Canon has sold its last film camera • Hacker News Board

Re: Canon has sold its last film camera

#41

Post by bootloop » Thu, May 31, 2018, 5:04 PM UTC

sofaofthedamned wrote: post #30

fetus8 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What credibility are Nikon or Canon missing? Both companies have a level of brand recognition unrivaled in the Photography world...? Only in recent years has Sony and maybe Fujifilm developed more respect due to some of their advancements where Nikon and Canon have lacked. Their DSLR's are market leaders still. Again, only in recent years have Mirrorless cameras have started to catch up with the DSLRs Nikon and Canon…

Good points, but the market is dying for DSLRs. I wince each time I use mine for the terrible wifi capability, the awful OS, etc. Why can't it be modernised? Because Canon and Nikon won't do it.

Its dying because the mechanical mirror in the DLSRs is not needed anymore with todays tech. So mirrorless cameras will make the game once ppl learn to not miss the click sound. They will simply get replaced with less complex and cheaper cameras.

Re: Canon has sold its last film camera

#42

Post by khazhoux » Thu, May 31, 2018, 5:06 PM UTC

mauvehaus wrote: post #24

This is a shame. For professionals, it has long made sense to make the transition to digital. For the amateurs of the world and those of us doing it for the sheer joy of it, film is unsurpassed. Developing B&W prints is as close to magic as I've experienced. For those who don't know, B&W paper isn't sensitive to red light, so once you've exposed the paper, you can put it in the developer and actually watch the image…

You need a Fujifilm X100F, with the matching leather case for extra style points. Camera feels great, has a real optical viewfinder, and lots of physical controls.

Re: Canon has sold its last film camera

#43

Post by vvanders » Thu, May 31, 2018, 5:07 PM UTC

jonknee wrote: post #14

vvanders wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd argue there is for Medium/Large format, but that's a whole different ballgame compared to consumer SLRs. Last time I looked the digital back for a Hasselblad was ~$30k.

And in the scheme of things there is almost no market for medium / large format cameras (digital or otherwise).

I think people who work in business side of large scale print would disagree. Granted it's no where near the scale of consumer SLRs but there's a reason MF/LF cameras exist.

Re: Canon has sold its last film camera

#44

Post by sureaboutthis » Thu, May 31, 2018, 5:07 PM UTC

jonknee wrote: post #14

vvanders wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd argue there is for Medium/Large format, but that's a whole different ballgame compared to consumer SLRs. Last time I looked the digital back for a Hasselblad was ~$30k.

And in the scheme of things there is almost no market for medium / large format cameras (digital or otherwise).

Don't tell the medium and large format professionals in agencies and art works around the world. They'll be shocked to hear that.

Re: Canon has sold its last film camera

#45

Post by batbomb » Thu, May 31, 2018, 5:09 PM UTC

twblalock wrote: post #40

hamitron wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The only reason it made sense to transition to digital is the workflow. Its more efficient to shoot weddings on digital so you can turn out a product faster.

There are a lot of reasons it made sense: getting to see your photos instantly instead of waiting for (and paying for) film development, the ability to change the white balance after photos are taken, not lugging a bunch of film around, not worrying about airport x-rays ruining your film, getting a digital copy of your photos without using a scanner, and many other very big advantages.

And the iPad

Re: Canon has sold its last film camera

#46

Post by jacquesm » Thu, May 31, 2018, 5:09 PM UTC

_ph_ wrote: post #26

This is not very surprising news - very recently I was wondering who still sells film cameras. Digital has surpassed film in almost every way. It is however quite scary to see technology completely go away which was so common not long ago, sometimes even completely lost as technology. You can’t buy proper Polaroid film any more, many other important film materials are completely gone as well.

> You can’t buy proper Polaroid film any more

Yes you can:

https://eu.polaroidoriginals.com/

Re: Canon has sold its last film camera

#47

Post by cuckcuckspruce » Thu, May 31, 2018, 5:09 PM UTC

ekianjo wrote: post #23

jonknee wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well that and there is almost no market for new film cameras.

No need. Even film cameras from the early 2000s sell for quite cheap these days and take excellent photos. What matters for film more is the end medium, i.e. the film itself. The optics and sensors make it easier to take good pictures but that hasn't changed the game for film since the 70s, except for specific things like sports where having a camera that can take 6fps was a great feature.

I remember my dad going to all of our family gatherings and baseball/basketball/soccer games with his trusty Canon A-1. He passed it along with a few of the lenses he no longer needed when he moved to a Canon SLR, and it's been my trusty sidekick when documenting family gatherings and niece/nephew's baseball/basketball/soccer games (though it helps my {brother,sister}s{,-in-law} don't share pictures on Facebook - they want a nice scrapbook like their parents had for them).

Re: Canon has sold its last film camera

#48

Post by jacquesm » Thu, May 31, 2018, 5:11 PM UTC

My brother is a photographer and works in a camera store in his spare time - or the other way around, depending on when you ask him.

He's spent a fortune over the years on film and cameras and switched to full digital a while ago. Recently he traded all his glass & bodies for new Sony gear, which he reckons outperforms both Canon and Nikon by a considerable margin. So if you're letting go of film and are in the market for digital don't count out Sony.

Re: Canon has sold its last film camera

#49

Post by vanderZwan » Thu, May 31, 2018, 5:11 PM UTC

sureaboutthis wrote: post #38

mauvehaus wrote: post #24

This is a shame. For professionals, it has long made sense to make the transition to digital. For the amateurs of the world and those of us doing it for the sheer joy of it, film is unsurpassed. Developing B&W prints is as close to magic as I've experienced. For those who don't know, B&W paper isn't sensitive to red light, so once you've exposed the paper, you can put it in the developer and actually watch the image…

Note that "professionals" still use film, particularly in the high end art market with large format and 'view' cameras in particular. One might think that's "niche" but there are a lot of them out there.

Heck, The Impossible Project managed to bring back polaroids.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polaroid_Originals

Re: Canon has sold its last film camera

#50

Post by ISL » Thu, May 31, 2018, 5:12 PM UTC

mauvehaus wrote: post #24

This is a shame. For professionals, it has long made sense to make the transition to digital. For the amateurs of the world and those of us doing it for the sheer joy of it, film is unsurpassed. Developing B&W prints is as close to magic as I've experienced. For those who don't know, B&W paper isn't sensitive to red light, so once you've exposed the paper, you can put it in the developer and actually watch the image…

I don't expect film to die entirely; it has simply lost its economy of scale. I'm seeing lots of photographers who have cut their teeth on digital dabbling with it. There is, as you clearly expound, a romance to the darkroom. It won't go away... modern art supply stores are ample evidence of the preservation of older techniques.

Lens-wise, there will always be a market for lenses that inspire. The emergence of short-flange-distance mirrorless cameras has driven huge interest in older glass. If you haven't tried it yet, try adapting your favorite lenses to a modern image sensor. Electromagnetic waves care not how old the optics are.

I'm sad, too, to see the EOS-1 series end. The design of the EOS-1 RS inspired me, as a teenager, to build my first optical system, something for which I'll be forever grateful.

I wouldn't trade my modern camera for the finest 35-mm film camera, though. The rate at which I can learn with a digital camera is so much greater. Yesterday evening, I probably shot a hundred frames (each while watching for the camera/tripod vibration to settle at 10x-magnified live view), sorted them, processed the best, and printed one, all in a few hours. The only costs were 0.1% of the camera's shutter life, hard-disk space, electricity, and two pieces of paper.