Nikon retires most of its film camera lineup

Sheldon wrote:
"Tom Hise" wrote in message
...
Maybe I missed this while traveling but just in case:

http://www.bytesector.com/data/news_...sp?newsID=4075
http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/con...id=7-7890-8161

--
Tom Hise - NCØO

Well, this is a bit like the demise of the LP. Just assume if you
are in the market for a film camera this may be the last one you buy,
so make it a good one.

I thought that the digital age had come to stay. Until I looked at the price
of old Leicas, Rolleis and Hasselblads on Ebay!

The market for really good stuff is still buoyant, and even old Leicas sell
for the same or more than a good digital SLR, so what is happening?

Dennis.

On Thu, 12 Jan 2006 10:49:34 GMT, "Dennis Pogson"
wrote:

Sheldon wrote:
"Tom Hise" wrote in message
...
Maybe I missed this while traveling but just in case:

http://www.bytesector.com/data/news_...sp?newsID=4075
http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/con...id=7-7890-8161

--
Tom Hise - NCØO

Well, this is a bit like the demise of the LP. Just assume if you
are in the market for a film camera this may be the last one you buy,
so make it a good one.

I thought that the digital age had come to stay. Until I looked at the price
of old Leicas, Rolleis and Hasselblads on Ebay!

The market for really good stuff is still buoyant, and even old Leicas sell
for the same or more than a good digital SLR, so what is happening?

Dennis.

Part of the population isn't going to make the transition to digital.
That's the implication. And since the inventory of these relics is
going to be drying up, they should command premium prices.

Lg

Lawrence Glickman writes:
Part of the population isn't going to make the transition to digital.
That's the implication. And since the inventory of these relics is
going to be drying up, they should command premium prices.

Looking at the amount of old Nikon gear in my closet that I'd like to
get around to selling makes me hope you're right. Watching the prices
of this stuff keep declining on ebay makes me expect otherwise.

On 12 Jan 2006 03:25:07 -0800, Paul Rubin
wrote:

Lawrence Glickman writes:
Part of the population isn't going to make the transition to digital.
That's the implication. And since the inventory of these relics is
going to be drying up, they should command premium prices.

Looking at the amount of old Nikon gear in my closet that I'd like to
get around to selling makes me hope you're right. Watching the prices
of this stuff keep declining on ebay makes me expect otherwise.

there are some newsgroups dedicated to film photographers. You might
try advertising your equipment in one of the photo *equipment*
newsgroups to see what you can get for them.

Lg

Lawrence Glickman writes:
Looking at the amount of old Nikon gear in my closet that I'd like to
get around to selling makes me hope you're right. Watching the prices
of this stuff keep declining on ebay makes me expect otherwise.

there are some newsgroups dedicated to film photographers. You might
try advertising your equipment in one of the photo *equipment*
newsgroups to see what you can get for them.

I'm sure they look at ebay too and know perfectly well what the stuff
is worth. Mostly I'm just not thrilled by the task of cataloguing all
the stuff, photographing it, boxing it, shipping it, dealing with
transaction snags, etc. Also, several items need minor repairs and
are worth a lot more if fully up to snuff, so I'd want to do the
repairs before selling, which means getting some tools, etc. You know
the drill. Finally, selling stuff through usenet has never worked
very well for me--there's nowhere near as many buyers as on ebay. I
might also try nikonians.org though I think selling stuff there may
require a paid membership.

On 12 Jan 2006 03:36:56 -0800, Paul Rubin
wrote:

Lawrence Glickman writes:
Looking at the amount of old Nikon gear in my closet that I'd like to
get around to selling makes me hope you're right. Watching the prices
of this stuff keep declining on ebay makes me expect otherwise.

there are some newsgroups dedicated to film photographers. You might
try advertising your equipment in one of the photo *equipment*
newsgroups to see what you can get for them.

I'm sure they look at ebay too and know perfectly well what the stuff
is worth. Mostly I'm just not thrilled by the task of cataloguing all
the stuff, photographing it, boxing it, shipping it, dealing with
transaction snags, etc. Also, several items need minor repairs and
are worth a lot more if fully up to snuff, so I'd want to do the
repairs before selling, which means getting some tools, etc. You know
the drill. Finally, selling stuff through usenet has never worked
very well for me--there's nowhere near as many buyers as on ebay. I
might also try nikonians.org though I think selling stuff there may
require a paid membership.

Film was always so labor intensive for me, but at the time, there was
no other affordable alternative. But the time and expense involved to
get decent results was enormous.

