On 4/10/06, William Robb <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Unca Mikey" > Subject: Status of *ist 35mm? > > > > Has anyone read or heard anything about the status or future of the Pentax > > *ist 35mm SLR? It's still shown on the Pentax USA site, but is no longer > > in the catalog for B&H or Adorama. Amazon shows it as "not in stock" and > > some other sites show the model as "discontinued." Is there any official > > word? I emailed Pentax, but no answer yet. > > I would be very surprised if Pentax is still making film SLR cameras. Film > as a consumer commodity is pretty much a dead horse, the camera > manufactureres aren't likely to continue making something that won't get > bought. > They did announce recently the discontinuation of all film bodies except for the *ist, ZX-60 and ZX-M. I wouldn't be surprised if all film body production has been halted and the three remaining models were simply the models still in stock. It does seem that the *ist is simply gone.
Interesting to note, though it really doesn't add too much to the discussion, are the sales numbers from Bic Camera in Japan for late December 2004. http://www.photoethnography.com/blog/archives/2005/02/news_recent_top_2.html Pay particular attention to the Pentax rank for SLR and DSLR cameras. Even more interesting is the lack of a Pentax camera in their top five medium format list. Granted, this only samples 11 days worth of sales. -- Scott Loveless http://www.twosixteen.com -- "You have to hold the button down" -Arnold Newman
