Zvonimir Tosic wrote:
Tom Caldwell wrote:
Possible?
Ricoh buys Pentax and (perhaps) revitalises the dslr section, talks about being a bigger corporation than Nikon ...
Nikon makes a GR clone and releases it before Ricoh fronts with their version ...
War?
On the other hand there are a slew of similar small format big(ger) sensor cameras coming up to the bench ...
Because Nikon knows that Ricoh is readying for an offensive and a big marketing push of newly acquired assets.
Which is not a small concern for them, considering that all Japanese imaging companies know what Pentax stands for, what is heritage behind it, what is Pentax capable of when they set their minds and have a proper support. However, so far they didn't bother with Pentax because everyone knew it was too small to make any considerable impact on their sales. They also did not bother with Ricoh for that same reason. But Pentax and Ricoh together … now, that's a different story altogether.
Nikon knows all too well that Ricoh's push will be widespread: redefining a DSLR range most importantly, lenses, flashes, etc. to which they already have an answer. But they are getting ready for other market niches too, including large sensor pocket cams, not allowing Ricoh to gain any sudden or big advantage.
Add to that that Ricoh is a bigger company than Nikon. If you saw Nikon ads everywhere, and you can see them indeed, you can multiply that by two to get an idea what Ricoh can do with Pentax assets in hands. If Ricoh wants to seize the market, Nikon is first to suffer, and they simply want to be ready for it.
