The Ricoh Company, Ltd. is a Japanese multinational imaging and electronics company. It was founded by the now-defunct commercial division of the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (Riken) known as the Riken Concern, on 6 February 1936 as Riken Sensitized Paper. Ricoh's headquarters are located in Ota, Tokyo.
The Pentax K-m is a 10.2 megapixel digital single-lens reflex camera, announced on September 22, 2008, at the 2008 photokina trade show along with the DA-L series of lightweight, inexpensive lenses. It was discontinued in November 2009, being replaced by the more recent Pentax K-x.
This article discusses the cameras – mainly 35 mm SLRs – manufactured by Pentax Ricoh Imaging Corp. and its predecessors, Pentax Corporation and Asahi Optical Co., Ltd.. Pentax must not be confused with Pentax 6x7 or Pentax 67 which are 120 medium format 6x7cm film cameras.
Pentax lenses were first badged as Takumar. The Takumar branded lenses were well respected for their line of Super Takumar, which designated the high performance coating applied to the lens as well as the optical formulas used to make them. The majority of the industry at the time was still satisfied with the variations of the "plumb" coating process and later some of the two and three layer processes as well. Asahi Pentax soon introduced the Takumar Super-Multi-Coated line of lenses which was a 7 layer process as the industry had just caught up with similar forms of 5 layer multi-coated optics. Eventually Asahi Optical and Pentax slowly shifted much of their lens production under the Pentax name and transitioned some of the successful designs that were first introduced under the Takumar name to use Asahi/Pentax badging as well as beginning to use the "smc" abbreviation. Eventually the Asahi partnership disappeared and the Pentax name became solely used. Pentax lenses saw many feature changes to answer the market, such as: incorporating "Auto-Aperture" with the M42, the light weight and compactness with the 'M' series, Aperture Priority overrides with the 'A' series, and Auto-Focus with the 'F' series. Modern Pentax lenses for digital SLR cameras have seen the elimination of the aperture ring completely as found on Pentax DA and D-FA series lenses. They use the Pentax KAF mount. All of these lenses have an autofocus feature, either operated from the camera body or from an internal SDM motor. Pentax compatible lenses are also made by third-party companies.
The Pentax Optio S50 is a digital compact camera announced by Pentax on August 16, 2004. It contains an early example of a selective colour filter.
The Pentax K-x is a 12.4 megapixel digital single-lens reflex camera, which was announced on September 16, 2009. The Pentax K-x uses a Sony Exmor sensor. In some cases it even approaches the quality produced by full-frame DSLRs like the Nikon D700 and the Canon 5DMkII, both with larger sensors. The Pentax K-x is suitable for low light conditions for both still and video photography.
The Pentax ME was a 1976-introduced, aperture priority automatic camera with an electronic focal plane shutter from 8 s to 1/1000 s, synchronized at 1/100 s. The shutter curtains were metal and had a vertical movement. There was no shutter dial, and the camera could not be used in manual mode, except for B and 1/100 exposures. The Pentax-invented digital light meter was of the standard TTL open aperture center weighted type. It was activated by a slight pressure on the release button.
Pentax K-01 is a mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera announced in February 2012. It uses the Pentax K mount.
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX1 is a series of premium fixed-lens full-frame digital compact cameras made by Sony as part of its Cyber-shot line.
The Pentax Q7 is a compact digital mirrorless interchangeable lens camera announced by Pentax on June 12, 2013. While the camera has a larger sensor than its predecessors, the Q and Q10, it is compatible with existing Q series lenses.
The Pentax Q-S1 is a compact digital mirrorless interchangeable lens camera announced by Ricoh under the Pentax brand on August 4, 2014. It replaces the Pentax Q7, and is part of Pentax' Q system, the most compact digital interchangeable lens camera system as of September 2014, with crop factors ranging from 4.6 to 5.6.
The Pentax XG-1 is a DSLR-like ultrazoom bridge camera announced by Pentax on July 15, 2014. At the time of its release, it had the third longest reach of any compact camera, with a maximum of 1248mm equivalent focal length, after the Nikon Coolpix P600 at 1440mm, and the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H400 at 1550mm, both announced in February of the same year. A fourth camera, the Kodak Pixpro Astro Zoom AZ651, announced in January with a maximum focal length of 1560mm, has yet to make it to market, as of February 2015.
The Pentax K-S1 is a midrange DSLR camera announced by Ricoh on August 27, 2014. It has a 20 megapixel sensor — new to the Pentax line-up — and an anti-aliasing filter simulator as previously seen in the Pentax K-3. Also adopted from the K-3 is compatibility with the Pentax FluCard, which allows wireless tethered shooting and wireless download of images from the camera.
The Pentax Optio E60 is a digital compact camera announced by Pentax on July 31, 2008. It uses AA batteries and therefore does not depend on a proprietary charger.
The Pentax smc DA 21mm F3.2 AL Limited is a moderate wide angle lens announced by Pentax on February 13, 2006. It is one of the five very compact "Limited" prime lenses for APS-C format cameras. Like its siblings, it was replaced in 2013 with a version that is HD-coated and has rounded aperture blades.
The smc Pentax-FA 77mm f/1.8 Limited is a prime lens for Pentax K-mount aimed at portrait photography. It was voted "Greatest Pentax Lens of All Time" at Pentaxforums.com.
The Pentax K-70 is a 24 megapixel compact APS-C digital SLR camera announced by Ricoh on June 8, 2016. In contrast to the previously introduced APS-C flagship K-3 II, it includes a flash, flip-out display and built-in WiFi. In common with that camera, the K-70 is capable of Pixel Shift Resolution images, which provide higher colour resolution and require the camera to be stationary. It is the first Pentax camera to also include on-sensor PDAF elements that support hybrid autofocus, enabling continuous autofocus during video capture.
The Pentax KP is a 24 megapixel compact APS-C AA-filterless digital SLR camera announced by Ricoh on January 25, 2017. It features a PRIME IV image processor with an "image accelerator unit" that supports its operation up to ISO 819,200. It has a 1/6000s conventional and 1/24,000s electronic shutter. In terms of bracketing modes, it adds depth of field and shutter speed bracketing. The Pentax KP uses the Pentax K-mount interchangeable lens system.
The HD Pentax-D FA 70–210mm f/4.0 ED SDM WR lens is a telephoto zoom lens for the Pentax K-mount. The lens was on the roadmap since 2019, has been announced in January 2020 and should be available from March 2020. It is an additional full-frame lens to reboot Pentax' involvement in that format, the last previously introduced newly developed full-frame lens being the D FA* 50mm ED SDM AW in 2018. On Pentax APS-C cameras, the D FA 70–210mm has an equivalent focal length range of 107–322mm.
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