tariffs are real

[Ken Ford]

I married a few years after leaving the business, and we were broke as could be with a new starter house. My Leicas went to Japan and paid the mortgage for the better part of a year.

In the 90s and early 00s I started looking at Nikon RF gear but the prices were well beyond what I could afford. It wasn’t until the last few years that prices dropped to what I consider to be reasonable.

 

[Ken Ford]

Leicas now are repair headaches. I do no think this is confined to Leica. Parts and the people able to effectively use them will dwindle. Down the road using mechanical/analog(ue) cameras will become more difficult not easier. So either there will be new film cameras to sustain the market or not. As always, YMMV.

My perspective is that analog(ue) is interesting but not a long term bet. It was replaced for a reason. I do enjoy the Contax II a lot, much for sentimental reasons. But the vast majority of shutter clicks I make are digital because it is easier, cheaper and more efficient. I have a meeting to go to tonight. On the way back I will shoot some with an M9 with a sweet, very sweet '57 KMZ Jupiter 8. When I get home I can load them onto my computer and view them and also upload them to Flickr with the possibility of sharing any good ones. I find this appealing. I shot film from about '47 until 2000.

But I have hijacked the thread and apologize.

I am a digital photographer that shoots film for occasional nostalgia.

 

[38Deardorff]

Leicas now are repair headaches. I do no think this is confined to Leica. Parts and the people able to effectively use them will dwindle. Down the road using mechanical/analog(ue) cameras will become more difficult not easier. So either there will be new film cameras to sustain the market or not. As always, YMMV.

My perspective is that analog(ue) is interesting but not a long term bet. It was replaced for a reason. I do enjoy the Contax II a lot, much for sentimental reasons. But the vast majority of shutter clicks I make are digital because it is easier, cheaper and more efficient. I have a meeting to go to tonight. On the way back I will shoot some with an M9 with a sweet, very sweet '57 KMZ Jupiter 8. When I get home I can load them onto my computer and view them and also upload them to Flickr with the possibility of sharing any good ones. I find this appealing. I shot film from about '47 until 2000.

But I have hijacked the thread and apologize.

B, digital may be your preference, but it's not doomsday for film. Until recently, my 5x7 was a 1938 Deardorff with original bellows ...fully functional..... Not all mechanical cameras will fail catastrophically. As for 35mm cameras, an M2 is still a great buy @ $1200 (& likely a better buy than a used M9 for $3500).. as is a Pentax MX for $100 or a Nikon FM for $125. The ship is not sinking. Digital may be your game, but it's not the only game in town.

 

[steveyork]

Leicas now are repair headaches. I do no think this is confined to Leica. Parts and the people able to effectively use them will dwindle. Down the road using mechanical/analog(ue) cameras will become more difficult not easier. So either there will be new film cameras to sustain the market or not. As always, YMMV.

My perspective is that analog(ue) is interesting but not a long term bet. It was replaced for a reason. I do enjoy the Contax II a lot, much for sentimental reasons. But the vast majority of shutter clicks I make are digital because it is easier, cheaper and more efficient. I have a meeting to go to tonight. On the way back I will shoot some with an M9 with a sweet, very sweet '57 KMZ Jupiter 8. When I get home I can load them onto my computer and view them and also upload them to Flickr with the possibility of sharing any good ones. I find this appealing. I shot film from about '47 until 2000.

But I have hijacked the thread and apologize.

People have been calling for the death of film since 2000 when you and so many folks went digital. Everyone always saying it's just around the corner, but here we are, more than twenty-five years later, so many B&W films still available. Yes, there were some dark days, Kodak goes bankrupt, Efke and others disappeared, but the analog industry rebounded to a niche position. Sales are increasing, year in, year out, new users, new films, even new manufacturers. Interesting articles a few years ago during the Covid lockdowns when Freestyle Photo was celebrating their 75th anniversary about why they stayed analog and didn't pivot to digital. They're now offering more B&W films than thirty years ago. No one saying it will ever be big again, but it's not going away either. They've already survived their worst.

For the more popular cameras you're seeing new repair techs. Remember, a lot of these old cameras (mechanical and manual) typical just need service and adjustment, not so much replacement parts. Of course replacement parts more likely needed for metered and electronic cameras.

 

[enasniearth]

Yes Nikon rangefinder has a lot availible
Many at a great price compared to10-15 years back
These cameras are older now - & not as many repair people
Leica m cameras will always be higher
People expect too much out of a 50 year old camera
Especially Leica m - they feel it should be as well as Leica lenses
Untouched / perfect now
Unreasonable in many ways I think

 

[boojum]

I apologize for hijacking this thread into the maelstrom of endless debate on analog(ue) vs digital. I will wear a hair shirt for one week in penance.

 

[wlewisiii]

I apologize for hijacking this thread into the maelstrom of endless debate on analog(ue) vs digital. I will wear a hair shirt for one week in penance.

It only counts if it has a Sony full frame sensor ... /sarc 😉

 

[DownUnder]

Debates on A vs D - or D vs A depending on your particular bias - can be fun and even interesting at times. As long as all the usual old biased one-eyed opinions don’t get trotted out and reposted. I say this well knowing that I’ve contributed my goodly share of those stale old ideas. Does B have an extra hair shirt for me to wear?

PS I hijack threads all the time. It comes with the territory of being a (non-violent) anarchist and socio-cultural boat-rocker - or as my SO often enjoys reminding me, an earthbound alien...

