super-Tak 50/1.4 that I used on an old Praktica I'd been given. I still have that lens, too. When I graduated from university I bought a Pentax LX, accumulated a handful of lenses, and spent the next 15 years shooting everything with them. The whole kit was stolen in the mid-90's and I moved away from Pentax. But those formative years with Pentax taught me to think about the lenses first. Not saying I never get seduced by the hype for the latest high-pixel, fast-focus Whiz-camera, but I usually manage to calm down and think about what lenses can I get before I give somebody thousands of dollars.

When I was an undergrad in the '80's, guys started showing up at club meetings with the latest ultra-amazing lenses ("zooms", they were called) but during someone's slide-show, I muttered quietly that I thought the pictures seemed all kind of soft. When it got out that I had said that, a not-so-polite discussion ensued about how, since I had only one measly 50mm lens to my name (the aforementioned Super-Tak 1.4) I didn't know what I was talking about. Luckily, before friendships were ruined, some guy from the back said something like, "if all I ever looked at were slides taken with a Pentax, everything else is going to look soft". I suspect the zoom guys thought that he was taking their side (!) and that's okay with me. It uturns out, I didn't find non-Pentax lenses that I was really happy with for another 20 years.

[Earl Dunbar]

I follow Ned Bunnell on Instagram (thanks to this web/blog for introducing me to Ned) and he has opened my eyes to many gorgeous Pentax products, especially the Pentax SL, previously unknown to me. Too bad I have no GAS.

[Jim McDermott]

I got into photography in 1983, buying an Olympus XA2 to record my visits to medieval churches. When the SLR bug bit, I went for the Pentax ME Super because it seemed to have a lot for the price (the Olympus OM2n was out of reach). Since then I've tried pretty much every brand, but have come to appreciate the sublime handling qualities that Pentax regard as a priority. Even their most complex models can be set to the simplest functions easily (I may be wrong, butI think they invented the green button default feature). The MX, LX, MZ-S and a series of DSLRs beginning with the K10 have been lovely devices with superb build quality (where Canon went very wrong, IMO, at least with their non-professional lines), giving as much pride of ownership as sensible money can provide. And the lenses ...

[Roger Bradbury]

@ Stephen Cowdery: The only camera company with five interchangeable lens mounts
Actually, there have been seven, though only five are a practical option. In order of flange distance they are:
Q
Auto 110
M37 (Asahiflex)
M42
K
645
67
The Q mount is only 9.2mm from the sensor plane, and I think it's the shortest distance of all mounts by anyone, so no infinity focus. M37 lenses are probably a bit hard to come by these days. Neither are practical, but as you say, all the others can be used on other cameras.

[Roger Bradbury]

I went to the birthday celebrations at the SRS camera shop in Watford, England. Since I had unwisely said that I was going, to the USA Pentax Forum, I was "volunteered" to bring back a report and pictures. Here it is, on their forum:
https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/16-pentax-news-rumors/398099-hundred-years-pentax-england.html

[Ilkka]

The only bad thing about the 645z is that it was very slow to come to market. I had a Pentax 67 with several lenses that I hoped to use with it before gradually buying native lenses and I was waiting and waiting and waiting for the 645z which was promised by Pentax and promised and then delayed again. By the time it actually came, I had switched to Hasselblad.

[Jeff Clevenger]

Hi Mike,

As we note the 100th anniversary of the founding of Asahi Optical, it is fitting to celebrate their achievement, not just in camera design and production, but also in creating the Takumar line of lenses, which first put Asahi on the international map alongside Carl Zeiss and other great photographic companies.

Taks are justly famous for their outstandingly smooth out of focus areas, and rank alongside Zeiss lenses as go-to lenses today for those interested in trying them out on modern digital SLRs and mirrorless cameras with an adapter.

Great to see what images these classic film-era creations can capture in the digital arena, and the fact that they have a bit of a different look than pics from modern lenses is part of their appeal.

Thanks,
Jeff Clevenger

[Greg Heins]

One of the lovely aspects of the new Fuji medium format cameras is the attendant price drop on mint used 645Z equipment. I agree with Tex here. After I commented earlier, I had an hour with our museum’s impatient director to shoot new portraits in four different locations around the building. One soft LED source traveled with us and the results at isos between 1600 and 3200 were just splendid.

[richardplondon]

Some might go further: …"the calm, easygoing, phlegmatic disposition that seems to be" a necessary "characteristic of Pentaxians".

Is it true though? I've been with Pentax since 1980; and I would strongly resemble such a remark.

[Cateto/Jose]

When I started dating my then girlfriend (now happily wife), my first significant present to her was an all-manual Pentax P30 with a 28/80 lens. We made many shots with it and some people from the family realized it was a good combo since it made great pictures, and even asked it to be loaned for a while.

With time we moved to autofocus and got a Nikon with a large zoom, whose quality was never close to the pics we made with our beloved Pentax.

In 2007 we returned home by purchasing a Pentax K10 with the standard 18-55 lenses. Since then we have added other lenses, including a zoom, a manual Tamron 90 mm 2.5, and more recently a 50 mm. Even if the K10 has been "outdated" for a long time in terms of specs with respect the current bunch of modern digital cameras, it is more than enough for our needs. And I must say that still today, when I use the Tamron 90 mm, the results are often stellar.

From time to time I get the new purchase syndrome and am tempted to get a Pentax K1... but at the end I think it is probably too much camera for my needs, and is hard to justify the money I would spend. (Although if I had to bet, I would not bet that I will keep forever in this situation...).

[You should look at this maybe--

https://amzn.to/2sv7enF

--Mike]

[Stephen McCullough]

I'm not wildly loyal to brands, but I am loyal to ergonomics and intuitive ease of use. Every time I pick up my Pentax 645Nii it melts away and simply operates beautifully.

[Dennis Ng]

I only have one digital Pentax. It is to do with Astro photo which the Pentax has a thing that can follow the star using its sensor. I got it. Put it not drying box and use other devices to take Astro photo instead. Sorry. Guess it is the ultimate example of seldom (never) used and kept in drying box as in those selling Adv. Anyway still love to read Pentax forum, as my Pentax 67 is really a good platform to use.

Happy 100 years Pentax.

[Grant]

You missed the Heiland Pentaxes!

Heiland Research had been a maker of flash equipment since at least the 1930s. Sometime in the early 1950s (there seems to be some disagreement as to exactly when), they were acquired by Honeywell Corporation. For a period of time it was apparently operated as a wholly owned subsidiary, using their own brand name. At some point they started importing Pentax cameras, which were dutifully marked as Heiland Pentax.

After a short time, the Honeywell logo started to be stamped on the top of the pentaprism, without fill paint, while the nameplate continued to say Heiland. At some point Honeywell completely absorbed the Heiland operation (or decided that the brand needed to die) and the Heiland Pentax nameplate disappeared — to be replaced by the Honeywell Pentax plate we know and love.

At one point back in the 1980s I had a small collection of Heiland Pentaxes along with their identical Honeywell-branded versions. The hardest things to find, even then, were the metal lenscaps with Heiland Pentax embossing.