OT: Mamiya Leaving Camera Biz (apparently)

Guess we'll have to sit tight on this one. (Damn...is Canon hammering the daylights out of everybody?) 😡


- Barrett (who supposes a 1Ds II is now deemed "good enough" for most hyperventilating pros to shoot anything with)
 
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Ya.. I think it's a case of "let's wait and see"..

It would seem a bit odd though since they did do all the R&D on that 22MP "MF Digital"

But how many NEW cameras could Mamiya be selling - especially when you used to hear about how heavy the RB/RZ series was.

Dave
 
Rayt said:
Does Mamiya make anything besides cameras and lenses? If they are out of the camera biz then they are out of business?

For some reason or other I'm thinking they may handle distribution of Sekonic and ProFoto as well..

Dave
 
Not surprising if true. The only guys who seem to be hanging on are those with low end digital consumer stuff to generate volume. Olympus, for example, has, it seems, been spending its R&D on consumer and prosumer cams, because that is where the predictable volume comes from and where they have some market share - note the lack of a replacement for the pro market. The Pro market would appear to be pretty well sown up by Canon and Nikon, but Sony may yet make a play. Basically, if you don't already have digital market share and other product lines (revenue streams) to support building share, then you are going to struggle to survive unless you're really niche.

IMHO

Shame, perhaps we should all go out and by a ZD, just to help them out 🙂
 
Not surprising if true. The only guys who seem to be hanging on are those with low end digital consumer stuff to generate volume. Olympus, for example, has, it seems, been spending its R&D on consumer and prosumer cams, because that is where the predictable volume comes from and where they have some market share - note the lack of a replacement for the pro market. The Pro market would appear to be pretty well sown up by Canon and Nikon, but Sony may yet make a play. Basically, if you don't already have digital market share and other product lines (revenue streams) to support building share, then you are going to struggle to survive unless you're really niche.

IMHO

Shame, perhaps we should all go out and by a ZD, just to help them out 🙂
 
Gid said:
Not surprising if true. The only guys who seem to be hanging on are those with low end digital consumer stuff to generate volume. Olympus, for example, has, it seems, been spending its R&D on consumer and prosumer cams, because that is where the predictable volume comes from and where they have some market share - note the lack of a replacement for the pro market. The Pro market would appear to be pretty well sown up by Canon and Nikon, but Sony may yet make a play. Basically, if you don't already have digital market share and other product lines (revenue streams) to support building share, then you are going to struggle to survive unless you're really niche.

IMHO
In fact, Olympus has stated a plan to move away from the lower end of the digicam market, and put more emphasis on the dSLR market – ironically, IMO, the one area where they are most vulnerable (going up against brands C and N...lotsa luck!). Not too many outfits are making much money, if any, with those little digicams.

Shame, perhaps we should all go out and by a ZD, just to help them out 🙂
If only it were that easy. If we're getting rumors just now, it's likely too late anyway.


- Barrett
 
bmattock said:
I did a search on Mainichi Shimbun for "Mamiya" thinking I could go straight to a local source. Bad idea.

Naughty naughty do not click here

I have to go toss my cookies now.
Ouch ouch ouch...think I'll do that m'self (cookie-tossing, that is). 😱

Damn, Bill, you're supposed to be the Web svengali here...how'd you fall into this?


- Barrett
 
I always start with the easiest possible search. Type in a brand name, see what you get. I went to Mainichi Shimbun because it is a (usually) topical Japanese paper with a good (ie readable) English interface. I just typed in "Mamiya" to see what they might have to say. Little did I know...

I guess I lose some stripes over this faux pas, eh?

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks
 
I just talked with a representative at Mamiya U.S. and she hasn't heard a word about this.

She reiterated the standard Mamiya U.S. litany about their company being completely separate from Mamiya Japan, blah, blah, blah until I reminded her that if Mamiya Japan stops producing products, they won't have any to sell. Of course they distribute some other products, but gee, the company name is Mamiya.

