In 2017 Pentrex Media Group took a well-deserved break after 33 years. We are now back to share our rich history with our customers and resume producing new products that we are sure you will enjoy. Please sit back and read about our history.
Pentrex - The Start
“Choosing a name for a new company can be a difficult task. Many options have to be taken into consideration. I have always liked the name Pentrex. I had a history with the company that produced treated railroad ties and telephone poles. I already had a collection of the date nails and tags that they used in their products. The name was available and next was to meet with a graphic designer at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank to hand draw, in ink, my concept. The logo has served us well for decades!”
- Michael Clayton, Pentrex founder
Pentrex ad from 1921
Pentrex date nail collection
Fujinon 40x Lens
Before our first railroad video Pentrex was a successful source of specialized equipment for the broadcast industry. One such item that was owned was a Fujinon 40X lens. These were big and expensive items that the networks and production companies rented for sports and special events. Here is an example of our 40X lens attached to an Ikegami camera on the field at the world famous Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA for a concert in 1982.
Click photo to enlarge
July 2, 1982 with nearly 100,000 rock fans my lens was used on the camera placed on the 50 yard line of the stadium to project and record Journey, Blue Oyster Cult, Triumph, Aldo Nova. The concert ended with a huge fireworks show. Click photo to enlarge
Were you there for this concert?http://ronsouth.blogspot.com/2013/11/journey-at-rose-bowl-july-2-1982.html
Rose Bowl
The nearly 100 year old stadium is a special facility and later my home would overlook the Rose Bowl and from 2015 to 2020 it was my honor to serve on the Rose Bowl Operating Company (BOD).