Is the Panasonic 14-140mm f3.5/5.6 H-FS14140K zoom lens discontinued?

like it says at BHPhoto at: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/968587-REG/panasonic_14_140mm_f_3_5_5_6_ois_micro.html

Panasonic site shows it in stock.  Amazon too.

Is there a replacement coming soon?  Any rumors floating around?

I see that Panasonic is now selling the H-FS14140AK.

http://shop.panasonic.com/cameras-and-camcorders/lumix-camera-lenses/H-FS14140AK.html

I see that Amazon and the other boys are advertising it now.

New and improved I'm sure.

Panasonic changed the exterior finish of this lens when it was included with the G7 as a kit. B&H has the "new" one coming soon. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1182743-REG/panasonic_h_fs14140ak_14_140mm_f3_5_5_6_ois_lens.html

Same lens other than finish.

I see that Panasonic is now selling the H-FS14140AK.

http://shop.panasonic.com/cameras-and-camcorders/lumix-camera-lenses/H-FS14140AK.html

I see that Amazon and the other boys are advertising it now.

New and improved I'm sure.

Same thing, just slightly different cosmetically. It now features a more matte look rather than the metal skin they had only recently debuted it in (seriously it's only been around for like 2 yrs), and they shed the HD branding since 4K is en vogue.

Yep, the price also jumps around wildly... Almost $700 for the newest iteration seems like robbery considering the previous version has gone as low as $500 (from Amazon directly too, not merchants/grey).

I paid like $530 when it wasn't even a year old and still went out of stock often (a gift, not for me). Those 10x zooms are a lot more popular than many enthusiasts would guess, and the 14-140 is an excellent one.

Shame they didn't weather seal it like Oly did with their most recent 14-150.

Impulses wrote:

Yep, the price also jumps around wildly... Almost $700 for the newest iteration seems like robbery considering the previous version has gone as low as $500 (from Amazon directly too, not merchants/grey).

I paid like $530 when it wasn't even a year old and still went out of stock often (a gift, not for me). Those 10x zooms are a lot more popular than many enthusiasts would guess, and the 14-140 is an excellent one.

Shame they didn't weather seal it like Oly did with their most recent 14-150.

I'm curious to see if they changed more than the cosmetics. What if they addressed the shutter shock issue with this lens?

And didn't make any sort of claim about it? I guess if they wanted to deny it ever happened in the first place, maybe, tho other lenses with similar issues were fixed in firmware.