| January 12, 2006: Will today be remembered as the day film photography officially died?
Nikon, a company whose name was associated for decades with the best in 35mm professional photography, has announced that it will stop making 35mm film cameras–with two exceptions–and focus all of its resources on digital photography. The company says it will continue to produce the its flagship film model, the F6, and the student-level FM10, but will not develop any more new 35mm models. All other film camera production is to be discontinued immediately. According to an announcement posted on Nikon’s UK-based web site this morning, “Nikon Corporation has made the decision to focus management resources on digital cameras in place of film cameras. This will allow Nikon to continue to develop products that match the demands of an increasingly competitive market place.” The statement went on to note that 95 percent of the company’s British business is now digital. Nikon also claims profits on digital camera sales, led by the D70s and D50, rose 20 percent in the first fiscal half of 2005, and overall sales rose 9.8 percent. The news may come as a shock to some, but it should not be a surprise: While other camera companies–notably Konica Minolta, Pentax, and Canon–continue to make 35mm SLRs and point-and-shoot cameras, the number of products has been dwindling over the last five years as sales have plummeted. No major new film cameras have been announced over the last several years. 35mm film was a standard photography format for over 60 years, starting with the introduction of the first Leica rangefinder cameras. Nikons became popular in the aftermath of World War II, and the company’s F-series of professional SLRs became a workhorse for photojournalists in the 1960s. In addition to 35mm SLRs, Nikon announced that it has discontinued manufacture of lenses for large-format cameras and darkroom enlargers. Nikon will continue to make the following lenses for its 35mm cameras: |
THE END OF AN ERA
