Ten DA/DFA Lenses Officially Discontinued! New Lineup/Format to Come?

See:-

http://www.pentax.ca/discontinued/index.php#Lenses

Historical & Discontinued Products - Lenses DA Date Introduced smcp-DA 16-45/4 ED AL Dec. '03 smcp-DA 14/2.8 ED IF June '04 smcp-DA 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 AL Dec. '04 smcp-D FA Macro 50mm F2.8 Dec. '04 smcp-D FA Macro 100mm F2.8 Dec. '04 smcp-DA 40mm F2.8 Limited Feb. '05 smcp-DA 50-200mm F4.0-5.6 ED Jun. '05 smcp-DA 12-24mm F4.0 ED AL [IF] Nov. '05 smcp-DA Fish-Eye 10-17mm F3.5-4.5 ED[IF] Jan. '06 smcp-DA 21mm F3.2AL Limited Jul. '06

So, why Pentax has discontinued so many DA lenses?? Even the two DA Limited Primes are Discontinued! What are the *Replacements*? Nil? (At least up to this moment there is None!) Some to Come? Something New? Some Revolution In Progress?? :-o

Prepared for the Full Frame? Run Out of Business? (IF the Demand of those Discontinued Lenses are Actually Just Too Low?) Anyway, I really hope that the previous "leaked" rumour for the "new" lens roadmap is true. And yes, Pentax hasn't updated the lens roadmap since March 3 this year. That's true. And, that 3-3 "Update" contained only Deletion of previously announced products, but not Addition!

In fact, all the happenings have just strongly hinted that the development of the DA lenses has been come to an end, at least what we can buy now are what Pentax had planned more than one year ago. Even worse, now with the discontinuation of 10 Digital Lenses, I'm much afraid that the Pentax digital system has now become a lame one, as choice is much limited for such a rather incomplete current lens system.

Update (11-27):

The Official Canadian Pentax page has been updated (about twelve hours after I posted my this Blog entry and the news was wide spreading worldwide!), all DA lenses are removed from the list/page. Well, Pentax officials do read my Blog? Welcome to be one of my readers, Pentax! ;-D

If you want to see the original page, you can view the Google Cache dated November 19 for the original page, here.

So, this act only hints that either the stuff published are totally true (but is inappropriate to tell) or there has been an error. But I do believe that it is just the former case!

Besides, there is yet a post at the Pentax Forums about the news in which my name was mentioned and my Blog was linked, but then I noticed that very shortly the PF site owner, our holy and now rich Adam, removed all those completely by editing the poster's original post and the thread was closed:-

http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-news-rumors/81287-10-pentax-da-lenses-discontinued.html

Adam, your iron hand is really well executed! But in order to eliminate your additional efforts to edit any PF members' posts whenever they post my name and links in the future, I just suggest that you should implement an automatic word replacement/deletion feature and your server just knows to delete any links to my site whenever your members type them in! That is very easy to do and I guarantee that you will continue to have such posts in the future! Btw, I will be glad to be the first and only one added by you into your holy PF site! Nevermind! :-)

Whilst you like to do thing like that, Adam, I shall continue to point to your site and mention your name whenever the contents are relevant and "useful"! I am just not so narrow-minded afterall!