Earlier this month, Olympus announced its latest Pro lens: the 150-400mm f/4.5 TC1.25x IS Pro. With its high price and wavering public sentiment around Olympus’ future, it was easy to question if the lens would be popular. However, Olympus looks to have oversold its initial production run.
In a notice published to Olympus’ website in Japan, the company has stated that it does not currently have enough stock of the lens to meet demand in time for the January 22, 20201 release date.
“Most of the reservations for the M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 150-400mm F4.5 TC1.25x IS PRO scheduled to be released on January 22, 2021 have been made by a large number of customers,” the notice reads, translated from Japanese. “It is not expected to be delivered on the release date. We would like to express our sincere gratitude for the large number of orders we received, and we deeply apologize for the time it takes to deliver the products.”
Olympus does not make it clear if all pre-orders for the lens will be delayed, or just those which were ordered beyond the initial production run numbers.
“We apologize for the inconvenience to many customers who have already made reservations, but it is expected that we will not be able to deliver it on the release date,” the notice continues. “In addition, since the delivery date varies depending on the build-to-order manufacturing situation, it may take some time for customers who make reservations in the future to deliver the product. We are working diligently to deliver the product as soon as possible, and we appreciate your understanding.”
Olympus recently concluded its camera division sale to Japan Industrial Partners (JIP), with the majority of company shares completing the transfer to the new owner on January 1, 2021. At this point, it has not been made clear what, if any, changes JIP will be making to Olympus’ camera business. From what has been publicly released, camera and lens production will remain unchanged, at least for now. That said, it’s unlikely that JIP’s impending ownership of the company has anything to do with the production run size for the 150-400mm f/4.5 lens. Rather, Olympus seems to simply have underestimated the interest in the $7,500 lens.
The notice of order delays was only published to Olympus Japan, so it’s possible that those interested in the optic in the West will not see a delay. No indication, either way, is notable via Olympus U.S. or through a pre-order.
Seeing Olympus underestimate interest in its optics may come as a surprise to many, as Olympus and the Micro Four Thirds mount are both often disregarded by vocal camera enthusiasts. The situation goes to show that despite what is conventionally popular online, there is still clearly a market for both, lending credence to JIP’s decision to not only purchase but also continue producing Olympus camera products.
(via Digicame Info)
Author: Jaron Schneider
Source: Petapixel
