Scary Future

My wife just got back from 2 weeks in Africa--she used to take a small digital camera. This time---just the iphone. Brought back some good pics, too.
Paul
 
I'm not so worried for a couple of reasons.

First, there are more 3rd party companies bringing out interesting glass for a variety of mounts. While bodies are important and parts dry up, I see the quality and variety of glass being produced as where the technology really is applicable to our lives. Improvements in auto-focus over the past years while dramatic really do depend upon a sensor to be used.

I'm not convinced that "Support from the consumer market" was there for products other than paper, chemicals and film. But I see Moore's Law playing it's magic with imaging technology much like it has with processing chips and memory. Kodak is but an empty film reel of it's former self. Niche marks for film users are firming up and supporting new production now that a growing number of freezers are empty.

Film is different, at best digital will be a simulation of a particular film. At some point digital will over take even Kodachrome in all measurable aspect. Will that sensor/processor be the same, no, but for a lot of folks it will be good enough. Just like 4x5 SLRs with film pack backs were good enough for people to move to them from wet-plate cameras.

I'm ecstatic that get to have both.

Our problem is that we need to clone the TomA, DAG, Solver W and alike before they are all gone. Those are the minds and services we can not do without.

B2 (;->
 
I'm with Stompyq on this one. Yeah, I know, no new film cameras are being made besides Leica or Lomography, from the sublime to the silly. Still, my old cameras still work fine.
 
Recently I was looking to replace my mp3 player... scary. The local electronic shop use to have 1/2 floor dedicated to the small music players, now you are lucky if you can find two or three models at ridiculous prices. There is a parallel with the image industry... even the same "villain" ; )

It comes down to content... "Blue & Lonesome" by The Rolling Stones or "Back To The Woods" by Chuck Leavell, the latter artist having played on the former album...
 
Blahblahblah.... I don't know what to write about to get some clicks, have no idea what I'm talking about but hey, someone might contest it.
 
Bill Pierce said:
I know it's silly to just post a point to another article. But I think this one has some rather important thoughts for many of us who use digital gear.
....
Click to expand...

Obviously what qualifies as rather important is a rather typical example of YMMV🙄.

Sorry but what is the problem? People switch digital cameras every year and down the road they might have not ten but only 6 different brands? At some point there isn't any perceivable improvement unless in some constructed testing scenarios that are irrelevant to real world shooting. And so ... there is less incentive for the buyer to again buy the latest and greatest, the sales of new cameras go down and some brands vanish from the market place. So what?😛

Spanik said:
Blahblahblah.... I don't know what to write about to get some clicks, have no idea what I'm talking about but hey, someone might contest it.
Click to expand...

Guess you nailed it😉
 
The camera business is now an electronics business that uses optics. Toshiba is in trouble. They may break-up and be absorbed.

As for the optics, I'm told there are two deposits of optical grade sand in the world. One in Japan, the other in Germany.

I think like most companies in the electronics business, things will change. Bell Labs invented the transistor. They became Lucent with the break-up of Bell. Lucent was raided and broken up. Fairchild Camera started Fairchild Semiconductor. Their key employees left and started Intel.

5 people may own everything in a number of years, if the current investment vector grows in magnitude.
 
To scare you even more. Companies who makes sensors are even few. If I'm not mistaken, most of the phones are using same sensor.

If Fuji stops their instax line, I don't care. Two days ago I printed square on glossy 4x6. It was picture taken with 5c iPhone. It leaves instax in the dust. 🙂
 
PKR said:
The camera business is now an electronics business that uses optics. Toshiba is in trouble. They may break-up and be absorbed.

As for the optics, I'm told there are two deposits of optical grade sand in the world. One in Japan, the other in Germany.

I think like most companies in the electronics business, things will change. Bell Labs invented the transistor. They became Lucent with the break-up of Bell. Lucent was raided and broken up. Fairchild Camera started Fairchild Semiconductor. Their key employees left and started Intel.

5 people may own everything in a number of years, if the current investment vector grows in magnitude.
Click to expand...

Good for Toshiba. They made quiet propellers for US submarines using our design, then gave or sold it to the Russians. The faster they go the better.
 
Ronald M said:
Good for Toshiba. They made quiet propellers for US submarines using our design, then gave or sold it to the Russians. The faster they go the better.
Click to expand...

All that stuff is more likely much worse than we think. People constantly walk out of our national labs with serious technology that's sold to who knows who. Few are caught and of those caught few of them make the news.

http://www.compete.org/home/3251/3251

I once saw an image of a sub in dry dock in "The" Pacific North West repair facilities on Google earth (key hole.. another story), the prop was in full view and the photo could be enlarged greatly. In about a weeks time the view disappeared. I wonder how many computers hold that image?

I like Toshiba laptops. I'll find another brand next time I buy.
 
Nothing scary about it. As long as there is demand, there will be offer. Current film situation proves it. When the digital era started, film demand dropped; now that there is a new interest (and demand) on film, production started again (obviously not in its previous volume, but a volume to suit the market).

Same with digital cameras. Demand is dropping due to cell phones taking its place (the same than when digital camera took the place of film cameras). If, on the future, there is a resurgence on digital cameras, there will be someone that will make them, because there will be a suitable market for them.

If there is not a market in the future for them, it means that they aren't missed that much 🙂.

We are living on a global economy. If, say, 1% of people of the world is interested on cameras, on a global scale, that's a lot of people 🙂

Regards

Marcelo
 
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