Really, you have your artists, who disdain anything other than
hand-processed black and white, and the commercial segment, that needs
the highest available quality product for publication. In between is
the rest of us.

The artists will stick with the film, simply 8X10 view cameras, Linhof
4x5 cameras, film format and lens quality being the important factors.
I went that route. It was energy-sapping. These days I just want to
record for memory purposes, personal reasons. But still, you will
find Sinar cameras, Hasselblads, Linhofs, all the top brands still
floating around, probably for decades to come. If you are doing art,
you want the absolute best possible, and in digital, that means tens
of thousands of dollars in non-portable equipment.

There will continue to be a market for quality film cameras, I am
certain of that. People who are selling their quality cameras for low
prices don't know what they're doing. People who are buying them for
low prices certainly DO know what they're doing.

Lg

GTO wrote:
We have seen this coming. But it's sad to read about it anyway. At least,
they will continue to make some manual focus lenses as reported in one of
the two resources. Are they accurate?

Gregor

"Tom Hise" wrote in message
...
Maybe I missed this while traveling but just in case:

http://www.bytesector.com/data/news_...sp?newsID=4075
http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/con...id=7-7890-8161

--
Tom Hise - NCØO


From the horse's mouth:
http://www.nikon.co.uk/press_room/re...w.aspx?rid=201

- Siddhartha

Paul Rubin wrote:
"Sheldon" writes:
Why does everybody say this? I still use my old Nikon F's, and I
assume I will be using my D70 for many years. Yeah, someday I may
want a DSLR with 20 megapixels, but right now this camera is a long
way from obsolete for me.

The D70 will be obsolete in a few years if full frame sensors become
economical, and the "D700" can use the full coverage of your WA lenses.

IMHO, a camera is obsolete when your needs outgrow what it can offer.
If you are happy with 6MP then doesn't matter if the latest on the
shelves is a 100MP camera. Other than the sensor/film, I don't see how
a old spotomatic is very different from my Canon 300D. I still have to
chose shutter and aperture and do my framing.

- Siddhartha

"Siddhartha Jain" writes:
The D70 will be obsolete in a few years if full frame sensors become
economical, and the "D700" can use the full coverage of your WA lenses.

IMHO, a camera is obsolete when your needs outgrow what it can offer.

That's the point: what the D70 offers is an affordable price level
(compared to a full frame camera) at the cost of not fully using WA
lenses. It makes you cramp your style for economic reasons. Once
full frame cameras become affordable, the D70 no longer offers that
economic benefit, so it's obsolete even if your needs haven't changed.

"Lawrence Glickman" wrote in message
...
On 12 Jan 2006 03:36:56 -0800, Paul Rubin
wrote:

Lawrence Glickman writes:
Looking at the amount of old Nikon gear in my closet that I'd like to
get around to selling makes me hope you're right. Watching the prices
of this stuff keep declining on ebay makes me expect otherwise.

there are some newsgroups dedicated to film photographers. You might
try advertising your equipment in one of the photo *equipment*
newsgroups to see what you can get for them.

I'm sure they look at ebay too and know perfectly well what the stuff
is worth. Mostly I'm just not thrilled by the task of cataloguing all
the stuff, photographing it, boxing it, shipping it, dealing with
transaction snags, etc. Also, several items need minor repairs and
are worth a lot more if fully up to snuff, so I'd want to do the
repairs before selling, which means getting some tools, etc. You know
the drill. Finally, selling stuff through usenet has never worked
very well for me--there's nowhere near as many buyers as on ebay. I
might also try nikonians.org though I think selling stuff there may
require a paid membership.

Film was always so labor intensive for me, but at the time, there was
no other affordable alternative. But the time and expense involved to
get decent results was enormous.

Really, you have your artists, who disdain anything other than
hand-processed black and white, and the commercial segment, that needs
the highest available quality product for publication. In between is
the rest of us.

The artists will stick with the film, simply 8X10 view cameras, Linhof
4x5 cameras, film format and lens quality being the important factors.
I went that route. It was energy-sapping. These days I just want to
record for memory purposes, personal reasons. But still, you will
find Sinar cameras, Hasselblads, Linhofs, all the top brands still
floating around, probably for decades to come. If you are doing art,
you want the absolute best possible, and in digital, that means tens
of thousands of dollars in non-portable equipment.

There will continue to be a market for quality film cameras, I am
certain of that. People who are selling their quality cameras for low
prices don't know what they're doing. People who are buying them for
low prices certainly DO know what they're doing.

Lg

I threw my old film camera in the trash. But perhaps in a future "Antiques
roadshow" it will be worth something.