Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/10/30
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Any idea on how much longer the RTS3 will be in production? Javier Ken Iisaka wrote: > The following is a mail I sent to Stephen Gandy on Aug. 28. The > announcement also appeared on various industry newspapers in Japan dated > Aug. 28. > > ----- > > >From my sources in Nikon, I was informed that the very last production run > of F3hp (F3, F3/T, F3H were all discontinued in the past couple of years) > will take place this winter. Nikon Japan will accept orders until the end > of October, but the quantity will be no greater than 4000. They will be > delivered next spring. > > The monthly sales figure of F3hp has been less than hundred recently, and > Nikon apparently lost money on every F3 it sold in the past few years. Not > a big deal, because the quantity was so small. > > I have also heard rumours about termination of Pentax LX, but that's only a > rumour. > > It's an end of an era, with the departure of the longest-running production > 35mm camera (at least on this side of the former iron curtain) in history. > > ----- > > The last production run of 4,000 camera is now underway, and the last F3 is > expected to leave the Nikon factory sometime in the spring, 2000. Included > in the 4,000 cameras are several runs of special F3 models with special > engravings. I don't know how many of the last production run is expected to > go overseas. What I've heard is that Nikon USA and other non-Japan > distributors have plenty in stock, and thus may not receive the cameras from > the last production run. > > Note that being on Nikon USA catalogue doesn't mean it's produced any more. > The last time I saw the Nikon USA catalogue, it still listed the Ai > Fisheye-Nikkor 6mm 1:2.8S, Ai Fisheye-Nikkor 8mm 1:2.8S, Ai Nikkor 13mm > 1:5.6S, Ai Noct-Nikkor 58mm 1:1.2S, and Reflex-Nikkor 2000mm 1:11, none of > which have been produced for a number of years. > > Ken Iisaka <first name at last name dot org> > Still lost in Mill Valley, Marin County, CA. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Talk to your friends online with Yahoo! Messenger. http://im.yahoo.com