[RonHendriks1966]

I think the FY2017 is just a missing in translation and nothing else.

[mee]

Did everyone here forget to take their Metamucil this morning?

The past two or three pages have slipped off into grumpy infighting and oneupsmanship.. perhaps this thread has run it's course?

[Not a Number]

perhaps this thread has run it's course?

Jumped the Shark?

[Snakeisthestuff]

Guys, fiscal year 2017 is from April 1st 2017 to March 31st 2018 in Japan.

Source: Fiscal year - Wikipedia

[Reed]

Company fiscal year, and government fiscal year are two different things I think.

[monochrome]

Guys, fiscal year 2017 is from April 1st 2017 to March 31st 2018 in Japan.

Source: Fiscal year - Wikipedia

The terminology is somewhat confusing. I linked the way Ricoh (and many other large Japanese companies) states its Fiscal Year. Japanese corporations have had liberty to decide their own financial reporting periods since 2004. Many are moving to calendar year.

Ricoh's FY 2017/03 Fiscal Third Quarter ended 12/31/2016*
Ricoh's FY 2017/02 Fiscal Second Quarter ended 09/30/2016*
Ricoh's FY 2017/01 Fiscal First Quarter ended 06/30/2016*

Ricoh is currently in the Fourth Fiscal Quarter of FY 2017, so if the translation is correct it is implied the D FA* 50mm f/1.4 should be offered by the end of March.

Financial Results: FY2017/03



* Source: RICOH website Financial Data

[Mistral75]

(...) if the translation is correct it is implied the D FA* 50mm f/1.4 should be offered by the end of March.

(...)

Don't even think about it!

[monochrome]

Don't even think about it!

Well I did put a number of qualifiers in that last sentence.

[Uluru]

Mentioning of the financial year makes sense, because of the bookkeeping. If Ricoh thinks it generated enough of profits up until March to offset the cost of development and production of 50/1.4, it may release the 50/1.4 too.
That is why Ricoh Imaging plays cat and mouse game with users during February, and are displaying prototypes mostly; if the accounting dept says all is ok and profit will be recorded for the term regardless of new release, then they will release it. If they see that 50/1.4 might change the numbers, it will be released in the next FY, after April 1st, and then again, depending on other priorities.

[rod_grant]

a number of qualifiers

like "if", "implied" "should" and "offered"??
You are not trying to prove yourself as a seer, are you?

[monochrome]

like "if", "implied" "should" and "offered"??
You are not trying to prove yourself as a seer, are you?

Heh.

I wouldn't be surprised if they announced the ship date before March 31st though.

[starjedi]

Heh.

I wouldn't be surprised if they announced the ship date before March 31st though.

impossib le. Cannot imagine that there is no real glasses in CP+ shipping for a lens which will ship a month latter...

[monochrome]

impossib le. Cannot imagine that there is no real glasses in CP+ shipping for a lens which will ship a month latter...

Read closely. I wrote "announced the Ship Date". The ship date could be June 30, July 15 - any time. Preorder period could easily start a month or six weeks before the Ship Date. That takes us out to early June for the start of preorders.

[JPT]

impossib le. Cannot imagine that there is no real glasses in CP+ shipping for a lens which will ship a month latter...

If they put an actual prototype in the glass case at CP+, they would have to spend the whole time worrying about someone trying to open the case up. I don't think it says much about the state development that they put a blank where the lens should be. I would say that the lens looked just like a finished model with the exception of the glass. The markings they didn't want to show were taped over after the fact, and the joins of the barrel looked very tight.

Anyway, time will tell.

[mee]

Heh.

I wouldn't be surprised if they announced the ship date before March 31st though.

I would really.. if it was that close to launch I'd have expected more than a plastic tube on display. But 'offering' could mean 'listed on B&H for preorder.' And the real launch date could be a month later or longer from that. Marketing terminology saves (breaks) the day once again.

Have they done that in recent time though? It isn't really a trend of which I'd like to see them become a part...

And I'd love to be proven wrong.. if only to get it out of the way and introduce the ultrawides and that telephoto zoom sooner.

Sigma, in their recent CP+ interview, admitted it takes 1-2 years usually for them to develop a new lens. Of course, they have to tweak it to work with a variety of systems.. but it does show there is a lot of effort involved in just ONE lens coming to market. And this is a lens design and manufacturing company. We could all be waiting YEARS for Ricoh to get the full D-FA lineup out of the door with their resource limitations..

On an aside, it appears from the same interview, Sigma are ditching lower selling products (read: Pentax) to clear production lines and resources for the newer offerings [as they claim they take more resources (team and assembly) to come to fruition].