Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2004/08/12
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]I'm not disagreeing with the described trends. But it's just really weird to me. Will the only way to take an extremely detailed, high quality landscape photo (MF 6x7 or LF 4x5 or 8x10), be to go out and buy some $22,000 digital back? Wow, that just sounds like complete insanity to me. I can understand the demise of film (cameras, shopss, repairs, emulsions) in both the P&S and "I'm playing sports photographer with my $2K super zoom at my kids socker game" market. But what about the smaller but still sizeable group of shooters for whom the small 135 format was never really an option? The Zone System fine art shooters who only use sheet film? Economically feasible digital solutions for these folks seem still far off in the distant future. My goodness, I hope our collective society is not sacrificing art on the alter of consumer electronics :-) [BTW, yes, MF or LF shooting is my planned pet project for next year :-) ] Scott Thinkofcole@aol.com wrote: >**SNIP ** > Kodak's end of 120 format will affect Rolleiflex and other 2x2 TTL > reflex >cameras, although there should be enough other brands around for a few >years. Its end of 135 -- other than Kodachrome -- will affect all 35mm >cameras, >although here again there should be other brands around for a long while, >basically Fuji. Kodak's end of sheet film will affect Speed Graphic, Crown >Graffic, Linhof and other classic sheet-film cameras. > Like 8mm Bolex cameras, many classic cameras will no longer bring > premium >prices anywhere because no film will soon be available without a lot of >trouble looking for it. > As for Leica, Nikon and a few other special situations, the vast > majority >of the users are only the ones already in the market -- the professionals, >the collectors, the wealthy and a few handfuls of guys and gals that >absolutely >love to own and use the best there is. > On one hand, many camera dealers in some cities appear to be willing to >accept far less for older Leica cameras and lenses because they are dead >[or >almost dead] stock. On the other hand, many Leica dealers are still very >active, suggesting that the market is still there. At the Second Sunday >Camera >Show, I saw a suit-case-full of used Leicas and Leica copies for sale and >when I >tried to get a look, a major buyer said that he had already bought them >all >for a big Manhattan store. > What does it all mean? To me it means that except for digital and > except >for a handful of major cities --like New York -- the camera business is >slow, >very slow and in lots of places, no longer what it used to be. > As for professional photographers, my daughter in Minneapolis, who >occasionally models for local photographer friends, told me that one >professional >photographer friend there has lost business with at least one customer >because >the customer has been buying stock photographs from a local company for >far >less money rather than pay heavily for a whole crew to provide special >stuff. > Unfortunately for buyers, except in the bigger cities, where prices are >more reasonable, private sellers are looking for double or triple current >values and it will take at least a year or two for the word to trickle down >-- if >then -- that the market has shrunk considerably. For sellers, I believe >they >will have to study carefully whether to stock up on this or that model. I >hope I haven't offended anyone in what I've said. --bob cole >_______________________________________________ >Leica Users Group. >See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > >