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Canon has sold its last film camera

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Re: Canon has sold its last film camera

#151

Post by lb1lf »

rangibaby wrote: post #142
mathewsanders wrote: post #140

When I was 16 (1997) a photographer friend of my parents gave me his old Canon AE-1 (I think released in 1980 or 81) it’s shutter wasn’t working and I took it into the local Canon center where they fixed the shutter, replaced light seal on film door, and even gave me a lens cap for something like NZD$50. Amazing that companies used to build such sturdy products that they could be cheaply fixed 15+ years after they we…

> Amazing that companies used to build such sturdy products that they could be cheaply fixed 15+ years after they were sold... The award for most durable SLR has to go to the Pentax Spotmatic. The first ones were released in 1964, and they are seemingly indestructible. Even the exposure meter is a future-proof design; it was designed for mercury (1.35V) batteries but the circuit was designed in a way that modern LR44…

-The Pentax Spotmatic is wonderful (I used my father's Spotmatic for years until I had saved enough to get my own SLR - my teenage rebellion was buying into the F system rather than Pentax... :))

I'd argue that the Nikon FM2 is just about as indestructible, though - but I won't argue about the lenses; I have enough old Nikkor optics to know better!

Re: Canon has sold its last film camera

#152

Post by sureaboutthis »

jonknee wrote: post #53
sureaboutthis wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

I actually don't think they'd be shocked, it's not like there's a ton of activity in the segment. They're crucial tools needed by small numbers of people.

Sorry but you don't know the market and there is far more going on than you appear to be aware of.

Re: Canon has sold its last film camera

#153

Post by lb1lf »

devb wrote: post #143
lb1lf wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nikon even has - or at least had, until recently - two film cameras in their line-up. The ‘because we can’ high-end F6 and the entry-level, manual just about everything FM10. (Though I think the current FM10 may be made by others under licence.) I think Voigtländer may still make a 35mm rangefinder, too.

Cosina was the company licensed to make the Nikon FM10 and produced rangefinders under the Voigtländer name. All of those products were discontinued last year, sadly. As far as I know, the F6 is the last one still in production.

That’s not unexpected, but still a bit sad.

Incidentally, Cosina also made the rangefinder I’d dub the Leica M7.5 - the Zeiss Ikon-branded ZM. Wonderful camera.

As far as rangefinders go, the ZM IMHO is the one to beat, in close competition with the Contax G2. (Autofocus! In a rangefinder!)

Re: Canon has sold its last film camera

#154

Post by splintercell »

evasote wrote: post #112
exelius wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s a small market, and most photogs I know who shoot MF/LF film are using cameras that are 50+ years old (Hasselblads mostly). A digital back can improve workflow, but quality is still better with film at those sizes. These are studio cameras through and through; and I was able to connect a Hasselblad to some el cheapo Chinese lighting setup I bought on Amazon a year ago. That’s backwards compatibility.

Yep - I have a friend who takes pictures of (very expensive, high profile) weddings all around the world with a MF film Hasselblad. They still can't be beat

Hasselblad is like Montblanc of fountain pens, or Glock for handguns, at the end of the day, there is a leader in any field and they get exponentially high attention (because everyone can name that one leading brand name in any field), so they just charge that much more.

At the end of the day Hasselblad is only 6x6 (i.e the negative size), but there are many bigger format (in medium format) cameras available like Mamiya 6, Mamiya 7, GW690III (which is 6x9, twice the negative size of Hasselblad H1's 6x4.5).

Re: Canon has sold its last film camera

#155

Post by Darthy »

jen729w wrote: post #113
Darthy wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Leica has just discontinued its last "regular" film camera, the M7, a few days ago: https://www.reddotforum.com/content/2018/05/leica-m7-film-ca... All that remains are the purely mechanical Leica MP and M-A film cameras, plus many digital cameras of course.

The MP is a “regular” film camera. It’s the final Mx in the film line, my understanding being that the ‘P’ stands for ‘Perfection’. If the ISO dial on the back were metal and not plastic, it may well be perfect. I’ve heard of people switching out the dial from older M4/5/6s. Source: I have one.

Well, the "M" in the regular Leica M-Series means "Messsucher". The M in "MP" means "mechanical" (as in "mechanical perfection"). So based on that one could argue that the MP isn't part of the regular series :-)

Re: Canon has sold its last film camera

#156

Post by anta40 »

jonknee wrote: post #4
snowwrestler wrote: post #2

I'm not surprised; in SLRs at least, Canon was never the dominant film camera company with the biggest customer base. Their SLR business did not catch up to and pass Nikon until the digital era. Canon's decision to put the AF motor in the lens helped them in verticals that use huge telephotos (sports, mostly). But their film cameras lagged Nikon in the sophistication of their AF, their automated exposure control, and…

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

Well, there are always exceptions. Leica still make film cameras: https://us.leica-camera.com/Photography/Leica-M/Leica-M-A https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1082912-REG/leica_103...

