Pentax

Pentax is a brand of cameras, lenses, and optical equipment that forms part of Ricoh Imaging Company, Ltd. The brand is best known for its 35mm single-lens reflex cameras and later digital models, as well as a long-running line of lenses and sports optics.

The brand originated with Asahi Optical Co., Ltd., founded in Tokyo in 1919. It produced early 35mm rangefinder and SLR cameras and adopted the Pentax name for many of its SLR systems beginning in the 1950s and 1960s. The Pentax K-mount, introduced in the 1970s, established a widely used lens system that remains central to the brand’s lineup and to its ecosystem of third-party support.

In the digital era, Pentax expanded into DSLRs and medium-format digital cameras, including the Pentax 645D and the 645Z. The company also released mirrorless models such as the K-01, while continuing to maintain and develop the K-mount lens system. Over the years, the brand underwent ownership changes; Hoya Corporation acquired Pentax in the late 2000s, and in 2011 Ricoh Imaging Company, Ltd. acquired Hoya’s imaging division, bringing the Pentax brand under Ricoh Imaging.

Today, Pentax products include digital cameras, lenses, and accessories under the Pentax name. The brand is noted for robust construction, weather sealing, and a long-standing compatibility with a broad range of legacy lenses, supported by the in-body stabilization technology used in some models and the extensive K-mount lens ecosystem.