Vivitar Out of the Flash Business?

bmattock

bmattock

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Forgive me if this is old news, but I could not find any reference to it by searching...

I was at my (nearly) local camera dealer today, and he told me that he called Vivitar, wanting to order a couple of 285 accessory flashes. He was told that they are no longer in the flash business and suggested he call Sunpak. I questioned my dealer carefully - did he mean his supplier and not Vivitar directly? No, he meant he called Vivitar directly, as he usually bought his flash units straight from them. He told me that they told him they were going to be selling only digital point-n-shoot cameras from here on out.

I checked the Vivitar web page, and sure enough - no flash units listed. I noticed that they got a new CEO in October, and I read his statement - good Lord, the man sounds like a complete dork. "Be Who We Are, Only More So?" Surely this is a bad joke, like something from the movie 'Office Space'? Somebody tell me that Vivitar still sells flash units.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks
 
Vivitar seem to have been uncompetitive in the flash business for a while. A call to Sunpak is probably sensible (they certainly seem to be the most recommended value choice in the uK press). But Agfa, Konica out of the film business, Vivitar out of the flash business ..... our world is indeed tilted on its axis.
 
I forgot to mention, my dealer said they are not going to be making any more lenses for slr's either. I know Vivitar never "made" lenses or flashes in that sense, but they had things made for them, things that sold well. I guess that leaves Sigma, Tokina, and Tamron in the 3rd-party lens business now.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks
 
Bill, I heard/read something to that effect a couple of weeks ago. It does boggle the mind. Without flash, what does Vivitar now offer to the photographic community?

No other manufacturer of whom I'm aware offers anything to match the 283 and 285HV in terms of value and performance. I have three 283's of which two are no less than 25-30 years old. They still operate like new. My mainstay unit is a 285HV that does yeoman's service.

I agree with you: the new CEO is a complete maroon. (An inside term for "moron" on another board). Hopefully he'll pull his head from his posterior.

I don't mean to disparage Sunpak or Metz or other flash manufacturers but Vivitar has been my preferred brand for many years. I've owned Braun units in the past and they didn't hold up at all....... very disappointing.

Walker
 
doubs43 said:
Bill, I heard/read something to that effect a couple of weeks ago. It does boggle the mind. Without flash, what does Vivitar now offer to the photographic community?
Click to expand...

My dealer said that Vivitar told him that they intend to merely import digital cameras, labeled "Vivitar," to sell on the low-end market. This is a niche that Polaroid has also gone to, now that it is merely owned by a holding company that does 'international marketing', which is another way of saying that they just shovel junk for as long as good will remains with the trademark. Bell&Howell is the same now - just a name on a buncha crap. A few people bite - they vaguely remember that "Vivitar; oh yeah, that's good stuff" and that's how they get by for a few years, until all the value is sucked out of the name.

You know, my problem is not with technology, or planned obsolescence, or the march towards digital, etc. I don't even care about corporate greed. CEO's should makes lots of money, bags full - as long as their duty is to the company and the stock holders and not short-term profit at the expense of the corporation in it's original mission.

What really gripes my wagger is corporate executives who are essentially vultures. They descend on a company in trouble like a pack of ravening wolves, usually invited in by desperate shareholders, and they gut the company, tear it to pieces, sell off anything worth any price at all on the open market, spin off the unprofitable parts to wither and die or survive as they please, and turn the company into a profit center for schlock until it groans to a halt. Then they bail with their incentives and away they go to the next dead company walking. It is those SOB's who should be strung up.

Polaroid - Bell & Howell - and now, adding flavor - Vivitar?

But I could be wrong.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks
 
They made my enlarger too; it's still a revolutionary design (in a conventional kind of way) and I don't know why they quit making them.
 
Sad to hear but not surprised

Sad to hear but not surprised

bmattock said:
Forgive me if this is old news, but I could not find any reference to it by searching...

I was at my (nearly) local camera dealer today, and he told me that he called Vivitar, wanting to order a couple of 285 accessory flashes. He was told that they are no longer in the flash business and suggested he call Sunpak. I questioned my dealer carefully - did he mean his supplier and not Vivitar directly? No, he meant he called Vivitar directly, as he usually bought his flash units straight from them. He told me that they told him they were going to be selling only digital point-n-shoot cameras from here on out.

I checked the Vivitar web page, and sure enough - no flash units listed. I noticed that they got a new CEO in October, and I read his statement - good Lord, the man sounds like a complete dork. "Be Who We Are, Only More So?" Surely this is a bad joke, like something from the movie 'Office Space'? Somebody tell me that Vivitar still sells flash units.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks
Click to expand...

I am sad to hear this but not surprised, I have a pair of F mount Vivitar lenses a and a flash unit. It seams it suffers from the same MBA disease, sell crap to big box channels until the brand has lost its value in the market.

Bill
 
I was considering a 285HV a short time ago and discovered this. I was disappointed because for the price that is a great unit. They are still around on retailers shelves if you do some searching.
 
Sad. I have two 285s with filters (anybody ever use those seriously?). I have often thought of getting a couple more. As anyone who has one knows, they are powerful and versatile. Guess it's out to the *bay again. :bang:

I guess next it will be Sunpak. sigh.
 
