Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2004/08/12
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Sad but true Scott: I shoot 11x14 and have a freezer full of slightly outdated Ektachrome because no company makes 11x14 color film any longer. Jim - http://www.hemenway.com Scott McLoughlin wrote: > 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 >> >> > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >