Panasonic Lumix FZ150 Discontinued?

The FZ150, announced less than a year ago, is marked as discontinued in some places and has disappeared altogether from others. Where did it go? No one can tell.

(See the update below - the FZ150 has been replaced by the FZ200!)

After the great earthquake in Japan, cameras going out of stock due to a pause in manufacturing was a thing of the ordinary. Most of them, like Sony's HX9V for example, came back after a while.

The Panasonic Lumix FZ150, however, is another story. The impact of the earthquake is not over, but manufacturers have found workarounds to ensure their products hit the shelves and meet customer demand. What could explain the disappearance of a current model, and a successful one at that?

Panasonic Lumix FZ150 - where is it?

Amazon still has it available, probably due to large stocks.

B&H, on the other hand marked it as 'temporarily out of stock' and Adorama removed the FZ150 from their site completely.

I'll keep watching and updating.

Update (May 8th, 2012): I've asked around. Based on the industry people, the FZ150 will probably not be available anymore from the manufacturer. It's marked as 'no longer available on Adorama's site, marked as 'temporarily out of stock' at B&H and available at Amazon for a pumped up price of $489.

Update (June 7th, 2012): I'm thrilled to say that my premonition which deemed the FZ150 extinct was wrong. The FZ150 is back in stock at Amazon and at B&H for a sane price of $439. Still nothing at Adorama, though.

Update (July 20th, 2012): The FZ150 is dead, long live the FZ200! See the announcement post here, the FZ200 details here and the comparison between the two here.

-eyalg