The *ist D is still for sale on the Japan site. Here's the production
strategy for many companies:
1. Tool up for new production, product 1.
2. Start limited production. No sales yet.
3. Check quality, production flow etc.
4. Tweak production.
5. Start production & sales:
a. Production behind current demand. Many customers wait.
b. Production matches current demand. Some customers still wait due
to backlog, but for shorter time.
c. Production exceeds current demand. No customer wait, remaining
back orders filled.
d. Production exceeds current demand until inventory meets projected
*future* demand
(cameras for sale & spare parts). No customer wait.
6. Production of product 1 terminated. Tooling stored against future
repair demand (spare parts)
Sales continue. Customers still order, no wait.
7. Back to step 1 for product 2...
Sales stop for product 1 when the inventory left is needed for
warranty/repairs. Can be tooled up again in the happy event that the product
is a great hit and the demand far exceeds the original projected demand -
usually with some tweaks (update to the original design) added from perhaps
lessons learned ala the LX production.
This way, a company can have more products than it has assembly facilities
and need not attempt to adjust pace of production to changing demand.
In other words, because a model goes "out of (current) production" does not
mean it's not available or not a current product from the manufacturer.
Regards,
Bob...
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"The art of taxation consists in so plucking the goose
as to obtain the largest possible amount of feathers
with the smallest possible amount of hissing."
- Jean-Baptiste Colbert,
minister of finance to French King Louis XIV
From: "Shel Belinkoff" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Hmmm ... what would be the reason for Pentax discontinuing or curtailing
production of the istD? I think this may have been discussed before, but
I
wasn't paying attention, not being too interested in the camera at the
time.
Shel
[Original Message]
From: Paul Stenquist
I think Pentax may have stopped producing the *istD. It's available new
from B&H in New York.