 

[chuckroast]

Debates on A vs D - or D vs A depending on your particular bias - can be fun and even interesting at times. As long as all the usual old biased one-eyed opinions don’t get trotted out and reposted. I say this well knowing that I’ve contributed my goodly share of those stale old ideas. Does B have an extra hair shirt for me to wear?

PS I hijack threads all the time. It comes with the territory of being a (non-violent) anarchist and social-cultural boat-rocker.

But it's so much more entertaining to debate politics and culture 😉

 

[splitimageview]

This isn't a business meeting is it?

Aren't we just hanging out at the bar shooting the 💩? 😛

So no worries about getting off topic! Let the discussion meander its way, whatever direction it wants to go!

 

[Beemermark]

I have way too many cameras, mostly film. Never had a problem getting repaired. Nikon Digital to any authorized dealer on NikonUSA. Older equipment to Crystal Camera in Asheville (did they survive Hurricane Helen??), Leica to DAG.

And I repeat myself, Tariffs go into effect AUG 1, Maybe.

 

[aw614]

I like both digital and analog, I just hate how big digital mirrorless lenses have gotten...so I've mostly struck with smaller m43 and APS-C stuff on digital, especially for traveling.

I guess I could just get a digital M body, but I do like digital for zooms and autofocus when it comes to shooting sports and family stuff

 

[Sonnar Brian]

I have been doing Digital Imaging for so Long that I used a Nikon F3HP loaded with Polaroid Slide Film to get hard-copy of the images displayed on the CRT of the Ramtek 9465.

 

[Leon C]

B, my opinion is that film has stabilized and is maybe even on the rise. Local stores are stocking & selling more film & paper. It has made a come back. Clients are requesting work on film. More young people are buying and using film cameras....
Your Contax may become a shelf queen but there are thousands of Nikon, Pentax, Leicas that will keep on clicking.....

Leica sold more Film Cameras in 2023 than it did in 2015, almost 10 times as many and just over only twice as many digital than film and the Film Camera industry is worth hundreds of millions $ worldwide, it's going to be here for a while.

"It wasn't long ago that Leica was selling just 500 film cameras per year and thinking about scrapping analog bodies altogether. In 2023, though, it racked up 5,000 film camera sales – heralding what the company called "the return of analog".

Not only did film camera sales increase tenfold from 2015 to 2023, they now account for 30% of all Leica rangefinder sales."

900% increase in film camera sales in just 8 years!

Leica sees massive 900% increase in film camera sales, after almost scrapping analog bodies completely

www.digitalcameraworld.com

There are also millions of film cameras out there already, new ones are not needed and some can be fixed at home and don't need to rely on one person to do it, thousands of files to fix film cameras, how many will or can fix a complicated Digital Camera, not many at home, lots headed for landfill methinks.

It's about choice not Vs....

 

[Cascadilla]

I have been doing Digital Imaging for so Long that I used a Nikon F3HP loaded with Polaroid Slide Film to get hard-copy of the images displayed on the CRT of the Ramtek 9465.

Ah yes, Polaroid slides... I used to shoot quite a bit of that for a doctor who would show up the day before he had to leave for a presentation and needed slides for his talk. My local lab didn't turn E 6 around that fast, so Polaroid it was. A lot of these were text slides, with white letters on a blue background and exposure had to be perfect or the lettering wouldn't show or would fill in.

 

[JeffS7444]

Regardless of whether the US government is collecting the revenues, de facto tariffs are already here, they've cost me actual money.

 

[chuckroast]

Regardless of whether the US government is collecting the revenues, de facto tariffs are already here, they've cost me actual money.

The biggest tariff you pay in the US is a hidden one: Funding the US Navy to protect international trade routes.

The US eats the cost of maintaining orderly trade in the Pacific, Atlantic. Panama Canal, Suez Canal and so forth. If this were to cease, global trade would come to a crashing halt and the economies of most nations would seize up.

The rest of the world's trading nations largely free ride on this. One could argue the current US posture on tariffs is an attempt to have all beneficiaries help pay for this service.

 

[JeffS7444]

The biggest tariff you pay in the US is a hidden one: Funding the US Navy to protect international trade routes.

I'll bet China would be willing to take over those responsibilities 😆

 

[boojum]

The biggest tariff you pay in the US is a hidden one: Funding the US Navy to protect international trade routes.

The US eats the cost of maintaining orderly trade in the Pacific, Atlantic. Panama Canal, Suez Canal and so forth. If this were to cease, global trade would come to a crashing halt and the economies of most nations would seize up.

The rest of the world's trading nations largely free ride on this. One could argue the current US posture on tariffs is an attempt to have all beneficiaries help pay for this service.

Trading nations are wise to have a fleet to protect trade routes. This is prudent. The smaller nations do benefit, true. The alternative is not acceptable. So the smaller nations will continue to benefit. However, if you can keep trade routes open and the seas safe for trade without a navy I am eager to know how.

 

[Pioneer]

I haven't really personally seen the need for Leica repairs as a problem. I am not very gentle with my cameras. I push my Leica almost as hard as my Contax II but it has held up pretty well considering it is pushing 90. I aimed my Leica III at the sun one to many times so I had to have the shutter replaced last year but that is the only Leica repair I can remember in over 4 years, and that was my fault, not the camera.