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M-A, the last great film camera?


enboe

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Idle thoughts while debating another toy.

 

Do you think the Leica M-A will be the last, great film camera? Nikon stated the F6 is their last model, Canon, Pentax, Minolta, and even Hasselblad have been out of the film business for some time. I don't know when the last CV offering was released. The M-A may be a piece of history.

 

Eric

 

P.S. Has anyone in the U.S. ever purchased a film Leica from a European dealer on ebay and what was the experience with import duties and customs fees through UPS?

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Film cameras have clearly reached a certain maturity in design that its difficult to see anything much different in the future - the last great age of film camera design in the 1990s showed that. The M-A isn't so much the end of a line as a continuation and I would not be surprised if, given the much-postponed death of film, that we may see the re-emergence of film models from other manufacturers, especially as many film cameras are fast becoming antiques that not everyone wants to spend money on.

 

Nikon have continued to produce the FG-20 slr and I'd be surprised if no one in the big manufacturers aren't spotting an opportunity to re-introduce a more upmarket model, eg an FM4a?

 

I guess the main challenge though is on the lenses - would there need to be new manual focus lenses? I don't see a return to the days of the F80, say, as if you're going down the autofocus/autoeverything route then digital will be most peoples choice. If film becomes the more considered, craft-level photography option then new manual focus lenses will be needed.

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Fuji GF670 - brilliant folding rangefinder 6x6/6x7 camera.

 

Fuji stopped making the GF670, but the Voigtländer Bessa III is still produced. Awesome cameras, btw. The equally fantastic Mamiya 7ii is still in production too, I believe (not 100% sure). And then there is the Wanderlust 4x5 camera, too!

Edited by Peter_S
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Do you think the Leica M-A will be the last, great film camera? ?

 

Do you think Leica are going to give up a revenue stream?

 

Of course it's not going to be the last great film camera, even supposing it is a 'great' camera in the first place. No ground has been broken with the M-A, it's just an MP minus the meter, and an MP variant with Auto exposure, multi field metering, and full manual speeds would surely trounce it in ambition if nothing else.

 

But I don't think film photograph is over yet, not so that cameras are going to be 'the last' of their lines. I wouldn't be surprised if other manufacturers responded to the strengthening of film sales and the coolness of using film amongst young people especially. And if you want to be spoilt for choice with brand new film cameras right now try and decide if you can which mouth watering 4x5 or 8x10 you'd like to buy!

 

Steve

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Easels, canvas, and oil paints haven't become extinct after photography was invented. Mechanical watches haven't become extinct after the quartz clockwork was invented. Tube amplifiers haven't become extinct after the transistor was invented. Horses haven't become extinct after the automobile was invented.

 

And film won't become extinct after digital imaging was invented.

 

Film will be around forever. So will film cameras. Don't worry.

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Are Nikon still making these or are they just selling old stock?

Film Cameras | Photography Cameras | Nikon Film Cameras

 

On the Fuji/CV camera I asked in Robert White's about it last year, they had run out of stock of the Bessa at that time and had loads of inquiries about it which couldn't be fulfilled. Apparently there had been a single production run for the cameras which had all sold out. I was in there the other week and noted them on the shelf again so I can only assume that CV decided there was enough interest to make more cameras, pure speculation on my part but it could be that Fuji just had their share of that previous manufacturing run and that was that.

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Some idle thoughts on the so-very-annoying "is film dying" meme:

 

1. There needs to be another de-coupling between film speed and grain size like what was achieved by the T-Max emulsions. Digital's ISO 10000 is seductive to many but almost no one actually needs it. Quality, native ISO1600 in film would be pretty damn handy.

 

2. There needs to be a breakthrough in developing. I like the wet side, a lot. But most people just don't want to deal with it even though they might really want to use film. A device somewhat like a micro-Jobo could do it.

