johnastovall
Light Hunter - RIP 2010
Then why did Nikon end large format lens production in 2006?
parsec1
parsec1
Ok many here have never had to carry 2 F2as 's and 2 MD1/2s acouple of Quantum turbos plus at least 4 lenses including a 300 2.8 and some metz blast and also an M4 and 35, mine was a canon 35.1.5 'just in case'. I understand modern digis and good zooms I have them but they are not any smaller and sure as hell not any lighter.
venchka
Veteran
Tiny market, ebay, etc.
Tiny market, ebay, etc.
Small market for new.
Virtually every large format lens ever made is still useable.
Too many good old lenses around cheap.
Glad I have one of the last ones they made.
Tiny market, ebay, etc.
Small market for new.
Virtually every large format lens ever made is still useable.
Too many good old lenses around cheap.
Glad I have one of the last ones they made.
MaxElmar
Well-known
Weird and wonderful. Strange and bizzare and possibly crazy. Then again, so was making a new SP in 2005... I think they re-made all that tooling... Nutz.
Roger Hicks
Veteran
I'm not quite sure what you're saying.
Market surveys are not an unknown art. Nor are magazine opinion polls. Nor is paid research. Nor are informal contacts between manufacturers, editors, professional photographers... That's one of the things that photokina, Arles, etc., are for.
Do you seriously believe that manufacturers don't care what they can sell, and make no attempt to find out? Of course they have to ignore the fantasists who want $1000 f/1 lenses, and the cranks who want to reintroduce VN press cameras. But quite a lot of manufacturers have, on occasion, solicited my opinion. I know I'm not the only person they talk to: they'd be fools if I were.
Then again, press photographers have always been excessively highly regarded in the UK, especially in AP. There are relatively few of them, compared with (say) wedding photographers, and almost none if you compare them with amateurs; it's a specialized business; and quality takes second place to speed, durability and ease of use. Compared with where I started -- advertising -- press photography is all but irrelevant; and I venture to say it's no more relevant to the average amateur.
Cheers,
R.
NIKON KIU
Did you say Nippon Kogaku
NIKON KIU
Did you say Nippon Kogaku
Poor Press guys, they get NO breaks, even if they shoot a picture like this:
Taken by a Nikon S3 :angel:
Kiu
Highway 61
Revisited
Poor Press guys, they get NO breaks, even if they shoot a picture like this:
Taken by a Nikon S3 :angel:
Kiu
Actually the photo above is faked, here is what happened for good (photo press guys must always change the reality for their own business sake) :
FrankS
Registered User
It's the marketing department's job to make you believe that you need what the company is producing.
photogdave
Shops local
Brilliant!Actually the photo above is faked, here is what happened for good (photo press guys must always change the reality for their own business sake) :
Whatever happened to Frankie Goes To Hollywood?
NIKON KIU
Did you say Nippon Kogaku
Hey they didn't have Roland D-20s back then....
ROFL----> you made my Friday evening
Kiu
ROFL----> you made my Friday evening
Kiu
Trius
Waiting on Maitani
The point is that they only ask/poll/interview/focus-group the people they THINK they will sell to or who are likely to buy, based on ideas they already have. They are missing small but significant niche markets by having that tunnel vision.
With respect, they ask people like you who are somewhat well know, write books and articles, etc., because they
- Think you will accurately reflect your constituency's needs which you may or may not do
- Can use the influence of your name, even if you do not officially endorse their end product
J J Kapsberger
Well-known
No, not exactly. Yes, it's the marketing departments job to convince customers to buy the products, but it's also the marketing department's job to know the market and what might sell.
Businesses do not create costly products and then brainwash the populace. Before they create products, they become convinced there's a market for those products in the first place.
Surely you don't think that the marketing department in Nikon would go to executive management and say, "There's no market yet for a digital MF RF, but, damn it, we're going to create one, so commit R&D monies to this camera we've drawn up."
They test the market to come up with a best estimate of potential sales, they cost the product and then estimate profitability.
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J J Kapsberger
Well-known
I'd sooner say that they ask guys like R. Hicks because unlike you and me a) he's developed a reputation for being knowledgeable, well rounded and reliable in important matters of photography, and b) they've heard of him.
They'll hardly ask you and me.
No manufacturer can be expected to know how marketable every conceivable product should be. I'm sure Nikon knows of RFf and of our demands for a digital MF RF, but there might be no reasonably obtainable information out there that such a product would turn a profit. Just because a few guys on RFf clamor for such product doesn't mean a manufacturer should commit shareholder's monies to its development.
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J J Kapsberger
Well-known
Of course they want your $$$$. And they get those $$$$ by very much caring about what you want or need.
No sane seller in a free economy sets about bringing a product to market without first becoming convinced there's a demand for that product.
slm
Formerly nextreme
Absolutely correct.
slm
Formerly nextreme
Maybe not, but they might have said there's no one currently playing in this market, is there an opportunity there ? And used that to base their decisions.
dougiec29
Member
48mmx48mm?
48mmx48mm?
Did no one tell Nikon they could go 36x24 and still be the biggest? I'd take mine 36x36mm and M mount. Nikon could sell "Nikon M mount" lenses designed not to vignette on the square sensor.
48mmx48mm?
Did no one tell Nikon they could go 36x24 and still be the biggest? I'd take mine 36x36mm and M mount. Nikon could sell "Nikon M mount" lenses designed not to vignette on the square sensor.
J J Kapsberger
Well-known
You can't say that's absolutely correct until you've determined that the niche markets are significant. Have you identified and analyzed the niche markets? Do you have sound information that the products demanded by those markets are profitable? Do you know potential sales of those products? Their likely manufacturing costs? Selling price? Is this really more than just speculation of your parts?
What niche markets are we talking about, what products are demanded and how likely are those products to turn a profit?
J J Kapsberger
Well-known
Very true, they might've spotted an opportunity which was a key deciding factor in bringing the product to market. But that's not the same thing as creating a product and then doing the marketing.