Japan Camera Hunter designing NEW premium film camera

[farmersteve]

Now we are talking! This is what I have been waiting for!

https://www.dpreview.com/news/36378...er-is-designing-a-35mm-premium-compact-camera

 

[saman13]

I'm not very surprised. He has been imploring the major companies to make a high quality compact camera for a while now. Finally just took it into his own hands!

 

[blockend]

Now we are talking! This is what I have been waiting for!

https://www.dpreview.com/news/36378...er-is-designing-a-35mm-premium-compact-camera

The comments varied between facile and moronic.

 

[pentaxuser]

Is this person on his own and intends to produce this camera himself with tooling he owns or can purchase from sources that can be contracted to do the production from his specs?
I wonder what his outlay has to be to make this happen? To say the article was short on details is an understatement. An interview with him at the very least would have been helpful.

It all sounded rather "third-hand" stuff

pentaxuser

 

[Theo Sulphate]

Original JCH blog:

http://www.japancamerahunter.com/2017/05/compact-cameras-future/

 

[pentaxuser]

Original JCH blog:

http://www.japancamerahunter.com/2017/05/compact-cameras-future/

Thank you. So he is going to try and persuade the big camera manufacturers to start making compacts and if that fails he has an ambition to try and do it himself but currently this is a "wish " of his only. That's fine but I now understand why there was so little substance in the article mentioned in the opening post - it is because there is so little substance.

I was a little surprised that it has excited as much hope as it has amongst our two members, given the lack of anything concrete but perhaps I need to be on whatever it is that they are on.

pentaxuser

 

[blockend]

I was a little surprised that it has excited as much hope as it has amongst our two members, given the lack of anything concrete but perhaps I need to be on whatever it is that they are on.

pentaxuser

It's fuelled by the fact Bellamy Hunt gets loads of requests for posh 35mm compacts he can no longer fulfil. He sees it as business going begging and wants to try to corner the market. Whether he succeeds is a different matter. I reckon there is a desire for a compact that consists of the best bits of all the others, but bringing it in at a price people are prepared to pay is the trick. If he does, it'll probably be at a boutique price that I'll guess will be the cost of a lightly used Leica.

 

[AgX]

We just had the discussion about the announcement of a new designed 35mm SLR by another entity. My critique on that endeavour even more applies on this about a 35mm compact.

Maybe it depends on what "posh" means to people.

 

[Gerald C Koch]

Just what makes a compact camera a 'premium' compact one. I would guess the price. With all the reasonably priced used compacts on the market some of excellent quality do we really need a new one. But as the adage goes 'a fool and his money are soon parted.'

Remember this is the guy who brought us that awful Streetpan film! That was certainly no bargain.

 

[David Brown]

It's fuelled by the fact Bellamy Hunt gets loads of requests for posh 35mm compacts he can no longer fulfil. ...

Just what makes a compact camera a 'premium' compact one. I would guess the price. With all the reasonably priced used compacts on the market some of excellent quality do we really need a new one. But as the adage goes 'a fool and his money are soon parted.'

Agreed. I own Olympus, Pentax, and Nikon P & S film cameras that are all capable cameras for what they do. None of them are "posh" however, and no one would give me $10 for any of them.

 

[CMoore]

I have never seen this guy as anything more than a "Self Promoter"....which is Completely Fine.
He seems to have some kind of a fan base, and these people see him as a Japanese Camera Guru that they willingly make their Middle Man for buying used cameras.
Cars, Guitars, Guns, Antiques.....there seem to be no shortage of these types in all genres, where people are buying old "Stuff" .

 

[darkosaric]

In general I find any 'making a fuss' about the film, cameras ... good, whatever makes the things going. Lomo, good films, bad films, old films, new cameras, old cameras... making a fuss about this - it is good . Of course many want to make some profit if the can - and that is also ok.
Worst scenario would be that only on APUG you can find analog photography. For sure we apugers will be last man standing - if it comes to that, but hopefully it never will .

 

[blockend]

Bellamy's market seems to be cash rich, time poor types who simply must have a flawless M3, Fuji Natura, Contax T3 and don't know or care how to acquire one for themselves. As nobody "needs" any of those things in 2017 one can assume he's in the fashion business. That market isn't price sensitive, so it may happen and well heeled young men and ladies about town can pull one from their courier bag or purse to the envy of their friends.

From a photography enthusiasts standpoint, functionality and build quality will carry the day. If autofocus is to the best current standards and the lens is stellar and it's built like a Minolta CLE, there's is no 35mm film camera like it and the thing may have a point. If it's something like a Yashica T4 for the price of a used car, it won't detain most of us.

There's a Contax T3 currently on eBay in Japan, where excellent usually means what it says, for £1640. With Bellamy's finder's premium that would run close to £2k, so you can see why he's tempted to make something similar himself.

 

[removed account4]

here's some more info
http://emulsive.org/articles/news/e...alks-emulsive-new-35mm-compact-camera-project

 

[House]

Bellamy's market seems to be cash rich, time poor types who simply must have a flawless M3, Fuji Natura, Contax T3 and don't know or care how to acquire one for themselves. As nobody "needs" any of those things in 2017 one can assume he's in the fashion business. That market isn't price sensitive, so it may happen and well heeled young men and ladies about town can pull one from their courier bag or purse to the envy of their friends.

I think he caters to the more money than time crowd by offering truly rare finds, but he also offers peace of mind at a premium for those who are wary of eBay. Even though eBay has become a safer place, especially for buyers, its reputation for being the wild west of the internet hasn't gone away.

I have never seen this guy as anything more than a "Self Promoter"....which is Completely Fine.
He seems to have some kind of a fan base, and these people see him as a Japanese Camera Guru that they willingly make their Middle Man for buying used cameras.
Cars, Guitars, Guns, Antiques.....there seem to be no shortage of these types in all genres, where people are buying old "Stuff" .

I don't understand it myself, but I'm happy he's found a way to make a living for himself whilst having fun at the same time. I've seen people asking him to sign their camera as if he were some celebrity, but at best he's a flipper -- not that there's anything wrong with that.

 

[removed account4]

what i am confused about is why the OP is so gung ho about this camera, when so many canbe purchased on the used market
in great condition &c
and a couple of days earlier when the OP posted something about an all manual 35mm slr only gulible hipsters would buy it ..
like they bought into the lomo movement ( from what i understand the lomo petzval lens that was crowd funded is an absolutely beautiful lens )

 

[removedacct1]

I read the interview and I’m even less intrigued by Hunt’s project than I was ten minutes ago. He bandies about the term “premium” a lot and I can only conclude that’s going to mean “expensive”. Will anyone pay $1000~2000 for a compact point and shoot 35mm camera in this era? I certainly wouldn’t, but then I’m not interested in PAS technology at any price: I ain’t the target market.
About the camera-plus-app concept:
One thing I’ve learned about the smartphone app environment is that this type of software has the poorest shelf life of any software in the ecosystem. If you buy into any particular app, if you expect it to be usable in five years, you’re almost certainly going to be disappointed. These things are typically abandoned by the developer before the five year point. So, do I want to spend over a thousand dollars for a film camera that incorporates fancy 21st century’s electronics and is tied to a smartphone app as well? Not a chance. I look at that concept and think, there’s $1000 on the fast track for the landfill. Am I being cynical? You bet, but I think it’s good to be cynical when someone like Hunt comes along with these “let’s reinvent lowest common denominator technologies” propositions.
That said, I also admit it’s premature to judge a project that hasn’t yet left the drafting stage. But considering the fact that Hunt’s “Street Pan” sells for $11 per roll of 120, which I think is an outrageous price for a repackaged AGFA surveillance film, I’m very skeptical of this proposal.

 

[Gerald C Koch]

here's some more info
http://emulsive.org/articles/news/e...alks-emulsive-new-35mm-compact-camera-project

The interview was interesting for what it didn't say. Little in the way of answers. This guy strikes me as a sort of slippery character. Would I buy a used car from him? No way Jose.

