Mamiya RIP

[CameraQuest]

Today I visited with a friend of mine who is well connected in the Japanese camera industry. According to him, Mamiya is no more. It went BK $91,000,000 in debt. The name was sold off for $1,000,000. He believes it unlikely there will be any more Mamiya cameras of the current model lineups, or much in the way of future product support of the existing products. Translation: buy new Mamiya while you can still find it in stock!

Stephen Gandy

 

[sf]

Or buy the Bronica RF. . .since now you don't have the "My Mamiya at least still has SUPPORT" argument.

 

[Finder]

There is always Holga where it does not matter if there is support or not.

 

[bobofish]

Even my wife, who is not a camera person is sad...everybody likes Mamiya, and if this is true, it is very sad indeed.

 

[sf]

yum. I want a Holga, but actually can't afford it right now. Not for the forseeable future, actually. Credit Card is 100% maxed.

Now that Mamiya is gone, there is only 1 professional film camera maker left, am I right?

Hasselblad? Or are they gone too?

Somehow I feel that my RF645 will actually appreciate in value from this point onward.

 

[pvdhaar]

Now that Mamiya is gone, there is only 1 professional film camera maker left, am I right?

Hasselblad? Or are they gone too?

Isn't Rollei still in the game?

 

[jan normandale]

I'm optimistic that the prices will fall thru the floor. I'm going to gobble up every good used Mamiya I can find.
No I'm not. Actually I'm depressed...... this sucks. Really sucks.

I'm going to have a huge scotch and go to bed. With my Mamiya 6 RF.. good night RFF and Good Night Mamiya.

 

[canonetc]

While I know zero about business, I don't see why the companies such as Mamiya can;t simply scale down to a more financially manageable company...y'know, a shack in Wales or Palm Springs where they can specialize in Mamiya 6's, 7's etc, charge more for the craftsmanship and keep a lower overhead. Why bite the dust entirely? But....if there is just no demand, well....I guess it;s goodbye.

Chris
canonetc
Mamiya 6 user

 

[Socke]

Chris, first they have to get rid of:

a) the workforce
b) mashinery, polluted real estate etc.
c) debt

than they can scale down. Bankruptcy and selling the name and some tools to somebody else is a way to do this.

Soemtimes this works, Triumph motorcycles is a positive example and Rover cars a negative one.

 

[nihraguk]

I was really unhappy to hear about this. I just hope my M645 Pro won't need servicing for a long time more.

 

[clarence]

This might be an entirely inaccurate observation on my part, but I think the bulk of professionals abandoned medium-format for good a long time ago. Jan pointed out the bipolar result of this exodus: amateurs like myself and many others are finally able to enjoy what had previously been inaccessible due to high prices. On the other hand, the industry supporting it is disintegrating, partly because these amateurs can get used equipment and refurbish it for a lot cheaper than buying new equipment.

I can only dream of a renaissance. I don't for a moment believe that there can be a Cosina of the MF world, because there are simply too many different proprietary mounts, unlike in 35mm, where L39 had a huge market. All we can hope for is that the industry downsizes to a steady-state, and maintains that for a while.

I don't know what the prospects of product support will be like for Mamiya, et al, but I think that film availability will be an even more pressing issue for now. The new consumer demographic of MF would probably comprise artists and amateurs who use everything from a Hasselblad to a Diana. I can't see the Lomographic Society running out of business anytime soon, and I hope it doesn't. We are looking at an industry in its twilight years that needs all the help it can get, and if newbies buying US$150 Seagulls are buying rollfilm, it will help us all in the long run, however brief that might be.

After all, as Keynes said, in the long run, we're all dead anyway.

Clarence

 

[Michael I.]

good night gentle prince,may the filght th angels take you to thy rest.

hope I got it right

 

[Homima]

I found some details of the deal here:
http://www.imaging-resource.com/NEWS/1145628753.html

Hope that Cosmos Scientific Systems Inc. won't shut down the production of these fine cameras.

 

[canonetc]

Mamiya RIP

Chris, first they have to get rid of:

a) the workforce
b) mashinery, polluted real estate etc.
c) debt

than they can scale down. Bankruptcy and selling the name and some tools to somebody else is a way to do this.

