Hi Ellen,

I really hope you are right ;-) I agree that there are a lot of sales on
EBAY of MF gear, but it is hard to know how many are to new buyers, how
many to collectors or MFers like me buying backup items like spare bodies
and lenses now that prices are so affordable ;-)

In the past, pros used to sell their rather worn gear to amateurs who
would try to coax another few decades out of it ;-) As I've noted, we have
fewer pros now (half as many in USA as in 1980s). A lot of middle income
pros had to sell off older MF kit to afford to buy into the digital
photography area. If pros were the major buyers of new MF gear, then it
would make sense to me too that we are seeing lower MF sales as the pros
have put their $$ into new digital rather than new MF systems.

But various sources and industry stats suggest that most new MF systems
are sold to serious amateurs, though the pros probably buy more of the
exotic lenses and accessories [most amateur MF kits are only the one lens
on the SLR, only a few have more than 3 lenses in their MF kits ;-) ].

So it is hard to understand why the big fall in new MF sales is happening,
unless as you note, it may be that the bigger price difference with
cheaper used prices now suggests to folks that buying used on EBAY is a
better or easier option now than in the past?

New LF sales, which are rather more to pros than amateurs, are reported to
be holding their own, perhaps growing a bit? Granted it is a smaller
market, and the pro demand may be more steady than for MF?

But I hope you are right, as those used gear buyers will hopefully help
keep a solid market for 120 rollfilm and related services, and eventually
perhaps purchase some new MF systems, bodies, lenses and so on, to help
keep the MF mfgers in business ;-)

regards bobm
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