How's Hoya / Pentax doing?

 Email: brqyvn@gmail.com

Hi Pentaxian friends.

I think they are doing okay, given the current world economic situation.

During the quarter, due to the economic recovery, HOYA group’s production and shipments were higher compared with those for the same quarter last year although sales were significantly affected by lower product prices and the appreciation of the yen.

“At constant currency, the medical endoscope business achieved a double-digit growth in Europe, the United States, and many emerging countries this quarter. This is a result of the globalization and business restructuring we have worked on since Hoya and Pentax merged,” said Hiroshi Hamada, chief operating officer of HOYA. “The profit of the camera business also exceeded our expectations this quarter due to the channel consolidation and focused promotion of new SLR cameras; K-5 and K-r.”

For the first nine months ended December 31, 2010, net sales were up 4.0% to 321,117 million yen year-on-year. Operating income was up 25.1% to 58,805 million yen, and net income was up 81.3% to 47,126 million yen.

For the year ending March 31, 2011, Hoya forecasts net sales of 423,000 million yen (up 2.3% year-on-year), operating income of 75,000 million yen (up 16.6%) and net income of 57,000 million yen (up 50.5%.)

The full quarterly report is available in “Financial Statement” page in HOYA website Investor Relations section at: http://www.hoya.co.jp/english/

*Results are preliminary and unaudited.

*The yen amounts shown therein are rounded down to the nearest million.

About Hoya Corporation

Founded in 1941 as Japan’s first specialty manufacturer of optical glass, Hoya is a global broad-based IT/health care company based upon its advanced optics technologies. Hoya is active in two main fields of business: The Information Technology provides mask blanks for the semiconductor devices and LCD panels, glass disks for HDDs, and optical lenses. The Life Care provides eyeglasses and intraocular lenses for cataract surgery. Merged with Pentax in 2008, Hoya also manufactures SLR/compact digital cameras and endoscopic system under Pentax brand. Headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, Hoya now has over 100 subsidiaries and affiliates, and employs approximately 37,500 people worldwide. For more information, visit http://www.hoya.co.jp/

Pentax K-5 "Everything you need to know...and then some" e-book Edition 1.0 now available. Free upgrade.

Visitors to this page also like "Recommended Reading" on the right column. Email: brqyvn@gmail.com

Hi Pentaxian friends.

The Pentax K-5 "Everything you need to lnow...and then some" which was released on December 24th around 9:00 P.M Pacific time, has been upgraded.  As promised, it was released before Christmas...barely :)

The book has been updated with more information, additional pictures, indexed for easier reading on your computer, and more. Everyone purchasing the book from this point on will download the newest edition. Current owners of the e-book can email me at brqyvn@gmail.com Subject: K-5 e-book Edition 1.0, Include your name  or paypal receipt for verifiction, and a free downloadable upgrade of the newest Edition will be emailed to you.

That's the advantage of my e-book, there is no need to run another thousand plus printed copies. As long as the K-5 is available from Pentax, updates will be published from time to time, free to those that already purchased the e-book. That's one more reason to follow this blogsite.

Thank you for purchasing my e-books,

Yvon Bourque

You can purchase the K-5 e-book or download a free sample here.
E-books are also available for the K-7, the K-x, the k20D, the K10D and the K100D.

Wouldn't it be nice to try Pentax DSLRs or lenses for a Week or even a Month, before you decide to buy? Well...you can.

Visitors to this page also like "Recommended Reading" on the right column. Email: brqyvn@gmail.com

Hi Pentaxian friends.

Wouldn't it be nice to try Pentax DSLRs or lenses for a Week or even a Month, before you decide to buy? Well you can.

Getting a new DSLR or an expensive lens is a major decision for most of us. Although more stores are now carrying Pentax equipment, they don't have much in stock. Who wants to buy a $1,500.00 camera or a $1,000.00 lens without trying it first!