Soemtimes this works, Triumph motorcycles is a positive example and Rover cars a negative one.

Socke, Danke Schon,

Yeah, liquidation of capital assets. It's also sad for the people at Mamiya, and all those veterans (workers and users) who gave their lives to the company. Not literally, but time wise. My local pro camera store is run by gentlemen and ladies totally versed in traditional, old-school photography, and digital has not been easy for them. In fact, they may also be closing after decades of life. I sometimes feel that digital is a de-evolution and not a revolution. I just look at how many people, living breathing human beings, who have been affected. What happened to technology making our lives easier? Sure, we can say it has made photography "faster" (does that include the days spent getting my printer to print what my monitor is showing me?), but since we are all suffering to some degree because of it, can we call it revolution? Growing pains? Adjustment? All these rational terms are moot for the 25-year career Mamiya maker who will now be filing for unemployment....and no new career in sight. I agree, again, with a commenter above by saying as long as we keep buying film, 35mm-4x5, then we can keep someone employed and ourselves able to shoot without being at the mercy of a computer. Film=freedom. 🙂

Cheers,

Chris
canonetc

 

[clarence]

I sometimes feel that digital is a de-evolution and not a revolution. I just look at how many people, living breathing human beings, who have been affected. What happened to technology making our lives easier? Sure, we can say it has made photography "faster" (does that include the days spent getting my printer to print what my monitor is showing me?), but since we are all suffering to some degree because of it, can we call it revolution? Growing pains? Adjustment? All these rational terms are moot for the 25-year career Mamiya maker who will now be filing for unemployment....and no new career in sight. I agree, again, with a commenter above by saying as long as we keep buying film, 35mm-4x5, then we can keep someone employed and ourselves able to shoot without being at the mercy of a computer. Film=freedom. 🙂

Hello Chris,

As much as I would like to portray myself as a fervent campaigner for film, I must point out that if it wasn't for the digital revolution, you and I would not be able to discuss rangefinders here. I would have never even heard of rangefinders, and I would still be using my point-and-shoot.

Every revolution will have its victims. I'm sad for the Mamiya sarariman and technicians who will suffer because of this event, but the digital revolution has also brought money and jobs to huge markets in Asia.

What is especially sad is that Mamiya was not able, like Ilford for example, to balance its film and digital commitments in order to stay in the arena.

Clarence

 

[ed1k]

Just found a press release at Mamiya's web site
http://www.mamiya-op.co.jp/home/camera/eng/news/news20060421.html

Sad but true.
Eduard.

 

[clarence]

The king is dead, long live the king.

Clarence

 

[JeffGreene]

Read the same release. I wouldn't be so quick to write Mamiya off. Although they were late with their 22MP offering, this new company appears committed to continuing the brand. Maybe its just my wishful thinking influencing my reading, but I certainly hope that's the case.

 

[amateriat]

Chris, first they have to get rid of:

a) the workforce
b) mashinery, polluted real estate etc.
c) debt

than they can scale down. Bankruptcy and selling the name and some tools to somebody else is a way to do this.

Soemtimes this works, Triumph motorcycles is a positive example and Rover cars a negative one.

Last night, I walked by a new Triumph Thruxton 990. Gorgeous thing. I recalled the Bad Old Days as the "old" Triumph slowly sank into the brine, then, years later, rose up and took off like crazy. The first new bikes were radically different from the Bonnies and Tridents of yore - necessarily so, as the new company was out to make a point - but eventually some of the later introductions bore more than a passing resemblance to their famous forbears, but with a fresh injection of new engineering. (Similar story for Ducati.)

Perhaps it's a stretch to hope Cosmos can rub the same magic lamp for what pieces of Mamiya have fallen into their hands (and assuming they're at all inclined to truly take a crack at it), but it'll be interesting to watch. I don't even shoot MF, but it still matters to me.


- Barrett

 

[Trius]

Clarence: The digital revolution on which Chris commented was the digital [/I]photography "revolution", specifically, digital capture in professional and amateur cameras. It is certainly conceivable that we could have had the PC and telecom evolution without digicams. In fact, I recall using the internet for discussions (newsgroups, Genie forums, etc.) well before digital cameras were extant.