[Grigoris]

I guess this wasn't my day. I went to Fujiya in Nakano, Tokyo prepared to part with about JPY 80,000 in exchange for a new K5, only to find out it has been discontinued in Japan. This was also confirmed by the salespeople in Yodobashi Camera and the website of Bic Camera, two of the biggest photo equipment chains in Japan. I'm sure I can find a body somewhere, but the K5's time is, most probably, officially over...

Grigoris --first time poster

[rawr]

Interesting. The timing is about right if they plan to release something new at Photokina.

But neither the main Pentax JP website or the Pentax JP web store indicate that the K-5 is discontinued. The Pentax web store does however say that the store will be closed from Aug 11 to 20 due to summer holidays. That seems to be the only sign of the K-5 not being currently available for sale, but on the web store it is only a temporary change.

[hoanpham]

it's about time for a new replacement.

[Stone G.]

it's about time for a new replacement.

Well...yes...I guess you're rigth.

Still, I cannot help thinking about my Asahi Pentax K1000 that was manufactured from 1976 to 1997 and, as far as I recall, was officially announced End-of-Service in 2005 or thereabout. That's a product lifetime of more than 25 years! I still have mine, from 1982, in full working order.

The K-5 is a two year old product - and still a very, very darn good camera and I intend/hope to use it for quite a few years more.

But yes, time for a replacement has come.............

[hoanpham]

But yes, time for a replacement has come.............

I am hoping for a reasonable priced FF to use with pentax K lenses.
K5 still is an awesome body. Hopefully it will be my crop sensor body in many years.
I still use my K20. Iso less than 640 make very little different.

[GDRoth]

I plan to keep my K5 as my backup and buy whatever the replacement is................I guess I'm a true believer...............

[DaveS]

FYI, that week in August is for the "obon holiday" (to remember the dead) and it's one of the few weeks in Japan when people actually go on holidays or go back to their hometowns to be with family, etc. In a country that almost never stops moving, it's odd to see so many businesses close down for that long.

Although the timing is coincidental, I'd say the fact that the big camera chains have discontinued the camera indicates something big is about to be announced. That said, if the rumoured K-3 ends up being a FF camera, it doesn't make much sense that they wouldn't still have K-5 bodies for sale (or did I misread the reason why you don't part with your 80,000 yen?)

First time post! Nice to meet y'all...

[JohnX]

Although the timing is coincidental, I'd say the fact that the big camera chains have discontinued the camera indicates something big is about to be announced. That said, if the rumoured K-3 ends up being a FF camera, it doesn't make much sense that they wouldn't still have K-5 bodies for sale (or did I misread the reason why you don't part with your 80,000 yen?)

With the new K-30 out, and very much in competition with the K-5, surely it does make sense to stop K-5 production and sale asap, especially since there must be a K-5 replacement in the wings?

[Docrwm]

No news here. We've known that it's out of production for a while. The pricing in the US clearly reflects this and has entered 'clear the shelves' mode with lows for BNIB at or below what the K-30 is selling for. Photokina is happening in 5-6 weeks.

[MarkJerling]

No news here. We've known that it's out of production for a while. The pricing in the US clearly reflects this and has entered 'clear the shelves' mode with lows for BNIB at or below what the K-30 is selling for. Photokina is happening in 5-6 weeks.

Model numbers 4332xxx had manufacture date mid-May 2012. Model numbers 4325xxx was mid-April 2012. 4340xxx had manufacture date mid-June 2012. Latest serial numbers seems to be 4359xxx pointing to late July or early August production. So, it does not seem likely that production has been discontinued "for a while".

Month to month sales therefore upward of 7000 units, with production run up at the end, perhaps to hold some stock? Last month production figures seem to point to 20,000 units in last month!

[SuperK5]

Even Fry's is selling the K5 for $799.00 and they mostly sell Nikon/Canon ...You hardly ever see much Pentax gear there.
FRYS.com

[Docrwm]

Model numbers 4332xxx had manufacture date mid-May 2012. Model numbers 4325xxx was mid-April 2012. 4340xxx had manufacture date mid-June 2012. Latest serial numbers seems to be 4359xxx pointing to late July or early August production. So, it does not seem likely that production has been discontinued "for a while".

Month to month sales therefore upward of 7000 units, with production run up at the end, perhaps to hold some stock? Last month production figures seem to point to 20,000 units in last month!

All I know is what I was told by Pentax USA, if you know better than they do - good on ya!

[MarkJerling]

Nah - I don't think I know better than Pentax USA!
It's just that I have bought a K-5 last month and was surprised by the very recent manufacture date, having thought too that production has been stopped for some time. That caused me to look into the serial number database which shows production until end of July at least, possibly later. I'm not at all surprised if they're now stopping production. If they do intend to release a new model at Photokina (as long rumoured) then it makes sense that they would stock-pile some K-5 stock now and then shut down production to allow time for re-tooling for new model.

[Grigoris]

I guess some people weren't surprised but I was. Up until two-three weeks ago, both Fujiya and the big chains had K-5 next to K-30 and nobody said anything about d/c K-5; there weren't even any clearance sales or such. The guys at Fujiya and Yodobashi Camera didn't know any details about particulars (and this being Japan they wouldn't; it's above their pay grade). The only thing they knew is that the K-5 is over and that now "Pentax's top model is K-30".

FWIW, after a couple of failed attempts (i.e. orders and subsequent cancellations) from online shops, I managed to find one reserved in Kawasaki's Bic Camera and by over-playing the "foreign journalist" card, managed to snatch it for JPY 75,000. This was really the last in their stock, though: the guy had his PC screen turned towards us to reassure us that it really was our last chance.

Grigoris

[mickey]

Grigoris, I think that it was off the shelves before the release of the K-30, around June if memory serves me correctly.

However, Fujiya had some stock of the K-5 black and Silver up until recently.
Last I saw a few weeks ago, there was one Silver K-5 left.Fujiya sold a lot of "outlet" cameras at a a reasonable price.

I paid 76,000 yen for mine in Yodobashi, but looking at Amazon Japan, the price for a K-5 has gone up to 87,515 yen.

Interestingly, there are a lot ofSilver K-5's with the 40mm XS lens on Amazon at a reasonable 93,800 yen.
You could probably get about 10,000 yen back if you sold the XS lens, making the silver K-5 a good deal.