Mamiya U.S. has been very aggressive about preventing import sales from other countries. Years ago I compared RZ prices between U.S. dealers and Cathay Photo in Singapore (nice folks BTW) and can tell you that Mamiya U.S. is (was?) making a very healthy mark-up. Cathay told me they had been essentially threatened with the loss of their Mamiya franchise if they shipped gear to the U.S.

FWIW, the Mamiya U.S. rep did say they merging with an advertising firm.

ScottGee1
 
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News from Adorama

Mamiya to stop making cameras?


Another shocker: Engadget is reporting today that Mamiya, makers of medium-format and high-end digital SLRs, is selling off its camera unit to an IT business company called Cosmos Scientific. The unconfirmed report says the company has seen "stagnant sales" of its digital models, including the Mamiya ZD, a 22MP camera which became available this past December. Engadget is reporting the deal is set to close on September 1.

If true, this would be yet another in a long line of bad news for long-time camera companies who couldn't keep up with the rapidly changing landscape of digital photography.

Mamiya was founded in 1940, and is known for a long line of 35mm cameras as well as Mamiyaflex Twin-Lens Reflex medium-format cameras. In the mid-1980s, Mamiya stopped making 35mm cameras due to financial woes, and the company's international distributor declared bankruptcy. The company was bailed out by the Japanese government and the Cosmo 80 group (which is apparently buying the company outright). During this financial upheaval, the company shifted focus to pro-level cameras only.

It is not known if Cosmos Scientific plans to continue manufacturing cameras if it is indeed buying Mamiya's assets.
 
When you click on READ at the bottom of the ENGADGET article, you get this Japanese website:
http://dc.watch.impress.co.jp/cda/other/2006/04/21/3690.html

If you trim the URL back to http://dc.watch.impress.co.jp, paste it into Google and click Translate this page you will get THIS.


マミヤ * o tweet the corporation announced on the 21st, optical instruments business section and the corporation マミヤ of the subsidiary company, it does business transfers to the cosmopolitan * digital * imaging corporation. マミヤ * o tweet it withdraws from the optical instruments business which includes the camera, specializes at electronic equipment business and sport business. Furthermore, also the tripod and the Strobo are included in the optical instruments business which is transferred.

As for transfer contents, optical instruments business and shelf wholesale trade property and fixed assets of マミヤ, industrial property right and lease contract such as right of trade-mark and patent right. Other than those which agree especially it does not take over debt. The employee has made " the schedule where considerable number is employed at the new company " after the retiring. In addition, the new company takes over the after-sales service of the camera.


At the same company the reason of withdrawal, while due to the appearance of the compact digital camera and the digital single-lens reflex camera, the inactivity of the format camera and of medium format digital single-lens reflex camera " Mamiya ZD " it has made stagnant sales. As for balancing of accounts of optical instruments business gross sales 21 hundred million 4,900 ten thousand Yen, the operating profit has reached minus 8 hundred million 3,900 ten thousand Yen in the March 31 day and time point.

Cosmopolitan * digital * imaging ahead transferring was established on March 15th as a digital technical subsidiary company of the cosmopolitan * scientific * system corporation which is the SI vendor.

As for transfer price 1 hundred million Yen. September 1st is transferred to aim.

Furthermore マミヤ * o the same day, う loss was included to also this transfer tweet, debt surplus line approximately 94 hundred million Yen were anticipated, the specification arrange which requests circulation of money support from the Mitsubishi UFJ trust bank ahead borrowing was stated.

R.J.
 
Oh hell. I was always happy to think that at least Mamiya was committed to medium format. Assuming this is true (and I'll bet it is), is there anybody left making MF? Pentax, yes, but considering they are leaving the EU market for their 645 and 67 cameras, and are rumored to be swallowed by Samsung, they may not be around long. I guess Rollei still makes limited amounts of the Rolleiflex, and there's always Seagull -- does Kiev make anything nowadays?

Very sad.
 
Benjamin Marks said:
Oh tweet.

Ben Marks


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R.J.
 
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