Pentax
Japanese optics company and brand owned by Ricoh / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Pentax Corporation (ペンタックス株式会社, Pentakkusu Kabushiki gaisha) was a Japanese camera and optical equipment manufacturer, and currently, it exists as the Pentax Life Care Business Division of Hoya's medical endoscope business, as well as the digital camera brand of Ricoh Imaging, a subsidiary of Ricoh.
Native name | ペンタックス株式会社 |
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Romanized name | Pentakkusu Kabushiki gaisha |
Formerly |
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Company type | Public TYO: 7750 (–2007); Subsidiary of Hoya Corporation (2007–2008) |
Industry | Imaging |
Founded | November 1919; 104 years ago (1919-11) Tokyo, Japan |
Defunct | March 31, 2008; 16 years ago (2008-03-31) |
Fate | Merged into Hoya; digital camera business spun off to Ricoh |
Successor |
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Headquarters | Maenochō, , Japan |
Area served | Worldwide |
Products | Cameras and photographic equipment; binoculars, spotting scopes and telescopes; medical fiberscopes and endoscopes; medical fine ceramics 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, founded in 1919 as a town workshop specializing in polishing eyeglass lenses, developed Japan's first single-lens reflex camera, the Asahiflex, in 1952. By 2006, Pentax's domestic market share in digital cameras had declined to 4%. In 2007, Pentax was acquired by Hoya 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 by Ricoh, leading to the establishment of Pentax Ricoh Imaging (current Ricoh Imaging).