ski542002 Posted December 28, 2006 Share #1 Posted December 28, 2006 Advertisement (gone after registration) Hello: I called my dealer this morning to backorder a dlux-3. He said backorders on the dlux-3 will not be filled. Panasonic has "cut-off" Leica. There will not be any more dlux-3's. This dealer is huge with retail establishments in major cities in the States, so I can only assume this information is accurate. Doe anyone have a confirmation of this news? CD Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted December 28, 2006 Posted December 28, 2006 Hi ski542002, Take a look here dlux-3 discontinued??. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
suse Posted December 28, 2006 Share #2 Posted December 28, 2006 I've not heard that - it would be a bit weird... What did he mean "cut off"? Have Panasonic been legally fighting for a long time to stop Leica selling the d-lux? There seem to be decent levels of D-lux 3's available here in the UK. If it's true, does that mean my new d-lux 3 will become a collector's item?! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riley Posted December 28, 2006 Share #3 Posted December 28, 2006 wow thats a bit out of the blue Riley Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wizard Posted December 28, 2006 Share #4 Posted December 28, 2006 What I have been told is that Panasonic only produces one run of a certain model for Leica. That is, Leica orders a certain number of any given model from Panasonic, based on their estimation on how many they are likely to sell, and that's it. No second or last orders It was like that with the Digilux 2 and the dlux2, and I thus assume it'll be the same with the dlux3. Andy Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ski542002 Posted December 28, 2006 Author Share #5 Posted December 28, 2006 If that's the case, it sounds like Leica either underestimated the popularity of this model, or they purposely kept the production down, to keep the price high. This camera was introduced in October and it's already out of production? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brunom Posted December 28, 2006 Share #6 Posted December 28, 2006 Maybe there's a dlux4 just around the corner ? Bruno Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riley Posted December 28, 2006 Share #7 Posted December 28, 2006 Advertisement (gone after registration) panasonic are consumer electronics organisation they indulge in what is known as batch production the entire production line can likely be changed in just a few hours production is slotted according to demand or a greater strategy when demand falls, they just lower the price, its a marketing process known as skimming their factory space is extremely valuable and there are many competing forces that decide how it is used plans are made perhaps years in advance as to the scheduling Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andit Posted December 28, 2006 Share #8 Posted December 28, 2006 Hi all, This is a real shock!!! Sadly I do not have the funds available to purchase a M8 (my dream camera of all time), so I have been looking at the D3 with some Olympus lenses to go along. In fact I was at the shops today and more or less decided that I would take the plunge and order one in the new year (trying to get anything done here in South Africa "between the years" is absolutely futile - Leica SA is closed now anyway). But now hearing this makes me extremely worried about taking that plunge. Why would they only have had such a small run of what, I believe, is an excellent alternative for the budget minded to the M8? Is there something wrong that we don't know about? What will happen to people who have bought, or will still get the last available ones around once they are sold out? Will there still be backup? Is there a new model 10MP just around the corner, or is Leica giving up on the 4/3 system? I was really looking at moving away from Canon, but maybe I should just get the 5D and turn my back on Leica :-( Andreas Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter41951 Posted December 28, 2006 Share #9 Posted December 28, 2006 Andreas You're thinking of the Digilux 3 (the 4/3 camera), the news being about the D-Lux 3 which is a compact. Jy weet daar is die twee. Kyk hier: Leica Camera AG - Home Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brunom Posted December 28, 2006 Share #10 Posted December 28, 2006 Andreas Only you can decide that - but at least wait until we all have the full facts in front of us. There may be an extremely straight forward answer that we don't know about yet ? Bruno Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ecaton Posted December 28, 2006 Share #11 Posted December 28, 2006 Hello: I called my dealer this morning to backorder a dlux-3. He said backorders on the dlux-3 will not be filled. Panasonic has "cut-off" Leica. There will not be any more dlux-3's. This dealer is huge with retail establishments in major cities in the States, so I can only assume this information is accurate. Doe anyone have a confirmation of this news? CD Assume you mean the D-Lux 3 and not the Digilux3 (sometimes they get confused). I think there is sufficient of supply in Europe and you could order one, excludingVAT, from eg Germany based dealers. