Nikon To Stop Making FIlm Cameras

Richard

They NYT reports today that Nikon has announced that it will start phasing out the production of film cameras, which accounted for a mere 3% of it's sales last year. You can read about it here. Guess this should come as no surprise.

Cheers,

wholenewlight

Film will probably be around forever but for new purchases it's going to be harder and harder to find camera purchase options that aren't digital.

I've noticed that there are lines waiting at the pc digital-film processing terminals at Target and Costco. I think the "tipping point" has passed - the average snapshooter has reached a comfort level with clicking pics on a memory card and popping it into a slot at the local all-in-one shopping establishment. And why not . . . the pics are equal or better, he gets them faster, backup cds are probably easier to manage than negatives, and with a little computer saavy they can share on smugmug! Once the initial camera cost has been paid, the casual shooter saves money too.

My 75 year old parents are shopping for a digital camera. I had told them to stay with film until recently. A new dell pc with a card reader and a local wallmart - where's the liability? I'll get to see more pictures of mom and dad from 2500 miles away.

Osprey Whisperer

Oh nooooooooo say it isn't so. I wonder if this means all my old Nikon gear is worth less than the nothing it's currently worth.....or will it be highly sought after when no new equipment will be able to be purchased? I've got a body, motor drive and 6 Nikkor lenses that are only worth about $900 as it is. Oh well...guess it's time to come out of the dark(room)

ivar

According to Nikon they will stop the production of film cameras except for the F6, and they will still sell the FM10 outside of europe

[FONT=Tahoma,Arial]Nikon prepares to strengthen digital line-up for 2006[/FONT]

Wednesday January 11, 2006

<table id="dlPictures" border="0" cellspacing="0" width="520"> <tbody><tr> <td colspan="2">
</td> </tr> </tbody></table> Following the success of our digital line-up over the last seven years, which has resulted in more than 95% of Nikon’s UK business being within the digital area, Nikon Corporation has made the decision to focus management resources on digital cameras in place of film cameras. This decision will allow Nikon to continue to develop products that match the demands of an increasingly competitive market place.


Despite this growing competition Nikon Corporation has continued to outperform the market, and has recently reported positive financial results which saw group net profit climb by 20% in the fiscal first half which ended in September. Group sales also increased by 9.8% to 342.85 billion yen in the same period. Sales of high end digital SLR cameras and the success of products like the D70s and D50 have helped contribute to these positive figures.


As the film camera market shrinks and the popularity of compact digital cameras increases, demand for products that offer advanced features and extra value is continuing to grow. High performance digital SLR cameras are performing well as users shift from film-based SLR cameras or upgrade from compact digital cameras to digital SLR cameras.


As a result of the new strategy Nikon will discontinue production of all lenses for large format cameras and enlarging lenses with sales of these products ceasing as soon as they run out of stock. This also applies to most of our film camera bodies, interchangeable manual focus lenses and related accessories. Although Nikon anticipates that the products will still be in retail distribution up to Summer 2006.


In recognition of Nikon’s commitment to professional photographers we will continue to manufacturer and sell the F6, our flagship film model, as well as a number of manual interchangeable lenses. Sales of the manual FM10 will also continue outside Europe.

Matthew Saville

ivar wrote:

According to Nikon they will stop the production of film cameras except for the F6, and they will still sell the FM10 outside of europe

Yeah, I was going to say that I kinda doubt they'd cut the F6 so quickly. It's a hybrid digital / film camera, with rumors of interchangeable backs abounding nonetheless.

It's all good, I just picked up an FM2 last month and now I'm collecting AIS glass. I don't think KEH is going to go out of business any time soon, and their Nikon Manual pages are quite possibly the largest listings they have.

-Matt-

rutt

Leica, Hasselblad, and Rollei have to get their acts together darn soon, eh? Maybe too late already for Leica and Rollei. Hasselblad has tried, but I think it's too little too late.