No autofocus, no auto-exposure, and costs almost $4700 body only. Not something the typical film shooters will use, though :p

Re: Canon has sold its last film camera

#157

Post by anta40 »

splintercell wrote: post #154
evasote wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep - I have a friend who takes pictures of (very expensive, high profile) weddings all around the world with a MF film Hasselblad. They still can't be beat

Hasselblad is like Montblanc of fountain pens, or Glock for handguns, at the end of the day, there is a leader in any field and they get exponentially high attention (because everyone can name that one leading brand name in any field), so they just charge that much more. At the end of the day Hasselblad is only 6x6 (i.e the negative size), but there are many bigger format (in medium format) cameras available like Mam…

Hasselblad is nice, and fortunately not that expensive these days (probably Leica gears are still costlier :p )

If you are looking for the ultimate medium format system camera, the obvious answer is Fuji GX680. It's waay bigger than the Hassy, and you can also put digital backs on it. The only downside is it's electronic camera, not mechanical.

Re: Canon has sold its last film camera

#158

Post by rangibaby »

lb1lf wrote: post #151
rangibaby wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Amazing that companies used to build such sturdy products that they could be cheaply fixed 15+ years after they were sold... The award for most durable SLR has to go to the Pentax Spotmatic. The first ones were released in 1964, and they are seemingly indestructible. Even the exposure meter is a future-proof design; it was designed for mercury (1.35V) batteries but the circuit was designed in a way that modern LR44…

-The Pentax Spotmatic is wonderful (I used my father's Spotmatic for years until I had saved enough to get my own SLR - my teenage rebellion was buying into the F system rather than Pentax... :)) I'd argue that the Nikon FM2 is just about as indestructible, though - but I won't argue about the lenses; I have enough old Nikkor optics to know better!

Ohhh yeah! I don't have an FM but do have an FE and it is probably my favorite camera full stop. It's just the right amount of "camera", and is never annoying or frustrating to use, in either automatic or manual modes.

Agreed 100% on the indestructibility - whoever used mine before I got it dented and brassed up good. The camera doesn't care.

The focusing screen is a joy and better than any DSLR. It's telling that the big and bright finder is a selling point of the D850. If you still use your FM2 I would suggest getting a K3 screen. Nikon still sell them new!

Re: Canon has sold its last film camera

#159

Post by rangibaby »

msbarnett wrote: post #107
carbolite103 wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As far as 35mm systems it's pretty much just Leica and Nikon at the moment, though I would imagine that Nikon is close to discontinuing their F6 flagship soon. Thankfully many 35mm cameras from the 70s and 80s are engineering masterpieces that will likely keep functioning well into the second half of this century. I just hope that companies will continue making film stocks for them.

Nikon stopped building the F6 a number of years ago. They're just selling through old stock at this point.

I doubt they are going be able to sell them ever. New F6s are $2500! That's Veblen good prices, but anyone who just wants to get the most expensive thing is going to get a Leica.

- F6 used are about $800, generally in very good condition because anyone using the camera for work would have used an F5.

- F100 which is 90% the same as the F6 in both appearance and function is $200 used.

- F5, Nikon's last "professional" film SLR is $200 used

- F80, a piece of plastic molded to look like an F100 (but nearly identical functionally) can be had for from here things start to less predictable thanks to people who want a sweet manual camera and collectors. Manual cameras run anything from $100~$500+ depending on their condition. The best deals right now are Nikon FE and FM (not FE2,FM2) and Nikkormats.

Re: Canon has sold its last film camera

#160

Post by lb1lf »

rangibaby wrote: post #158
lb1lf wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

-The Pentax Spotmatic is wonderful (I used my father's Spotmatic for years until I had saved enough to get my own SLR - my teenage rebellion was buying into the F system rather than Pentax... :)) I'd argue that the Nikon FM2 is just about as indestructible, though - but I won't argue about the lenses; I have enough old Nikkor optics to know better!

Ohhh yeah! I don't have an FM but do have an FE and it is probably my favorite camera full stop. It's just the right amount of "camera", and is never annoying or frustrating to use, in either automatic or manual modes. Agreed 100% on the indestructibility - whoever used mine before I got it dented and brassed up good. The camera doesn't care. The focusing screen is a joy and better than any DSLR. It's telling that th…

Oooh, the FE is a very nice little camera (Never owned one, but have adopted one on occasion. Mounts just about everything, except them new-fangled G lenses. Well, it will MOUNT, but...)

I have to admit I actually swapped the K3 for an -hm- B3, I believe - the all-matte one with a circle to show the coverage of the center-weighted meter - I found the split prism was more of a distraction than an aid _for my eyes_; I realize I am the odd man out on this one.

Matter of fact, I shot a couple of rolls of Tri-X in the FM2 just the other day; will process it one of these days when the kids fall asleep early enough for me to still feel like actually doing something after their bedtime!

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