Nikon Brings the Curtain Down On Film Cameras

[Mulboyne]

Last of the line

BBC: Nikon to focus on digital cameras
Nikon has said it plans to stop making most of its traditional film cameras and focus on digital products instead. The Japanese camera manufacturer said the move would enable it to meet the demands of an "increasingly competitive" digital marketplace...However, the company said it planned to continue to manufacture its flagship F6 film camera in recognition of "Nikon's commitment to professional photographers".
[t]japan[/t] [t]nikon[/t] [t]film[/t] [t]cameras[/t] [t]digital[/t] [t]tech[/t]

[Hokgwai]

Not a smart move.

Digital cameras are fantastic, but nothing beats film.

Sometimes it's is the "imperfections" of a traditional film photograph that gives the photo it's "magic" for lack of a better way saying...

Sometimes digital photos tend to look TOO perfect and TOO good.....and our eyes pick this up very quickly.

Some might argue that you can "grunge up" your image in photoshop or whatever....but it's just not the same.

[drpepper]

Well if you noticed they are still going to continue the F6 line which is their best 35mm camera. Basically they are dumping the lower end amatuer film cameras as well as any kind of point and shoot type film camera. This makes sense since those cameras are not good film cameras to begin with and the people that use them would be better served with digital anyways.
35mm film cameras have not advanced much in the last 10-15 years (accessories have, flash systems etc) any many pros like the older cameras anyways.

[Hokgwai]

Oh....well if you're talking about the "point and shoot" cameras....well, by all means....those camera suck.

[Mulboyne]

Konica Minolta has given up completely.

Bloomberg: Konica Minolta Exits Camera Business
Konica Minolta Holdings Inc. will stop making cameras after more than a century in the business to focus on printers, as it seeks to bolster earnings from a projected loss. The Tokyo-based company, ranked among the world's 10 biggest camera makers, will stop making digital and film cameras and sell its single-lens reflex camera business to Sony Corp., with which it has a venture, according to a joint statement from the companies today...more...

[IkemenTommy]

"Another one bites the dust"
Konica-Minolta was caught in the bitter battle pretty much owned by Canon and Nikon. Let's see how Sony will screw Minolta up now with their usual noncompatible, non-proprietary technologies.

[fatslug]

It will be a sad day when all film cameras are gone for good !

[Laced]

What a great shame, my dad was a Minolta man since his student days (shot my birth with an SRT 101) and I've been a Nikon user since my student days nearly ten years ago.

[IkemenTommy]

It will be a sad day when all film cameras are gone for good !

Film will always be around. There will be the crowd who claims that film is superior to digital, but just don't expect the film cameras to keep coming out with new models all the time like they do with digital.

[Mulboyne]

Kyodo via Crisscross: Canon to stop developing new film cameras

Canon Inc will stop developing new film camera products in the face of digital cameras rapidly eating into their market, the company's president said Thursday. "We consider it difficult to develop new products (for the film camera market)," Tsuneji Uchida said at a press conference. Canon will continue producing existing film cameras "as long as they are in demand."

[Mulboyne]

Amateur Photographer: Film camera figures axed

A leading Japanese trade body has stopped compiling film camera production figures for the first time since the onset of the digital revolution. The Camera & Imaging Products Association (CIPA) failed to provide figures on film camera shipment and production for February and March. CIPA's website states that the film camera figures 'did not satisfy a statistical rule'. Among those reliant on the statistics was Japanese trade publication Pen News Weekly, which has been forced to turn to figures supplied by the country's Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry. Only 529 film cameras (35mm models) were made in February, according to the Japanese government figures. In its latest newsletter, Pen states that CIPA had stopped tabulating the figures 'as the number of manufacturers has not come up to its standard'.

[sublight]

What a great shame, my dad was a Minolta man since his student days (shot my birth with an SRT 101) and I've been a Nikon user since my student days nearly ten years ago.

I realize this post was two years ago, but Konica Minolta's camera division was bought by Sony to produce their new Alpha SLRs. I was able to try out the A700 for a couple of months this year and was really impressed with it. The A900 24-megapixel full-frame is coming out later this year.

[IkemenTommy]

I realize this post was two years ago, but Konica Minolta's camera division was bought by Sony to produce their new Alpha SLRs. I was able to try out the A700 for a couple of months this year and was really impressed with it. The A900 24-megapixel full-frame is coming out later this year.

Sony and Panasonic entering the DSLR market has really put pressure on Nikon and Canon to bring down the price to the point of being affordable now. Who would have imagined being able to buy an entry-level camera at less than a thousand dollars with a lens?

[Hamaki]

I love my F4, but I never use it nowdays.



Hamaki