Looks like everything is made in batches. Some batches are bigger than others. Of the uncommon lenses one batch may last many years. The 3.5/15 maybe had only one production run? Pentax even advertised that they sold only about 35 in a year. All the best! Raimo Personal photography homepage at http://www.uusikaupunki.fi/~raikorho
-----Alkuper�inen viesti----- L�hett�j�: Joseph Tainter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Vastaanottaja: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> P�iv�: 18. tammikuuta 2003 18:43 Aihe: When do they make lenses? (A bit long) >I bought my first FA Power Zoom 28-105 f4-5.6 (produced 1992-1999, >according to Boz's site) in spring 1999. The lens manual mentions the 43 >Limited (introduced 1997) but not the FA 20-35 (introduced 1998). Not >knowing how promptly Pentax updates the lens manuals, I can guess that >perhaps this lens was manufactured in 1997 or 1998. Since Pentax, like >any manufacturer, will sometimes design a product then decide not to >market it, one would not want to revise the lens manual until a new lens >(the 20-35 in this case) is in production. > >The FA* 24 f2.0 (introduced 1991) that I just got came with a more >outdated manual. It mentions some F zooms that have been replaced by FA >versions (35-80, 80-200). It mentions the F 17-28 fisheye (introduced >1995), but as far as I can tell, nothing introduced since then. > >This leads me to speculate on production, as follows: Zoom lenses that >sell well are produced continuously. Specialty primes, on the other >hand, might be produced in batches, then not produced for a while until >the stock runs down. > >I don't know much (okay, anything) about manufacturing, but I would >guess that it is costly to start a production run. A manufacturer would >not want constantly to stop and re-start production of a specialty lens. >Is it more economical just to produce a bunch of them at a time, then >store the stock? > >According to Boz's site, the FA* 24 is still in production. Does this >mean that it is actually being produced, or that Pentax would be willing >to re-start production if demand warranted it? > >Just speculating. > >Quality note: The lens hood that comes with the FA* 24 is lined with >black felt. Nice touch. And the canals for attaching the hood seem >designed for more durability than one usually sees. To me, attention to >detail in small things like these is impressive. > >Joe >
