Which film cameras can you buy brand new?

gr82bart · Jan 19, 2018

Available new film cameras:

Lomography has a bunch of 35mm cameras
https://shop.lomography.com/en/cameras

Nikon FM10 (not available in USA) and F6
http://imaging.nikon.com/lineup/filmcamera/

Leica M-A and M-7
http://us.leica-camera.com/Photography/Leica-M/About-the-M-System

Regards, Art

CMoore · Jan 20, 2018

Thomas Keidan said:
Hi All,

...... given the current hype of film photography.

And there is one of the problems....."Current Hype".
Any guess on how long that will last.?
Another problem, there certainly is money to be made SELLING a new 35mm camera. However there is not money to be made Building Them.
As my Betters have already said.....
The machines do not exist.
The expertise has retired.
Stocking parts and labor for a warranty is a losing proposition.
Etc etc etc
Five years from now, Film Sales might be 3x what they are now, or Film Sales might be on the edge of collapse.
Ilford is in Business because they are already in business. I see no way they would get the capital together to start making film in 2018.
Look at the giant success that is Film Ferrania.

mshchem · Jan 20, 2018

I just picked up a New, in original packaging Leica M6ttl, silver, 0.85 viewfinder. Some fellow in Hong Kong had come across a collection stash. $2300 US delivered. Body only. I had a black M6ttl for about 10 years, 0.72 finder. I never did like that finder setup.
I didn't want the electronics of the M7, and I didn't want an MP with the retro rewind crank . The factory lens caps for the Summicron 50mm are the crappiest lens caps.

I hope Nikon can keep the F6 alive, who knows they may have old stock they are selling off.
Best Mike

neilt3 · Jan 20, 2018

You can buy lightly used top of the range 35mm and 120 cameras , that you could only dream of owning back when they came , out for less than what you would pay for a new camera , if any of the firms bothered to gear up and make one now .

The last new camera I saw offered by the shops was a manual focus body , possibly made by Cosina , branded as Brawn (?) , in a choice of lens mounts .
IIRC , Nikon F , Minolta SR , Pentax K , the price was about £130 .
I could buy a Minolta X700 at the time for £20 , a Dynax 7 for £100 , any Pentax body for less than £20 and so on .

Just now used bodies have gone up , but any film bodies that would be made are still going to retail for more than a digital body .
A lot of the camera parts could be used for both formats , but the extra production cost , R&D etc , would put the final retail price far in excess of what the market would pay .

We're not about to run out of bodies anytime soon , so where's the market ?

SilverShutter · Jan 20, 2018

Well besides Leica, the Nikon F6 and the LF ones, I think Lomography makes a couple of them both for 120 and 35mm, and obviously Fujifilm with their Instax's and Polaroid Original with the OneStep 2.

blockend · Jan 20, 2018

neilt3 said:
You can buy lightly used top of the range 35mm and 120 cameras , that you could only dream of owning back when they came , out for less than what you would pay for a new camera , if any of the firms bothered to gear up and make one now .

That's right. Japan especially has numerous barely used/collectors cameras for sale at no more than twice the price of a beater. Which still puts them way below the cost of a new camera. Nikon F4 and F5, late EOS 1, medium format from Bronica and Mamiya, professionally made gear that evolved in manufacturing sophistication over many years. Why, when such stuff is available, would anyone spend money on a start up of unknown viability and engineering quality? Novelty? A good will message to the history of film?

It's not as though film technology has evolved in the last 20 years. Whether you buy brand new or used you're getting 1997 tech at the latest. Nikon made a farewell copy of their rangefinder, but manufacturers can't exist on tribute acts and nostalgia.

colin wells · Jan 20, 2018

Blockend unless your name is Harley Davidson or Triumph

blockend · Jan 20, 2018

colin wells said:
Blockend unless your name is Harley Davidson or Triumph

Yebbut their market is people who buy an M9 thinking they were owning a slice of heritage. The smart folks are into knuckleheads and 500 twins.

Chan Tran · Jan 20, 2018

Theo Sulphate said:
Mechanical cameras may not be more reliable, but they're more repairable, which is why Sover Wong, Youxin Ye, Harry Fleenor, DAG, etc., stay in business, among others.

The issue with electronics is that there are so many subsystems that typically if even one fails, the camera cannot be used.

My cameras from the 1930's to 1960's are working perfectly. I suspect no camera with extensive use of electronics (1990's on) will be functioning 20 years from now due to its electronic complexity - and that includes the F6.

I am sure many will. Of the same model some will be bad but a larger percentage of them still working perfectly fine that what I think.

macfred · Jan 20, 2018

Not Harley or Triumph - here we go ...

The Wild One by Andreas, on Flickr

Theo Sulphate · Jan 21, 2018

Theo Sulphate said:
... I suspect no camera with extensive use of electronics (1990's on) will be functioning 20 years from now due to its electronic complexity - and that includes the F6.

Chan Tran said:
I am sure many will. Of the same model some will be bad but a larger percentage of them still working perfectly fine that what I think.

Let's make a date: March 26, 2039 (roughly the 80th anniversary of the U.S. introduction of the Nikon F). We can meet at the base of Cleopatra's Needle in NYC. Bring your F6; I'll be the guy with the Nikon F. See you there!

Other Photrions welcome.