 

[farmersteve]

what i am confused about is why the OP is so gung ho about this camera, when so many canbe purchased on the used market
in great condition &c
and a couple of days earlier when the OP posted something about an all manual 35mm slr only gulible hipsters would buy it ..
like they bought into the lomo movement ( from what i understand the lomo petzval lens that was crowd funded is an absolutely beautiful lens )

It's pretty simple. A lot of the nice autofocus point and shoot 35mm cameras that have electronics in them are failing at a large rate (at least from what I see on this and other forums). A fully manual 35mm SLR is not interesting because there are so many out there that will never fail because they are built like tanks. In the last couple of years compact 35mm camera prices have surged. Parts are impossible to find. Just look at the prices for many of the compact premium cameras on eBay over the last few years and they have spiked significantly. If JCH is talking about new $2000 camera (pure speculation), I'm out. You are right, there are still plenty of compact 35mm cameras that work perfectly fine and are cheap enough. Probably cheaper and better than anything that JCH can bring to the market...

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

The interview was interesting for what it didn't say. Little in the way of answers. This guy strikes me as a sort of slippery character. Would I buy a used car from him? No way Jose.

That new 35mm SLR concept someone else is pimping is even more vague - their web page is nothing more than a vague graphic design teaser of a stylized SLR top deck. Absolutely ZERO content about what they're looking to make, the price range, lens compatibility, etc.

 

[removed account4]

It's pretty simple. A lot of the nice autofocus point and shoot 35mm cameras that have electronics in them are failing at a large rate (at least from what I see on this and other forums). A fully manual 35mm SLR is not interesting because there are so many out there that will never fail because they are built like tanks. In the last couple of years compact 35mm camera prices have surged. Parts are impossible to find. Just look at the prices for many of the compact premium cameras on eBay over the last few years and they have spiked significantly. If JCH is talking about new $2000 camera (pure speculation), I'm out. You are right, there are still plenty of compact 35mm cameras that work perfectly fine and are cheap enough. Probably cheaper and better than anything that JCH can bring to the market...

weird
it was only a few years ago i got
an olympus stylus NIB from KEH sold "BGN" for 19$ shipped
maybe i should sell it and buy a leica with the proceeds ?

 

[Pioneer]

I do have to say, this is quite an amazing forum. Supposedly this group is in full support of analogue. But I think that is BS.

The minute someone markets a different film, or suggests building a new film camera, or uses film in an ad campaign, the trolls on this site leap out from under the bridge and attack with fiendish glee.

And just for the record, I have purchased JCH Streetpan and still use it. It is a very nice film.

I have also purchased used cameras from Bellamy Hunt and been very happy with what I received.

Finally...what in the *&#@ is wrong with pricing things so that you can make a profit?!?

 

[removedacct1]

And just for the record, I have purchased JCH Streetpan and still use it. It is a very nice film.

Is it so much nicer than HP5 or Tri-X as to justify costing twice these other films? That is a valid question.

 

[CMoore]

I do have to say, this is quite an amazing forum. Supposedly this group is in full support of analogue. But I think that is BS.

The minute someone markets a different film, or suggests building a new film camera, or uses film in an ad campaign, the trolls on this site leap out from under the bridge and attack with fiendish glee.

And just for the record, I have purchased JCH Streetpan and still use it. It is a very nice film.

I have also purchased used cameras from Bellamy Hunt and been very happy with what I received.

Finally...what in the *&#@ is wrong with pricing things so that you can make a profit?!?

There is nothing "Wrong" with anybody that is posting here.
You bought a camera(s) from this guy and you like them.....fine. Were they anything that you could have not bought yourself.? As far as i know, he does not own a camera store, he is simply a Middle Man....again, that is fine, but nothing "special".
He does not know how to make a camera, and does not own a camera manufacture company. He is, again, simply a promoter.
He does not know how to make film, nor does he own a film company. He simply orders enough from a film company.....is it AGFA.?.....and they stamp his name on it.
You could do the same thing, and call it "Analog Heaven"..... you might sell it to One Hundred people that say it is Awesome...!!....that is completely fine, but it is still just an existing product in a new box.......maybe just slightly "modified". It is certainly nothing New/Unique.

 

[farmersteve]

weird
it was only a few years ago i got
an olympus stylus NIB from KEH sold "BGN" for 19$ shipped
maybe i should sell it and buy a leica with the proceeds ?

Those days are long over. Decent black Olympus Stylus Epics go for $200 these days and are very fragile. I had a black one I got NIB about 10 years ago for $70, which I liked enough but was tired of fiddling with the buttons every time I turned it on. I kept thinking I was going to break something on it at some point Sold it for a small profit a year or so later.