Every once in awhile i check Fujinon's bino website. I don't know why i do. It never changes. The 10x50FMTR-SX still isn't listed. Its been what now, 5 years since it was introduced? And, the 8x30 FMTR-SX is still listed as being available. How long ago was it discontinued? For the life of me i can't understand why some management-type there doesnt look at that site and go "what the!!!!!!!". Is it so hard for them to make their offerings up to date? Do they care? Anyone had any interaction with their office?
I have emailed them before with not results/reply. Thanks
Rick
The really scary thing is, they may now be making an 8x40 center focusing FMT-SX, and nobody in the world knows about it, and they will soon stop production, because they aren't selling.
Ron
Rick,
First to address the question of why you keep checking Fuji's Website. Perhaps like Ron, you are hoping Fuji will eventually come out with a center focus line of high quality porros? If so, please don't hold your breath.
Of course, they do or did have the BFL series, but those were not on par with the FMTs.
Or perhaps, because like most of us on these forums, you too are a binoholic. Sign up for our support group here:
http://www.birdforum.net/archive/in...p/t-154741.html
As to the Website, I just wrote about the same issue with Nikon's pre-Flash Website. It was "hit or miss" when it came to including current models, and it had models that were discontinued (or at least believed to be).
At one point, Nikon USA's Website was not a reliable source of information, though it has much improved since they apparently hired someone to move the site into the 21st century, though I still missed a bin (the SE) because I was expecting a drop down menu on their birding bins site like they had on their general bin site, which has the same menu options at top, but they used a horizontal sliding menu instead. Still some bugs to work out. Some DENOREX will cure that. :-)
The chief reason why Fuji's site might be so shoddy is that there is simply no reason to update it. They haven't introduced a new model in 5 years - the 10x50 you mentioned - and it was at least five years before that when they introduced their CD roof, which never seemed to catch on. That's unfortunate, because we could use a quality player like Fuji in the birding market, but I'd prefer to see high quality CF porros than yet another roof clone (the "CD" looked very similar to Meade's discontinued Montana series).
So with nothing new to update, they apparently don't have any interest in keeping the Website current. Plus, they have to translate from Japanese into the English. Babelfish won't do!
However, just imagine if they started a line of original roofs with the same quality as the FMT series. They would probably be "hot sellers," but Fujinon apparently is not serious about breaking into the sports optics market.
They are content to sit on their laurels and hardies and be the King of Marine Tested binoculars. I guess there is wisdom in sticking with what you do best.
OTOH, birdwatching is one of the fastest growing hobbies in the world. If I were Takeshi Higuchi, president of Fujinon, I'd be thinking about finding a better way to tap into this potentially lucrative market segment.
Of course, that would require big cash outlays since he would need to hire a new team to design birding and hunting optics rather than use his "marine tested" opticians, with their IF eyes. :-)
So it's a big gamble, but a name like FUJINON attached to a high quality roof could do well in the right market segment. The big opening I see now is the second tier birding optics market.
The Alphas along with Nikon's EDG series have the top tier sowed up, but Meopta, Minox's top end, Zeiss's Conquest line and Nikon's Premier line could use some competition. There's room near the top.
Brock