Well, I found the solution to that. http://cameralensrentals.com/

I haven't tried their services as of yet, but I will soon. I personally just found out about them today. It's nice to see someone serving the Pentaxians needs. I say we should all try them and that will encourage them to carry even more Pentax equipment, while helping us decide on a new purchase or simply using a specialty lens for a special occasion, without having to actually purchase the equipment.

It all looks like an excellent proposition to me.

Thank you for reading,

Yvon Bourque

CAN you read me?

Visitors to this page also like "Recommended Reading" on the right column. Email: brqyvn@gmail.com

Hi Pentaxian friends.

Just for fun:
TIHS IS A CPOY, AOCDRNDICG TO RSCHEEARCH AT CMABRIGDE UINERVTISY, IT DSENO'T MTAETR WAHT OERDR THE LTTERES IN A WROD ARE, THE OLNY IPROAMTNT TIHNG IS TAHT THE FRSIT AND LSAT LTTEER BE IN THE RGHIT PCLAE. TIHS IS BCUSEAE THE HUAMN MNID DEOS NOT RAED ERVEY LTETER BY ISTLEF, BUT THE WROD AS A WLOHE. IF YOU CAN RAED TIHS, PSOT IT TO YUOR WLAL. ..

Visitors to this page also like "Recommended Reading" on the right column. Email: brqyvn@gmail.com

Hi Pentaxian friends.

This article is from Cambridge in Colour

- SOFT PROOFING PHOTOS & PRINTS -Soft proofing lets you temporarily simulate how an image will appear on another device, such as a printer, by using only a computer monitor. This can be a helpful tool for making more predictable prints -- and is perhaps one of the most useful applications of color management. However, it also requires a trained eye, in addition to knowing how to correct an image if it doesn't appear as intended.



On-Screen Image





Soft-Proof Image


Continue reading this interesting article on Cambridge in Colour.

PMA is now CliQ. I wonder if having the last annual convention in Anaheim, instead of Las Vegas, destroyed some of PMA's credibility?

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Hi Pentaxian friends.

I'm sure I wasn't the only disappointed person when PMA moved their annual photo convention from Las Vegas to Anaheim. If you're a fan of Disneyland, that was a good thing, but kids don't usually do photo conventions People from all over the World come to this kind of event that was the Annual PMA in Las Vegas.

Make no mistake about it, many of the convention attendees were from other parts of the World to look at or exhibit  new photographic equipment. These trips were on their respective company's expenses and they came to the PMA to have fun as well. Think about it, is Vegas more fun that Disneyland? Why do you think it is often referred to as the "Adult's Disneyland"?

I have attended the annual PMA in Las Vegas for the last five or six years. Aside from the convention, there'e so much to do in Las Vegas at night and it's mostly all for adults. I tried to attend the show in Anaheim, but that's the day someone broke into my car and stole the equipment I had, while I was having lunch.  That left a real bad experience of Anaheim.

 Canon did not attent the show in Anaheim and many photographic equipment vendors followed suit. I love these type of conventions and hope that CliQ will be a success. There's nothing like walking inside a convention hall and look, and touch, and feel, and try all of the best equipment the worls has to offer.

Visit  their new CliQ website.

Firmware update for the K-5 and 645D.

Visitors to this page also like "Recommended Reading" on the right column. Email: brqyvn@gmail.com

Hi Pentaxian friends.

Firmware Available for DownloadPENTAX K-5 FIRMWARE UPDATE VERSION 1.02

Please download from the following link:
http://www.pentax.jp/english/support/digital/k-5_s.html
UPDATED:

* Added support for SDXC memory cards.

Please note: Transfer rate does not correspond to UHS speed class.
* Bulb mode supports the use of all ISO settings.

* Improvements to AF focus speed.

NEW TUTORIAL: CAMERA SENSOR CLEANING - From Cambridge in Colour

Visitors to this page also like "Recommended Reading" on the right column. Email: brqyvn@gmail.com

Hi Pentaxian friends.

