Fri, May 26th, 2006 by Miles
In an announcement the president of Canon says the company will consider halting development of new film cameras, but continue producing cameras already on sale. Although Canon insisted one news outlet alter its story to read in less certain terms the consensus seems to be that this is an inevitable decision by Canon.
Nikon, Canon's biggest rival in the SLR market, announced it was ceasing development of film cameras in January, and Konica Minolta pulled out of the camera business altogether in the same month, selling its assets to Sony.
"Scaling back the film camera (business) is a sign of the times, " said Canon president Tsuneji Uchida.
Canon currently produces 9 different film cameras, which account for only 17% of its total camera sales.
May 26th, 2006 at 11:16 am
So sad. Just a few months back, the top reps at Canon attended a panel at The Silver Conference. They claimed they wouldn't abandon development and production. How quickly times can change.
May 26th, 2006 at 12:57 pm
Agree with Susan. It's so sad...
Is the "death of photography" getting near ?
May 26th, 2006 at 4:07 pm
Yep, there's something in the air pointing in this direction. Looks like the end of film photography is near -at least as a mass production industry. I guess some very specific companies or products will survive as high-end (expensive) products targeted to the 'connoisseur'. So sad...
May 26th, 2006 at 4:51 pm
boo hiss canon!!! death of film? never! they will have to pry that ae-1 from my cold dead fingers. i guess us film fans will have to start stockpiling black market rolls in our unused bomb shelters once we figure out how to get all that darn ducktape off the entrance. meh. the sky hasn't fallen yet. long live film!!
May 26th, 2006 at 6:54 pm
I don't think it does really matter. People interested in film photography nowadays tend to use classical cameras (hasselblad, rollei, leicas, old canons or nikons) and don't need further improvement in hardware which were mostly designed for photo journalists. And everybody know most of them, if not all of them, are using digital now..
So, as long as there's film, who cares about new cameras...
May 26th, 2006 at 7:16 pm
Canon sold almost 6 million film SLRs last year, that's a lot of people still using 35mm and a lot of demand for 35mm film. Medium format and large format don't have digital rivals, there are some digital 'medium format' cameras but they're incredibly expensive.
The death of 35mm as a common film format does matter to all film users imho. Film manufacturers are biting the bullet all over the world, right now there's a wide choice but how hard will it be in the future for people to get their preferred film for their Leicas or Contaxs? A futher drastic drop in demand for 35mm film, like the kind caused by all large camera manufacturers dropping out of the film business, will also effect medium format film development.
So long as there's film sure, who cares about camera development, but film manufacturers will be effected just the same.
May 26th, 2006 at 11:54 pm
For you who lives in US, Canada, and any other countries are still so lucky. FYI, I live in Bandung, one of the medium city in Indonesia. I love shooting square and of course, 120 film is a must. But the reality is very different right here. There's only one store in the city sell that type of film, but they don't sell the reversal 120 film like velvia/provia...event they stop selling ilford delta 400 because of there's no market at all. I was their last costumer who bought the last ilford film.
And at the other side, I must go to Jakarta (Indonesia's Capital City; around 200km from my city) to buy the reversal film. But, alas, there's no store (even an old store) which could develop them. So, I decided to develop by myself, but they don't sell the chemical also :(...*sigh*
Playing with film is like an underground movement in my city...
May 27th, 2006 at 5:05 am
Mute, in these 6 million slr, how many were high end and how many were low end cameras? I'm quite sure most of them were cheap ones, and so what i mean is that analog slr cameras don't need more improvement...
May 27th, 2006 at 12:47 pm
the motion picture industry will continue to use film for some time, as will certain photographers. the consumer demand for film will virtually disappear within 5 years, and large corporations will have no motive to develop film or film cameras, but a niche market will flourish, without question, and small companies will fill voids.
eventually film will be relegated to esoteric use, but it will not go away completely. it will be gradually harder to get and harder to get processed.
the upside is that the film that will be produced, and film cameras too, will likely be of excellent quality and appeal to "connoisseurs".
at least, that's my theory.
May 28th, 2006 at 9:53 am
What about medium format? Will the companies develop a medium format digital camera available for the consumer?
I don't think film will disappear forever. But we better start buying lots of tmax before it gets expensive...
May 28th, 2006 at 9:54 am
PS: And I think we'll always have Ilford...
May 29th, 2006 at 3:23 am
Isn't Ilford gone now (sorry if that was sarcasm on your post)?
This is indeed sad, although as some folks have mentioned, film itself is in danger - not the cameras. There are a ton, but if film is no longer produced, who cares about the cameras.
With motion pictures slowly going to the side of digital (if I remember correctly, movies account for 30% of the world's film purchases yearly), it's not looking so bright.
Then there leaves development/chemicals, which keep getting more and more expensive. It's not looking so good; I don't see film surviving another decade until it becomes an underground movement (or unbelievably expensive).
May 29th, 2006 at 8:37 am
Jessyel: What I mean with "...I was their last costumer who bought the last ilford film..." It was me that who bought the last Ilford Delta 400 from the store which only sells the 120 film in my city. They still sell the other brands, like Fuji and Kodak. But there's no ilford 120 film anymore.
So, all I know Ilford film hasn't gone now (not yet...).
May 29th, 2006 at 12:03 pm
I don't think film will die out completely, there will always be enough people who want to keep using it to fuel a certain demand.
