I really wasn't referring to Leica cameras though they do seem to retain their value quite nicely. I am certainly not complaining
There are others that are also holding their values. Nikon, Pentax LX and MX. A lot of medium format cameras are holding value pretty well. In fact I think medium and large format are a better value proposition than 35mm right now.
I think you are letting your concern over the value of your Spotties color your perception of what is happening. I too own a couple of Spotties and enjoy them for what they are. And you are right with them, I doubt they will ever gain in price again. Part of the reason are that there were a lot of them built and they were built like tanks. A lot like the Nikon F these days.
...and all it would take to send the price of spotmatics skyrocketing is for a few of the many young and beautiful YouTube influencers to do a review and say what a great machine it is and how much they love they way it looks and feels, etc... ok that’s me dreaming
Forget cameras for a moment though.
What is really, really desperately needed out there, is a superb affordable scanner!
It should be completely possible to make something that completely trumps a Flextight in almost every way, from recently dramatically cost reduced components from the smartphone industry.
You should be able to make something in the 200 to $400 range easily, with a big manufacturer and clever engineering.
In some ways the scanner gap is supplemented by "camera scanning" and post processing tools such as Negative Lab Pro. I have to try it myself, but with a high end body and good technique I've seen gorgeous examples. IIRC a small lab who is active in here uses this method for some of its scanning.Forget cameras for a moment though.
What is really, really desperately needed out there, is a superb affordable scanner!
It should be completely possible to make something that completely trumps a Flextight in almost every way, from recently dramatically cost reduced components from the smartphone industry.
You should be able to make something in the 200 to $400 range easily, with a big manufacturer and clever engineering.
Mamiya 7 is a model that could be reintroduced if they still had the tooling around. I agree on the note that 120 is where a good new camera would do good. Cosina made the Bessa III/GF670 so they should be able to produce more batches or something in that line. Now perhaps all that is needed is someone approaching them for a new run.Looking at the price Mamiya 7 cameras sell for, might suggest an updated version would find a ready market. However the manufacturing base has moved on. Leica are able to square the circle because their 35mm bodies carry boutique aspirations, price tags and a backstory. On objective criteria alone, they are overpriced and anachronistic. As objectivity plays a minor part in a 35mm Leica's appeal, merit is attributed elsewhere.
DSLR scanning is great, and what any serious film photographer should be using by now if they can.
It’s not in any way feasible for the majority of regular/causal users though.
It’s takes sourcing gear, and knowledge of how to put it together.
It takes experience and training to use it.
It takes a lot of space if you leave it out and a lot of setting up if you don’t.
And if you don’t own a DSLR it’s not exactly cheap.
Only a small percentage of film shooters will ever be able to do it.
What we desperately need is bottled DSLR scanning.
If any of the Japanese giants should throw their weight behind it, they would clean the plate.
Until that happens it’s a golden opportunity for medium to small entrepreneurs.
That’s ok for use online on screens at low magnifications. But even with a 50MP sensor, you are going to potentially run into problems with grain aliasing and simply not enough resolution.
“Since I have one of those evil objects...”
Main reason I bought my ‘evil object’ was as support to my film photography. Makes a good meter and copy setup for most of the range of negs I deal with. The used price of certain mirrorless with 16 maggot-pixels is less than some new meters.
A thought-provoking op ed.
Anyone agree?
Well, it made me think about dwindling supplies of functional used cameras. The supply will eventually dry up. It's inevitable.
Right, and I imagine that the crowdfunded "Reflex" project is too, so why has it not made the transition to reality?...
I would pose that the Open Source Film Photography Collective I was describing above, is not the same thing as a private for-profit venture, crowdfunded or not.
The blue print designs resources, and donated technologies that open source collectives could bring to bear -- are different (and I believe would be larger in both depth and breadth). Fundamentally, because incentives are different.
Open source collectives fail too, so this is not bullet proof either.
But an analogy to crowd funded failure or success -- is not that clear to me.
The lack of affordable new cameras is much more a death knell for the traditional type of photo retailer than it is for film photography.
The traditional model of retailer earned its money by feeding those cameras - with film, photo-finishing, accessories, but the cameras were the entry point.
Odd. There are plenty of 100 year old cars still out there for purchase if that is your thing. Why would cameras go extinct if cars can be made to last?
Odd. There are plenty of 100 year old cars still out there for purchase if that is your thing. Why would cameras go extinct if cars can be made to last?
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