It seems that Ricoh Japan has discontinued production of the HD PENTAX-DA 21mm F3.2AL Limited silver lens (buy here). The wide-angle HD PENTAX-DA 21mm F3.2AL Limited was released in 2013, as the replacement for 2006’s smc PENTAX-DA 21mm F3.2AL Limited. It was released as a compact wide prime for walkabout shooting with a small, lightweight APS-C camera setup.

At the moment, it seems that only the silver version of the lens has been discontinued. The Ricoh Japan online store lists it as “Completion of production” with limited (“only a few”) stock still available. Outside of Japan, stocks are still available at some online retailers.

The HD PENTAX-DA 21mm F3.2AL Limited lens is also available in a black version, which does not yet appear to have been discontinued. At least, it’s not listed as such on the Ricoh Japan website. But with the silver version cancelled, I think it’s only a matter of time before the other disappears. And while B&H does still have stock of the black lens, Adorama has removed both colour variations of the lens from its website.

This might suggest that Adorama has already run out of stock of both the black and silver versions and is unable to acquire any more of them. Even though it’s not listed as discontinued on the Ricoh Japan website, it wouldn’t be the first time something like this has happened. Perhaps B&H just simply isn’t selling this lens enough to warrant a re-order that would give them the information to update the status of their listings.

Whatever the case, the silver version of the lens is officially discontinued, and it looks like the black version will be going the same way. So, if you’re a Pentax APS-C shooter who wants to pick one of these up, you’re better off doing it sooner rather than later.

[via Asobinet]