Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/02/04

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Subject: Re: [Leica] Re: RE: WOW..in 50 years.. thanks BD (long)
From: Nathan Wajsman <nathan.wajsman@euronet.be>
Date: Fri, 05 Feb 1999 07:54:14 +0100

This whole discussion reminds me of the debate about the future of books back
when CD Rom drives first became commonplace. I remember reading articles 10
years ago predicting that by now, the book in its paper form would be dead,
since you can pack all of Encyclopedia Britannica on one CD etc. etc. Well,
obviously this has not happened. In fact, book sales in many countries are the
highest they have ever been, and the two technologies co-exist nicely. I
believe the same will happen with digital photography--it will take over some
applications (e.g. newspaper photography) but I certainly do not see the
disappearance of film in the lifetime of even the youngest LUG member.

Look at medium format: an obsolete technology, no longer necessary because 35mm
film and modern 35mm cameras are so good--right?. And yet I see Fuji and Pentax
and others come out with amazing new MF models, and I also see a huge film
choice available to the MF photographer. These companies are not stupid and
would not be wasting money on developing, say, an autofocus MF camera if they
thought that film is dead.

Nathan

Michael D. Turner wrote:

>  I hope we will still have the option
> of shooting film for at least ten years to come. But, it is the mass
> consumer market that drives Kodak, Fuji profitability. There will be a time
> when film is too expensive to produce. Film may then be produced by small
> manufacturers for a high price, and variable quality, for so long as a
> niche market exists. Remember dye-transfer? That's what's happening now.
> That has always been a niche market.

- --
Nathan Wajsman
Overijse, Belgium

Photography page:  http://members.tripod.com/~belgiangator/index.html
Motorcycle page:  http://www.geocities.com/motorcity/downs/1704/index.html