Will Mamiya ever make a Mamiya 7D?

[Sejanus.Aelianus]

If there is no control, you can also get the worst piece.

Yes, that is where companies like Canon fall down. Their problem is a purely commercial one: do they spend the money on quality control or keep the price down and let the customer do the checking?

I suspect that you and I will agree that the manufacturer should do the testing.

In the 'fifties and 'sixties, British retailers like RG Lewis and the long gone Wallace Heaton made a major selling point out of their in-house testing facilities. Each camera, lens, etc., would be repacked with a certificate showing the results of their tests, before delivery to the customer.

Alas, such days are gone.

🙁

 

[thegman]

I don't really see any great advances coming in medium format digital at all, it's just such a niche, a much smaller niche than medium format film ever was, maybe even smaller than medium format film still is.

I guess for Mamiya to make a 7D would require a huge amount of investment, to make a camera that would sell for a great deal of money to very few people. The very few people that are interested may already be invested in a medium format digital solution they are happy with, or perhaps full-frame 35mm digital meets their needs.

For the non-pros like me shooting 6x7 or 6x9 or the like, you've got to appeal to GAS, not professional needs, and that will vary from person to person. If you offered me a Mamiya 7D or an Alpa with film back, I wouldn't hesitate to choose the Alpa. Many will be different, but the nature of GAS says many would simply want something else.

 

[Rangefinderfreak]

There is many Alpas for film formats. Also Silvestrieri, Horseman, Linhof etc etc etc... The chinese Fotoman are not that expensive.

 

[thegman]

There is many Alpas for film formats.

Not sure if this was for me or not, but I know that you can shoot Alpas with film, just saying that I'd choose one over a Mamiya 7D. I'm a hobbyist, not a pro, so that just appeals to my GAS more. Pros, I guess you need to appeal to their heads more than their hearts.

 

[HHPhoto]

I didn't know where to put this, moderators feel free to move it.

So does anyone think they Mamiya will ever make a new M7 that is digital? Perhaps that fits with their current lens line?

Hi Stone,

no, it is very very unlikely that Mamiya will do that. Because it does not make economic sense.
The market for digital cameras in general is significantly declining:

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/modules.php?name=News&file=showarticle&threadid=126539

The market for digital medium format is even much more problematic because it is a tiny tiny niche market, even smaller than the market for medium format film cameras. Due to Hasselblad only 4000-5000 digital medium format cameras are sold each year, and the number is decraesing.
Mamiya already has problems to sell its 645 AFD III.

A Mamiya 7D would need a huge sensor, which must be extremely expensive. Only very few people could afford such a camera. And such a development would cost Mamiya a fortune. It is a very small company with only 150 employees.

Mamiya would never get a return on investment with such a camera.

Cheers, Jan

 

[bwcolor]

I hate digital - because no manufacture of digital cameras has a glimmer of good mechanics. There is a good reason why LF-cameras like Linhof or Leicas are expensive - it is precision achieved in engineering art and not electronics. And I doubt, that Mamiya will bring a second camera next to their AFD-system and PhaseOne won't add a sensor.

The next generation of Leica 'M' and other top cameras will use (digital) global shutter and the mechanical shutter will be a thing of the past.

 

[thegman]

The next generation of Leica 'M' and other top cameras will use (digital) global shutter and the mechanical shutter will be a thing of the past.

If Leica does that, it will only be a thing of the past as far as Leica digital cameras go, Leica are very far away from dictating what the rest of the industry do.

Thankfully film cameras require far less investment than digital, so mechanical cameras should be able to be made so long as a very small number of people want them.

 

[jsrockit]

The next generation of Leica 'M' and other top cameras will use (digital) global shutter and the mechanical shutter will be a thing of the past.

I sure hope not... I sure like to know when I took a photo and the shutter always allows you to feel this. Even a leaf shutter allows you to feel the shutter.

 

[Rangefinderfreak]

Wow, Leica "S" is available in january 2013 in Finland... I am one of the first in line...My CFV Digital back is already sold to Hong Kong....