It seems that Nikon dealers in Europe (or at least Germany) have received notification that the Nikon F6 has now officially been laid to rest, along with the Nikon D5 DSLR, the Nikon SB-300 speedlight, the Nikkor Ai-S 50mm f/1.2 and Nikkor 24mm f/2.8 lens. It seems that a lot of manual Ai-S and AF-S DX Nikkor lenses are also now listed as discontinued on the Nikon Japan website. Interestingly, though, the F6 isn’t listed as discontinued there.
The notification reads…
The following products have reached the end of their life cycle
- Nikon D5 DSLR
- Nikon SB-300 flash
- Nikon F6 35mm SLR
- Nikkor Ai-S 50mm f/1.2
- Nikkor 24mm f/2.8
Unfortunately, these items can no longer be ordered. All outstanding arrears will be canceled by us in the next few days.
Interestingly, the Nikon F6 isn’t listed as discontinued elsewhere in the world yet. B&H still lists the F6 as available for $2,599, although they say they have none in stock with “More on the way”. So, maybe it’s just discontinued for Germany and some other parts of Europe. But I think more logically, there are just more of them lying around in various warehouses throughout the USA that still haven’t been sold yet.
Along with the Nikon F6, the Nikon D5 DSLR has also been discontinued, although this one isn’t really much of a surprise. The Nikon D6 has been out for a little while now, and there’s really no reason to continue on with it. Retailers such as B&H already list the Nikon D5 as discontinued, although they do still have a few refurb bodies for sale if you want to save a little money vs a new D6.
The Nikon Japan website tells a much more telling story, though, with a high number of AF-S DX lenses also being listed as discontinued, including many of the popular and higher-end ones like the AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8G IF-ED (also still listed as in stock and available at B&H and Amazon).
This suggests that not only has Nikon finally let go of their grip on film but that they’re also abandoning the F mount DX system possibly sooner than many had expected as well. Does this mean then that we might have some true D3x00, D5x00 and D500 mirrorless replacements on the way from Nikon sometime soon? Not to mention a slew of new Z DX glass to replace all this stuff that’s being discontinued?
I suppose only time will tell.
It’s likely that Nikon and retailers will simply sell off the remaining F mount stock and push new users towards Z DX systems going forward – the Nikon Z50 doesn’t seem completely terrible – with the eventual goal of leading those customers up to their higher-end mirrorless offerings as their experience and needs grow.
As much as Nikon might want to, it makes little sense to continue two separate competing mount systems.
For now, it looks like many of the discontinued items listed on both the notice sent out to retailers and Nikon Japan’s list are still available if you choose to look hard enough, although they may not be around for long.
[via Nikon Rumors]
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