I checked the product information on the official LUMIX website, and as rumored, several lenses have been discontinued.
It appears the following four products were discontinued in late June.
1) LEICA DG VARIO-ELMARIT 12-60mm / F2.8-4.0 ASPH. / POWER O.I.S.
2) LEICA DG SUMMILUX 25mm / F1.4 II ASPH.
3) LUMIX G 42.5mm / F1.7 ASPH. / POWER O.I.S.
4) LUMIX S PRO 70-200mm F4 O.I.S.
All three MFT-mount lenses are flagship models beloved by many users. Furthermore, the L-mount 70-200mm is a rare “professional-grade telephoto zoom lens in an affordable price range,” so this bad news comes as quite a shock. I don’t think they’re out of date in terms of features or performance, so why now?
Speaking for myself, the LEICA DG VARIO-ELMARIT 12-60mm F2.8-4 and the LEICA DG SUMMILUX 25mm F1.4 are indispensable first-string players in the MFT lineup. The 12-60mm, in particular, is undoubtedly the lens I’ve used the most over the past several years.
Even setting my personal experience aside, the 12-60mm is used as the kit lens for the G9 Pro II and has become widely established as a high-quality standard zoom with a broad coverage range, so I was quite surprised by the news of its discontinuation.
Well, just because it’s widely used doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a lens that’s selling well right now—the situation might be different.
All sorts of speculation is circulating online. Some say it’s part of a move to scale back the MFT business; others argue it’s simply an unavoidable measure due to component supply constraints; and still others, looking on the bright side, suggest it might be a precursor to a lens refresh…
I have no way of knowing which of these is closest to the truth—or if they’re all off the mark—but I can only earnestly hope that this doesn’t mean the MFT business is being scaled back.
There are also rumors of a new MFT camera body coming out—so everything’s going to be okay, right?
So, for now, I’m going to tentatively float this trial balloon, however modestly I can.