Enthusiasts can't be discounted, it's still possible to buy brand new parts for 60s and 70s MG cars for example, because an enthusiast brought the original casts and machinery.
There may not be development of film but I think we'll always be able to find facsimilies of popular current stock.
May 29th, 2006 at 2:46 pm
Miles: But you're talking about cars/vehicles, the most popular form of personal transportation. Let's say a new invention (a 'flying' car, I support - or the digital camera counterpart) comes up and everyone starts to buy them.
In the last year, only 17% of vehicle purchases are from these 'ground' cars; the rest are these fancy flying cars (that although are nice and have decent technology, the experience isn't the same
Major auto makers aren't making the cash they need. NASCAR's 'Sky 500' becomes the next world phenemon. People love seeing a world without it covered in gravel/streets.
Those car parts you talk about will stop being produced. Not entirely, but pretty damn close. And it's sad. So very sad.
(Ignore everything I've said... I'm tired and shouldn't be writing in this condition, haha!)
May 29th, 2006 at 3:52 pm
Cameras are the most popular form of taking pictures :p
It's not just cars, this kind of thing happens across industries and markets. I think the film-users, though a minority of photographers in the future, will be a relatively large and technically minded group that will be able to drive a market for film.
Think about what percentage of car users make up the market for MG drivers looking for new parts, it's way way smaller than photographers who use film. With film users it's a whole sector, not brand specific.
May 29th, 2006 at 5:41 pm
I think 35mm film is just plain lame. large and medium format is where traditional photography is interesting and relevent. other than that go digital.
May 29th, 2006 at 6:37 pm
You're saying there are no relevant photographers working with 35mm film?!
May 29th, 2006 at 9:38 pm
Jessyel: It wasn't sarcasm, but honestly right now I can't say if it's disappeared or not. Here in Spain it's not hard to find HP5's or XP2's on medium format, and 35mm Ilford film is still very present on larger and smaller shops.
I'm not a digital-hater, and for me is an improvement and a think to explore, although I like to take out my Pentax and feel the grain -maybe nostalgia. But for me the main loss on the disappearing of film is medium format which I think it would be the first film format in fade away -APS would not be too far. And, in digital, the only way to experience medium format in digital is affording a HUGE amount of money in a HD1.
I don't know, I think digital has a lot of steps to advance before killing film. We still haven't got the full frame format as default, for example. I know these things run fast, but that doesn't mean it's the logical way to go...
PS: Please excuse my crappy english. I'm not so used to write it as to speak it.
May 29th, 2006 at 9:42 pm
PPS: Gordon, photography should be interesting and relevant by itself, not by its format. In that case, the next question is which camera is more interesting and relevant for photography, or which lens, or which brand... And then, it would be more valuable the things "behind the curtains" of photography, than the proper photography...
May 30th, 2006 at 5:27 pm
I love using film, especially b&w. I also really enjoy digial cameras. The downside of the current technologies (digital) is that the nature of the medium forces the user into much tighter artistic confines in regards to aspect ratios, choice of formats and optics, and a reliance on complex electronics and batteries. I am still using a circa 1955 Graphix 4"x5" and it does not need batteries. It has never failed to work. On the other hand, digital offers the public and the professional uncompromising quality, color and speed. I also love my Canon 20d. Film will go away, no argument there. I plan on buying up as much silver halide as possible. I have not yet seen a digitally generated black and white print that can match a really good toned fiber based print. But I will enjoy the digital too.
June 19th, 2006 at 1:37 am
I have a digital, captures great images, but I also have a Leica, which I adore using. Plus I payed a fair sum of money for it, thus the though of 35mm film no longer being available is tragic. Does this mean I must sell my M7 Leica, am i going to sit with an expensive lemon? Not happy!
August 1st, 2006 at 3:27 pm
Since film is necessary for large formats, it will be available in 35mm for the foreseeable future. Unless one must shoot dozens of pictures to get results, film is still cheaper than the digital SLRS that can compare with Film SLRS that are just about being given away.
And the ease of scanning negatives means many people will stick with Leicas, etc., for a long time.
Ken Rockwell has a great discussion on why the two media do not compete as much as these bloggers assume they do.
May 20th, 2007 at 1:00 am
people, be realistic. Back in 80s how many of us has a computer at home? Technology is moving forward. It's the smart decision to halt all film bodies development and sell off the remaining film cameras. There will still be some people using film because they still believe film is better. As more and more megapixel sensors are developed, digital will catch up. I myself think digital is already catched up but some people will disagree no matter when. Just like some people believe vinyl is better than CDs. My 2 cents.
April 17th, 2008 at 4:15 pm
Having worked in a company, Custom Photo Art, that went out of business because of inexpensive digital photography and inkjet printing, I have to say that the manpower and technology required to work with film is huge. Add that to the fact that film doesn't age well, and requires special handling, then digital wins. That doesn't count out the specialty film shops, but their prices will continue to go up. Add to that a lack of profit incentive to experiment with film, costly and dirty factories to produce film and process film, and you have the demise of an industry. The specialty film shops will be hard pressed to keep film stock and fewer and fewer companies will supply them. There are plenty of digital film backs for medium and large format cameras, but they are bulky and expensive, not well suited for the traveling photographer. When film dies, and it will, the incentive to stay with it will move to the museum. No one but the Amish are still using horse and buggy transportation, and the accelerated rate of change bodes ill for for any long term plans for film camera manufacture and film use. Sorry, time to move on.