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter41951 Posted December 28, 2006 Share #12 Posted December 28, 2006 D-Lux 3, I'm small and wee Digilux 3, I'm a big 4 three ...... Repeat ad lib.......... Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eoin Posted December 28, 2006 Share #13 Posted December 28, 2006 D-Lux 3, I'm small and wee Digilux 3, I'm a big 4 three ...... Repeat ad lib.......... :D Very Good!. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andit Posted December 28, 2006 Share #14 Posted December 28, 2006 Hi Peter, Ja ek weet dat dit twee verskillende kamera's is. Now that has people confused - some people speaking all sorts of strange languages on this forum. Believe it or not, it took me two weeks to get Leica SA to wake up to the fact they they have another SLR camera on the market other than the R9. They just don't seem to react to telephone calls, emails or faxes. Mind you, Leica was being really stupid when they thought of the names here, very often on this site the Digilux 3 is reffered to as either DLux3 or just D3. So I suppose I can forgive the guys in Johannesburg for being somewhat confused. Maybe CD can just confirm which camera they told him was discontinued, the D-Lux 3 or the Digilux 3. Either way, both of these cameras have just been released into the market. Andreas PS: Peter, just saw on the box today you guys had the first snow for the season. Bet it makes you miss this place sometimes... We had like 38 C today - really hot! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanqhar Posted December 28, 2006 Share #15 Posted December 28, 2006 See this post on another forum re the Panny version. LX2 withdrawn: Panasonic Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ski542002 Posted December 28, 2006 Author Share #16 Posted December 28, 2006 Leica is proficient at producing great optics and at least a few classic camera bodies; quite inept at developing model names that make marketing-sense. Yes, I was told that the dlux-3 production is done. It's the smaller less-costly camera. I was not discussing the Digilux-3. CD Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cnguyen Posted December 28, 2006 Share #17 Posted December 28, 2006 Chris - My Leica rep here in Colorado USA told me that panasonic won't deliver anymore dlux3 till 2007. The demand for dlux3 was greater than leica expected. Panasonic will resume filling Dlux3 orders next year which is few days from now. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ski542002 Posted December 28, 2006 Author Share #18 Posted December 28, 2006 That is good news. As you stated, 2007 is right around the corner. Hopefully, it won't take till March of '07 to fill the backorders here in the States. Have a good New Years holiday! CD Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
firoze Posted December 29, 2006 Share #19 Posted December 29, 2006 I was told by a Salesman at Tamarkin in NY that the next batch of D-Lux 3's are expected in early Jan '07. By the way, when I checked a few weeks, back none of the dealers in Paris had any DL3's in stock. I don't think the DL3 is out of production, it just seems that leica once again badly underestimated demand for this model & didn't commission a large enough production run from Panasonic. Apparently the next batch will be in the shops soon. Regards. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest malland Posted December 29, 2006 Share #20 Posted December 29, 2006 Chicken Little strikes again! Some people are sure quick to believe unfounded rumors. Considering that the D-Lux 3 was introduced only a few months ago it is unreasonable think that it will no longer be produced by Panasonic, in the light of the cooperation with Leica that now covers a range of digital cameras. When I bought my D-Lux 3 in Hong Kong about two weeks ago, I could find only one shop that had one in stock and therefore had to pay a bit of a premium over the normal Hong Komg price, which is less than in the US and Europe because the margins of HK photo shops is very low. The dealers expecte to have new shipments some time in January. As to whether Leica underestimated demand is not that clear either: we don't know what sort of agreement Leica has with Panasonic and when it has to pay fir the cameras — it could be that Leica ordered as much as was possible, either for the reason of cash availability or within the constraint of how much production capacity Panasonic had available for Leica in the light of Panasonic's own production runs of the camera. I wouldn't be so quick to beat Leica on the head for "underestimating" demand. —Mitch/Bangkok http://www.flickr.com/photos/10268776@N00/ Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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