Darren from Digital Photography Blog says,
A report out of Russia claims that Pentax are announcing a complete withdrawal of manufacturing of compact and SLR film cameras by the end of the year. It could be just a localised thing but some are suggesting it just the first of the "big five" camera manufacturers who will all make moves in the coming years to go digital (to different extents).
UPDATE: Pentax says it isn't so. Unless their Russian distributor knows something we don't, this would appear to be an unsubstantiated report. A spokesperson for Pentax USA (a privately-held subsidiary of the Japan-based parent corporation) told me today that the contents of this "leaked notice" are not accurate. This spokesperson said that Pentax has no immediate plans to cease distribution of film-based imaging products, that the company continues to produce and support film-based products, and said also that if Pentax Corporation were to make such a decision, the announcement would come direcly from Pentax Corporation of Japan rather than the Russian source cited in this forwarded online report.
