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Topic: Nikon will stop making most film cameras
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Mark Gulbrandsen
Resident Trollmaster
Posts: 16657
From: Music City
Registered: Jun 99
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posted 01-15-2006 05:01 PM
Its sad to read about this... Consumer film cameras are quickly comming to an end.......
Link To Article
Thursday, January 12, 2006; Posted: 7:16 p.m. EST (00:16 GMT)
(AP) -- Nikon Corp., which helped popularize the 35mm camera five decades ago, will stop making most of its film cameras to concentrate on digital models.
The Japanese company said it wanted to focus on "business categories that continue to demonstrate the strongest growth" as film cameras sales keep shrinking.
Nikon will discontinue seven film-camera models, leaving in production only the current top-line model, the F6, and a low-end manual-focus model, the FM10.
It will also stop making most of its manual-focus lenses.
Most of the company's autofocus lenses work with manual-focus bodies, however. Also, German optical company Carl Zeiss AG is widely reported to be planning a line of manual-focus lenses for Nikon bodies.
Nikon did not give firm dates for the discontinuation of its products, but said Wednesday that sales will cease as supplies are depleted.
Major competitor Canon Inc. still makes five models of single-lens reflex film cameras. At the lower end of the market, Eastman Kodak Co. announced in 2004 that it would stop selling film cameras in the United States and Europe.
Nikon ranks fifth in digital-camera shipments in the United States, behind Kodak, Canon, Sony Corp. and Fuji Photo Film Co.
Nikon was a major force in establishing the dominance of the 35mm single-lens reflex camera, the workhorse of professionals and sophisticated amateurs until the arrival of digital cameras.
Its breakthrough model was the F, released in 1959. It set a standard for ruggedness and reliability and became a must-have for photojournalists.
Unusually, Nikon has maintained the same lens mount over the years, meaning most lenses from 1959 will fit today's digital models and vice versa, albeit with functional restrictions.
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Dick Vaughan
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1032
From: Bradford, West Yorkshire, UK
Registered: Jul 2000
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posted 01-19-2006 08:58 AM
Konica Minolta are latest to dump film. they are even selling off their digital camera division to Sony as reported here
Konica Minolta quits photo market
Konica Minolta is focusing its business elsewhere
Japanese photographic equipment maker Konica Minolta has announced plans to withdraw from the camera business.
Konica Minolta said the market had become too competitive, and added it would sell its digital camera business to Japanese electronics giant Sony.
Konica Minolta is planning to cut 3,700 jobs, or 11% of its workforce, by 2007 as part of a restructuring drive.
Earlier in January, fellow Japanese cameramaker Nikon said it would stop making most of its film camera line.
Instead, Nikon intends to focus most of its effort on digital cameras.
Digital era
Konica Minolta, which was formed from the merger of the two companies in 2003, warned in November that it was on course to post a full-year net loss of 47bn yen ($408m; £232.5m).
Its decision to ditch the camera business altogether includes the cessation of its colour film and photo paper business, in which it has trailed Eastman Kodak of the US and Japan's Fuji Photo Film.
Instead, it plans to focus on products such as colour office photocopiers and medical imaging equipment.
"In today's era of digital cameras...it became difficult to timely provide competitive products even with our top optical, mechanical and electronics technologies," Konica Minolta said.
"For colour film and colour paper, while considering our customer needs, we will step-by-step reduce product line-up and cease our film production and colour paper by the end of fiscal year ending 31 March, 2007."
The global photographic market has been undergoing a major upheaval recently, with many key players withdrawing from traditional areas of the industry.
As well as Nikon's decision, Eastman Kodak has said for some time that digital is to be its priority in the future.
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Some days I'm not sure if I bought the VV camnera or the F-2 to be able to use use the Nikors.... OK, I bought the F-2 body after I moved out here actually.... I was a Canon fan till I started using the Nikors! 18mm to 300mm......
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