 

3. There needs to be some kind of very public extinction event where a few hundred thousand people lose some millions of images they thought were safe "in the cloud". Something to wake people up to having a physical copy of the information, like in those old days. Convenience is a powerful drug; it will take a lot to move a few away from it.

 

4. It might take some market consolidation to give real nerve for this. Kodak certainly had the resources but were hobbled by their tremendous over-capacity in a market they refused to look at honestly until too late. Harmann has the resources and tremendous savvy, but they might think it best to stay out of this one and I am certainly not going to critique their business plan.

 

In any case Olaf is right, film is not going away. Not. Going. Away. It's long past time to put this silly question into that dustbin of history.

 

s-a

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On your points 1 & 2 the claims made by dr5 are interesting. Have a look at their hp5@1000 example in particular. If their claims fully stack up its a real shame that technology isn't widespread and available at pro labs world wide.

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The M-A is nice, it's light weight quiet and really the same as all other meter less leica's...

 

Doesn't mean I don't like using it though! Already shot a few rolls through it since I got it! :)

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2. There needs to be a breakthrough in developing. I like the wet side, a lot. But most people just don't want to deal with it even though they might really want to use film. A device somewhat like a micro-Jobo could do it.

 

Do you remember Polachrome and Polapan? I seem to recall it wasn't a great success but those were different days (with 1 hour C41 everywhere and 2 hour E6 in every major city). I wish I'd tried it when it was available (I remember the relatively high price of it dissuaded me) and I'm pretty sure I'd give something like that a go if it were available again.

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Do you remember Polachrome and Polapan? I seem to recall it wasn't a great success but those were different days (with 1 hour C41 everywhere and 2 hour E6 in every major city). I wish I'd tried it when it was available (I remember the relatively high price of it dissuaded me) and I'm pretty sure I'd give something like that a go if it were available again.

 

Yes I do, but I also never tried it. The disappearance of the small processing machines might be too hard from which to recover. That's why I'm stuck thinking it will have to be a true fits-on-the-kitchen-counter product. If I had the time and tools I'd mess around a bit on it.

 

s-a

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Do you remember Polachrome and Polapan? I seem to recall it wasn't a great success but those were different days (with 1 hour C41 everywhere and 2 hour E6 in every major city). I wish I'd tried it when it was available (I remember the relatively high price of it dissuaded me) and I'm pretty sure I'd give something like that a go if it were available again.

 

Long ago I ran a few rolls of Polachrome, Polapan and Polablue: quality was so so ; perhaps best left for making title slides in a pre power point world.

As I recall the Polachrome has a metallic like backing and used a continuous striped color filter ( i.e. not random like autochrome or regular like a bayer array ). Scanning it would be interesting.

 

The idea of a a mini desktop conventional process machine would be worth reviving - process control computing is a lot more accessible these days - Lego Mindstorms or Arduino and hobby robotics via the likes of Sparkfun.

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The idea of a a mini desktop conventional process machine would be worth reviving - process control computing is a lot more accessible these days - Lego Mindstorms or Arduino and hobby robotics via the likes of Sparkfun.

 

Plus one for this idea: hand-cranking isn't really my thing, I want to put a film canister in one end of the machine and pull a perfectly developed, dried-flat film out of the other end an hour later. How hard can it be?? :D

 

 

The other real problem for most new film users (of which there are very many these days) is the lack of a decent, dedicated film scanner. Why Imacon doesn't release a (reasonably) 'budget' version of the X1 / X5 (ie: not costing as much as a small family car) is beyond me. They'd make a mint.

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The other real problem for most new film users (of which there are very many these days) is the lack of a decent, dedicated film scanner.

 

 

Plustek manufacturer a perfectly usable range and Epson do very well with their flatbed scanners for medium format and large format. In fact the scanners you can buy now, used appropriately, are as good as those from the past, it's just that the words Nikon or Minolta aren't printed on them. The Plustek 120 for instance can resolve at drum scanner levels at a price that would still be considerably cheaper than a 'cheap' Immacon.

 

Steve

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