It is a sign of the times and not just because of the digital revolution. I have two Vivitar flash units, 2600 and 273, and both operate as they should. They are more than 6 years old each. Who made them? They should be thanked. Vivitar for selling them should be thanked. It is rarer today to buy a product that seems built to last and is no replaced with the latest version in 6 months. I have used their lenses, like the older Series I lenses, and other products and alway felt I got a return on my investment. Sad day, I don't think they will be with us in 5 years.
 
Richard Black said:
It is a sign of the times and not just because of the digital revolution. I have two Vivitar flash units, 2600 and 273, and both operate as they should. They are more than 6 years old each. Who made them? They should be thanked. Vivitar for selling them should be thanked. It is rarer today to buy a product that seems built to last and is no replaced with the latest version in 6 months. I have used their lenses, like the older Series I lenses, and other products and alway felt I got a return on my investment. Sad day, I don't think they will be with us in 5 years.
Click to expand...

Richard, I agree with you. I also have a 2600 and a 2400, they're great little units. And I have several "Vivitar" brand lenses in M42 mount - no, they're not really made by Vivitar, and yes, I have the serial number lookup that lists the real manufacturers, but the point is that an entire line of choices is closing down to us. People shrug and say "Well, you can still find them on eBoy" or "At least we still have Sunpak (or Tokina/Tamrom/Sigma), but the point is that with less competition, prices tend to rise and quality tends to suffer - nobody producing competing products to keep prices low and quality high.

Imagine if the Japanese cars had never been imported into the USA. Remember what crap US-made cars were back in the mid 1970's and early 1980's? Imagine if Detroit had no competition.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks
 
bmattock said:
He told me that they told him they were going to be selling only digital point-n-shoot cameras from here on out.
Click to expand...


OK, let me get this straight...Vivitar is abandoning a popular niche market in which it was major and respected player in favor of a declining market (P&S digicams) in which the likes of large outfits like Olympus, Pentax and Kodak have trouble turning a profit? I may be just a humble English major but this doesn't appear to be a very well thought out business decision. 😕

I don't use my 283 too often but I'll sure as heck never part with it now.

Thanks for the info, Bill.
 
bmattock said:
What really gripes my wagger is corporate executives who are essentially vultures. They descend on a company in trouble like a pack of ravening wolves, usually invited in by desperate shareholders, and they gut the company, tear it to pieces, sell off anything worth any price at all on the open market, spin off the unprofitable parts to wither and die or survive as they please, and turn the company into a profit center for schlock until it groans to a halt. Then they bail with their incentives and away they go to the next dead company walking. It is those SOB's who should be strung up.

Bill Mattocks
Click to expand...

I think you just described corperate greed to a T. I will not miss Vivitar going out of the flash business not being a flash user. I remember the original Series One lenses and how good they were and will miss Vivitar for that.

Bob
 
cbass said:
OK, let me get this straight...Vivitar is abandoning a popular niche market in which it was major and respected player in favor of a declining market (P&S digicams) in which the likes of large outfits like Olympus, Pentax and Kodak have trouble turning a profit? I may be just a humble English major but this doesn't appear to be a very well thought out business decision. 😕

I don't use my 283 too often but I'll sure as heck never part with it now.

Thanks for the info, Bill.
Click to expand...

Well, they are aiming at an even lower end of the point-n-shoot market. At least Kodak, Pentax, et al, have their low-end units built to spec - these Vivitars are basic units that are exactly the same from brand-name to brand-name, only the labels on them are different. They sell for a tiny fraction more than say 'No Name' brands because of the remaining cachet of the name Vivitar itself. Most consumers, sad to say, are utter morons. They heard 'Vivitar' somewhere and remember that it was well-regarded - so they pay ten bucks more for the Vivitar name on the same damned camera that also has the Polaroid name and the McDonalds name and the Joe Dirt the Ragman name. Sad and shortsighted, the last act of a company that is essentially over and done with. This CEO will be their last, he presides over a corpse, as he is intended to do.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks
 
Nikon Bob said:
I think you just described corperate greed to a T. I will not miss Vivitar going out of the flash business not being a flash user. I remember the original Series One lenses and how good they were and will miss Vivitar for that.

Bob
Click to expand...

Yes, I agree. Ponder & Best were a marketing company, but they had the clout to bring items to their Vivitar brand name that met their high expectations (at least at first) and the Series One lenses were a great example of that. It did not matter that Kino or Kiron or Komine built the lenses, but rather that they built them for Vivitar - no one else had the Series One lenses that were so consistantly good for so long.

The 285 and 283 flashes are also classics - the only real 'pro' choice for the advanced amateur who uses non-TTL flash, and many pros used them too. Sure, I'll be there will be plenty available for awhile yet, but now there won't be any new ones.

Ponder & Best were a marketing company that built a brand name that had huge cachet and value - but these latest users of the name appear to just be a marketing company that trades on that famous name until it goes down in flames. They BUILD nothing, they DESTROY everything. Nice.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks
 
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