Chan Tran · Jan 21, 2018

Theo Sulphate said:
Let's make a date: March 26, 2039 (roughly the 80th anniversary of the U.S. introduction of the Nikon F). We can meet at the base of Cleopatra's Needle in NYC. Bring your F6; I'll be the guy with the Nikon F. See you there!

Other Photrions welcome.

If I myself make it at that time I would bring my much older F5 is that OK?

Theo Sulphate · Jan 21, 2018

Chan Tran said:
If I myself make it at that time I would bring my much older F5 is that OK?

Ok! 2039.03.26: Everyone bring their camera.*

* (I was unable to find the day the Nikon F was officially introduced).

PaulQ · Jan 21, 2018

macfred said:
Not Harley or Triumph - here we go ...

The Wild One by Andreas, on Flickr

If it was English I'd think it had a Villiers 2t engine, but that could be a jlo/ilo engine. I can't quite see the tank badge to work out the make.
It's a dkw.

E. von Hoegh · Jan 21, 2018

Theo Sulphate said:
Ok! 2039.03.26: Everyone bring their camera.*

* (I was unable to find the day the Nikon F was officially introduced).

I can bring a Contax II, I'll also bring a Kiev as backup - maybe some flashbulbs too.
I'l be the curmudgeon in the model A.

E. von Hoegh · Jan 21, 2018

Thomas Keidan said:
Hi All,

I've been trying to search around to see if any film cameras are available to purchase brand new... it seems as if there is a big gap in the market!

So far i've found a rather naff looking kickstarter project called 'Reflex' and the lomography cameras (which look like toys... not in a good way!)

Can anyone help me out and suggest some film cameras which are available to buy brand new? On a completely unrelated note I can't believe that camera companies have not started reproducing older models given the current hype of film photography. For example, the point and shoot/compact market has exploded in recent years so it would only seem natural that a reproduction of classics like the Mju II and Contax T2 would happen somewhere down the line.

Thanks

As for reproducing classic cameras, I don't think you reaslise what you are suggesting. Let's take the Nikon F2 as an example, the "simplest" version with plain prism contains over 1500 parts. Each of these parts requires drawing(s) as well as tooling for production. The body castings are very sophisticated pressure die castings, requiring very complex dies and tecniques. And let's not even mention the titanium foil shutter. All of these bits and pieces were designed for hand assembly, before the days of CAD/CAM production. So even assuming all the drawings and tooling still exist, you need people with skills and experience to make it all happen. How many "New F2" bodies would need to be sold at say $6500 to break even?

blockend · Jan 21, 2018

PaulQ said:
If it was English I'd think it had a Villiers 2t engine, but that could be a jlo/ilo engine. I can't quite see the tank badge to work out the make.
It's a dkw.

It took me a while to work out it was a DKW, I thought it might be a 2-stroke Ariel. DKW became MZ. In the background is a Mobylette, I think.

blockend · Jan 21, 2018

E. von Hoegh said:
How many "New F2" bodies would need to be sold at say $6500 to break even?

About 8 years ago I tried to work out how much a humble Nikkormat would cost, if produced again. I reckoned no less than £1500, probably nearer 2k. At the time a clean and fully functioning Nikkormat cost £30-50 on the used market.

Chan Tran · Jan 21, 2018

blockend said:
About 8 years ago I tried to work out how much a humble Nikkormat would cost, if produced again. I reckoned no less than £1500, probably nearer 2k. At the time a clean and fully functioning Nikkormat cost £30-50 on the used market.

And you assumed how many units would be sold? Of course if they can only sell 1 unit it would be a lot more and if they can sell a few millions it would cost less.

blockend · Jan 21, 2018

Chan Tran said:
And you assumed how many units would be sold? Of course if they can only sell 1 unit it would be a lot more and if they can sell a few millions it would cost less.

No one is going to sell a million film cameras anymore. How many Nikon millennial rangefinders did they sell? A few thousand? That's the economy of scale any new film camera would have to negotiate.

The Y2k Nikon S3 with standard lens cost $6000. Bear in mind Nikon were still producing film cameras in 2000. Those lines will almost certainly have been turned over to digital camera production, so the premium would be higher.
http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/rangefinder/s3.htm

macfred · Jan 21, 2018

PaulQ said:
.... It's a dkw.

You're right - 1950's in Germany. My father-in-law - captured with his Perkeo I - Vaskar 80mm f/4.5.

Sirius Glass · Jan 21, 2018

The more I think about it, the less I can justify buying a new camera.

RattyMouse · Jan 21, 2018

Chan Tran said:
And you assumed how many units would be sold? Of course if they can only sell 1 unit it would be a lot more and if they can sell a few millions it would cost less.

Fujifilm tried selling new cameras a few years ago. They had a line of nice 35mm cameras (Klasse series) and medium format (GF series). Both were VERY nice cameras.

They did not sell well enough to keep in production.

Theo Sulphate · Jan 21, 2018

RattyMouse said:
Fujifilm tried selling new cameras a few years ago. They had a line of nice 35mm cameras (Klasse series) and medium format (GF series). Both were VERY nice cameras.

They did not sell well enough to keep in production.

Yes, here they are...

https://www.lomography.com/magazine/289737-lomopedia-fuji-klasse-s-and-fuji-klasse-w

Craig · Jan 21, 2018

I looked at the GF670 when it came out. Nice camera, ticked many of my boxes, but just too expensive at the time. Still is actually.

Which film cameras can you buy brand new?

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency