Fifteen camera lenses are disappearing from store shelves, and the biggest chunk of them belongs to one brand that's already said goodbye to the format they were built for.
Ricoh has officially confirmed that 12 Pentax lenses are discontinued, according to Digital Camera World. The move follows Ricoh's earlier announcement that it's halting production of all its current Pentax DSLR cameras, a decision that leaves those lenses without a camera system to sell alongside. When a manufacturer walks away from the body, the glass tends to follow.
The other three lenses come from Olympus, Fujifilm and Nikon, and their status is murkier. None of those three companies has made a formal discontinuation announcement. Instead, the evidence comes from retailer listings, specifically at Yodobashi and Map Camera, two of Japan's largest camera retailers, where the lenses now show up as discontinued stock.
What's disappearing and what isn't
The Olympus lens in question is listed as discontinued at Yodobashi, but only in its silver finish. The same lens still ships under the OM System brand in black, so photographers aren't entirely out of luck, they just lose a color option.
Fujifilm's XF 50-140mm f/2.8 R LM OIS WR, a telephoto zoom that's been a workhorse for X-series shooters, shows up as discontinued at Map Camera. Digital Camera World notes there's hope a Mark II version could be announced to replace it, though Fujifilm hasn't confirmed anything of the sort.
Nikon's AF-S 105mm f/1.4E ED, a DSLR portrait prime with a devoted following for its bokeh, is listed as discontinued at B&H in the US. Nikon never built a direct mirrorless replacement for it. Photographers looking for something similar on a Z-mount body are pointed toward the Z MC 105mm f/2.8 VR S or the Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena, neither of which matches the original's exact focal length or aperture.
It's worth being careful about what a retailer listing actually proves. A lens marked discontinued at a Japanese store doesn't automatically mean it's gone everywhere. Digital Camera World points out that some of these lenses are still sitting on shelves in the US and UK, just with stock getting harder to find. A listing change in Tokyo can be an early warning sign rather than a global death notice, but it's often the first place these shifts show up before Western markets catch on.
For Pentax owners, the picture is clearer and less comfortable. With DSLR production winding down and a dozen lenses now confirmed gone, the system that built its reputation on affordable, rugged DSLR glass is contracting fast. Anyone still shooting Pentax K-mount might want to stock up while retailers still have inventory, because once it's sold through, there's no restock coming.
GDFiled by The Gadgets Desk
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