Cambridge in Colour, A Learning Community For Photographers, have released a new lesson. Follow the link below:

NEW TUTORIAL: CAMERA SENSOR CLEANING



Digital Camera Sensor Cleaning

If you're using an SLR camera, you'll eventually encounter spots in your photos due to a dirty camera sensor. If it hasn't happened yet, don't worry -- it will. When it does, you'll need to know if what you're seeing is indeed from sensor dust, or is instead the result of a dirty viewfinder, mirror or lens. Most importantly though, you'll need to know how to clean the sensor, and how to minimize the risk of this happening again. Click the link above to read more.

EBay is not what it used to be for Photographic Equipment. I think EBay is broken.

Visitors to this page also like "Recommended Reading" on the right column. Email: brqyvn@gmail.com

Hi Pentaxian friends.

Back when EBay started, I was selling and purchasing camera equipment all the times. I got some real bargains back then. I would look for items containing "Pentax Set-up" or "Pentax system" in the descriptions. Often enough, I would get a complete system including camera, lenses, flash and other goodies. I would turn around and sell what I didn't need, separately on EBay. i.e: Camera, lenses, flash, camera bag, tripod, etc.  Sometimes, I was able to double my money while keeping the item I really wanted.

There were no "PayPal" and you would get paid by check or money order. The fees were reasonable and the feedback system was simple. Sellers were able to leave feedback just like the buyers. It was a new wave of "Easy and affordable" way to purchase just about anything. EBay grew very fast and became a giant.

How did it started?

Sometime in 1995, 28-year-old software developer Pierre Omidyar sat down to write the code that would eventually evolve into what we know as eBay today.

Originally called AuctionWeb and hosted on his server,  the site began with the listing of a single broken laser pointer. Though Pierre had intended the listing to be a test more than a serious offer to sell at auction, he was shocked when the item sold for $14.83. Pierre knew that he'd created something big as soon as he contacted the winning bidder to ask if he understood that the pointer was broken.

"I'm a collector of broken laser pointers," came the reply.

AuctionWeb soon took over Pierre's entire domain, www.ebay.com, short for Echo Bay.  By 1996 the company was large enough to require the skills of a Stanford MBA in Jeffrey Skoll, who came aboard an already profitable ship. Meg Whitman, a Harvard graduate, soon followed as president and CEO, along with a strong business team under whose leadership eBay grew rapidly, branching out from collectibles into nearly every type of market. We know the rest of that story.

Now, EBay is not what it used to be. The fees are way up, then you have to sell through PayPal which also charges a fee. Some camera stores now sell more on EBay than they sell through their brick & mortar stores. The prices are now higher on EBay than they used to be. The bad guys got into the system and it's not that uncommon anymore to purchase an item and never receive it. You have to trust the sellers feedback rating. Nowadays, a seller cannot leave negative feedback but buyers can. I don't sell on EBay anymore because they protect the buyers but neglect the sellers. Isn't there something wrong with that? You don't have any buyers if there are no sellers. I don't think EBay is growing anymore or certainly not growing at the same rate.

Despite all the changes, I do find a good Pentax item every now and then.

Meg Whitman left the company, after she made her millions and after running the company down and letting hundreds of employees go., if not thousands.  She tried to buy herself the California Governor's position by spending a record breaking and obscene 142 million dollars.  She lost and I'm glad. That money could have been better spent by helping less fortunate people.

I don't really know or care who is EBay's CEO now. Ebay is not what it used to be and Amazon is getting more and more share of the market. You can find good items, new and used, on Amazon at very good prices. I wish that another Auction site would emerge and give EBay some competition. They have had the monopoly for way too long. I don't sell on EBay anymore but still do check Pentax items all the time. I do buy items when it seems a great deal, but most of my purchases are now done on Amazon. I think they got it together.

Yes Amazon!

Thanks for reading,

Yvon Bourque.

Download a free sample of the Pentax K-5 e-book before you purchase.

 Email: brqyvn@gmail.com



Click on the image above to download the free sample of the K-5 e-book