chris_lee21 Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 Picture: http://www.fujifilm.co.jp/press/img/ffnr0052_h.jpg News release: http://www.fujifilm.co.jp/corporate/news/article/ffnr0052.html This version (Klasse "W") features a fixed 28/2.8 lens that is said to be SLR quality. There will be an "S" version in the spring with a 38/2.6 lens. Price will likely be around US$700. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew in Austin Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 So, Fuji didn't throw away the tooling for the old Klasse. Rollei sold a rebadged version of this camera for a couple of years before offering a version of the Cosina/Voigtlander Bessa R2. Best Regards - Andrew in Austin, TX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig_Cooper11664875449 Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 I thought it was a digital for a moment... damn, its just another film cam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_neuthaler Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 ugly little thing, ain't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric friedemann Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 "Price will likely be around US$700." But will Fuji sell it in the U.S.? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dennis_cheng1 Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 Great, another film camera! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank_scheitrowsky1 Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 Funny, I was thinking it would be just another digicam. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troll Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 So THAT's what finally happened to the Argus C-4 tooling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephan_hugel Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 That 38/2.6...Will it be as nice as the T3? Hrmm.The Fujinon on my 24/1.9 Natura is nice, but not as nice as the Sonnar on the T3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pics Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 $700 for a film point and shoot in the year 2006/2007? I'm all for new film cameras, but I can't imagine this idea resulting in anything other than failure no matter how "high-end" it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elmarfudd Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 I think it's very good news for film users. The worlds biggest film manufacturer bringing out a high end film p&s shows commitment to the market. Whether it will sell or not is a different matter.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al_kaplan1 Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 A lot of casual shooters complain about the quality of the prints they get at home on their inexpensive printers, and if they get them made at the drugstore they may as well just shoot film. Just about every week CVS or Walgreens or somebody else advertises four-packs of Kodak or Fuji ISO 200 color film at $5.99. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akochanowski Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 Al, if you're going to get 6x4's from Walmart or Costco you might as well use a cheap digicam and give the clerk a card to print them up and save the trouble of cheap film and processing. Whether they are negatives or start out as digital media, the printing process is exactly the same on exactly the same papers and exactly the same machine. Any camera made today will give you a decent 6x4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rj Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 No offence to expensive point and shoot owners, but 700 bucks for a film point and shoot seems a bit high. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al_kaplan1 Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 No offense taken Andy, but some people just LIKE film, they like having negatives that they can hold and look at, or just possibly they might like the look of film produced prints. Kodak and Fuji amateur films are a lot better than the private label. Don't knock it if you haven't tried it. And then there's the reality that most people never get prints bigger than 4x6. Not everybody orders 20x30 prints from their Leica negs either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_lee21 Posted October 31, 2006 Author Share Posted October 31, 2006 Fuji was actually quite profitable from film camera sales last year. The Natura line was a big hit and they introduced additional models this year. Frankly, I think in Japan people have more balanced and informed views about the relative strengths and weakness of film versus digital and many people still shoot film, either entirely or in combination with digital. Their magazines are also not as biased towards digital as the US ones. Stephan: In terms of image quality I believe the Klasse's is meant to be more like Leica CM or Contax T3 than the Natura you have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew robertson Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 Why the hell would anybody buy this machine to make 4x6 prints? This is a real camera, just like the old Klasse. As real of a camera no doubt as any Leica CM or Contax Twhatever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stan_belyaev Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 $700 is a very reasonable price for a brand new camera with a very high quality lens. I will definitely buy one if Fuji sells this cameras in US. Ten yaers later I'll sell it for about the same money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pics Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 Outside of Leicaphile collector types who may buy one in hopes of it becoming a neat novelty item years down the road (don't count on it), I can't see a sizable demand for something like this. I give it 2-3 years on the marketplace. Outside of the independently wealthy, I can't imagine too many people taking $700 out of their photographic budget to aquire yet another P+S. Now if Fuji gave you free film for life with it we'd have a deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fred_c1 Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 >I can't imagine too many people taking $700 out of their photographic budget to aquire yet another P+S. Care to name other merchandise whose retail price never changes during its production? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pics Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 What's your point? Mine is that this is a $700 point and shoot! If you are buying it on speculation of it being a collectors item then go ahead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pierre_claquin1 Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 What is this new camera going to do than an Hexar does not at almost half the price? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lloyd_chan Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 It will not be sold outside of Japan. Fuji is only producing 8000 of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackson loi Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 If I want a 35mm P&S (which I don't), I'd rather get a Contax T2 or T3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rp turner Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 What a coincidence. I just loaded my Rollei 35AFM (rebadged original Klasse with 38mm, f/2.6 Apogon lens) with some expiring Reala a couple of days ago. What a fantastic lens. Is just as sharp if not sharper than the Leica CM and Contax T3. I have all three of them. This new camera is obviously built on the same body. One difference appears to be that the dial on the front of the new "W" now seems to control exposure compensation, while it controls zone focusing distances on my model. Do you suppose the "W" designation is in honor of our president, who recently pledged to defend Japan from N. Korea with nuclear weapons if necessary? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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