C-5050 Discontinued?

[DailyLunatic]

Reading this forum I decided to look into the C-5050 for u/w photography. Wanted a digital camera anyway. So, off I go to the local Circuit City, and a few other places, and talked to the sales staff. They claim that the C-5050 is no longer sold at the store, and after looking into it, further claimed that the C-5050 has been discontinued by Olympus.

True? If not, wonder why all the stores I looked at today had discontinued selling it over the last few months.

Assuming its true, and I can find one online, would it be a good idea to order a discontinued item? How well does Olympus support that sort of thing?

 

[ReyeR]

I would say that the store is feeding you BS...

 

[DailyLunatic]

ReyeR once bubbled...
I would say that the store is feeding you BS...

Normally I'd take it with a grain of salt as well, but I had two stores selling me the same line back to back. I just HAD to check.

 

[Dee]

The 5050 has been out about a year now. Isn't it about time for a new model? Could it be that the buyers for Circuit City, et.al. are aware of a new model soon to be released and just aren't stocking the C-5050 anymore? That could translate to discontinued with the clerks who don't know any better.

Just a thought!

 

[Ronsch]

I know mine had them about a month ago when I started looking at cameras.

 

[ReyeR]

Isn't it about time for a new model? Could it be that the buyers for Circuit City, et.al. are aware of a new model soon to be released and just aren't stocking the C-5050 anymore?

This isn't the first time that Circuit City is feeding everyone BS:
http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=26907 . They said that in April - and guess what....?

The last time I corresponded with customer relations, Olympus, Japan they said that they had no plans of extending the Cx0x0 series yet (I hope they change their minds!). Instead they were concentrating on their new four-thirds E-systems cameras. So discontinue a very successful and popular product before a new one is announced? Sounds 'fishy' to me...

 

[ssra30]

ReyeR, any idea on the new line of Oly camera as far as possible release date, features etc? I have been contemplating the 5050 for awhile, mainly for the super macro feature but have been putting it off, may be by the end of the year or early next year if there is nothing new coming up for the forseeable future.

 

[ReyeR]

ReyeR, any idea on the new line of Oly camera as far as possible release date, features etc?

ssra30, I presume you're referring to the E-sysem cameras. They're DSLR cameras and lens system that Olympus is proposing along with Kodak and Fuji support. The idea is to standardise on a CCD size and format that'll allow interchangeable lenses, much like the current 35mm film cameras. Being DSLR they're obviously in a different league (price-performance) to the C-x0x0 series. Proposed release date with lenses is October 2003. Read about it here:
http://www.olympusamerica.com/e1/index.html
and
http://www.four-thirds.com/index_01.htm
and previews here:
http://www.dpreview.com/articles/olympuse1/
and here:
http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/E1/E1A.HTM

I have been contemplating the 5050 for awhile, mainly for the super macro feature but have been putting it off, may be by the end of the year or early next year if there is nothing new coming up for the forseeable future.

Why wait for a good thing that's already here....

 

[Dee]

The Olympus Prosumer digital camera as we know it, ie. the C series cameras, are at the end of their run? If we want to upgrade, we'll be forced to go into the digital SLR. Right?

 

[ReyeR]

Dee, my impression is that they've pushed the CCD and lens of the C-x0x0 to the limit with the C5050. So if they do produce another prosumer camera they'll have to do a major re-design of the camera, especially the lens. The indication was they don't have any plans yet of producing a Cx0x0 with higher MP. I think they will - it doesn't make sense to expect the current prosumer users to upgrade to the E-systems - that's a big jump in price and performance. Only time will tell...