robert_fisher Posted February 3, 2003 Share Posted February 3, 2003 Just received email from a major British Fuji dealer that Fuji has notified them that the cameras noted above are discontinued with limited stocks still available. Fuji says that that the GX617 & GX680 systems are STILL very much alive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allan_jamieson2 Posted February 3, 2003 Share Posted February 3, 2003 If that is the case, it is a real shame in many ways to see the demise of such fine cameras. They were excellent value for money, giving you a camera and quality lens, for much the same kind of money as one Mamiya 7 lens. Hopefully, Fuji will be replacing them with something better, like a 6 x 9cm rangefinder with interchangable lenses. I've still got my own GSW690 in any case, I hope it lasts a few more years yet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miles stoddard Posted February 3, 2003 Share Posted February 3, 2003 This announcement might be more depressing than some people first think; Fuji is not exactly well-known for long-term product support of any kind with discontinued production items. In other words, PARTS. If you need any parts down the road, after a short time it may become a scavenger hunt - like it has on older Fuji 690's. To some extent, the announcement depreciated the camera overnight (though not as much as that counter on the bottom of the camera!); it is just a matter if how much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roger_michel Posted February 3, 2003 Share Posted February 3, 2003 a week or so ago, someone posted news that FUJI was discontinuing its film cameras. the us distributor (i think that's who it was) immediately chimed in that the rumor was totally false, and that it was irresponsible to spread baseless rumors. more salt with your crow?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary_watson Posted February 3, 2003 Share Posted February 3, 2003 I think the rumour(now fact)surfaced on the Luminous Landscape site over a week ago. Several apparently credible posters with business connections to Fuji reported being reassured that all this was conjecture. Obviously, Fuji plays 'em close the vest when it comes to bad news.Like others, I wonder just how long service support will be available for these items.FWIW, Fuji Canada(a great service dept.) supported folders with hard-to-find parts like bellows until last year and will likely do the same for these models. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay_. Posted February 3, 2003 Share Posted February 3, 2003 Better get used to these kinds of announcements. Sad to say but we're only at the beginning of a long road toward discontinuation of film cameras. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_f._stein Posted February 3, 2003 Share Posted February 3, 2003 Inevitable, I guess. But what has happened over the years, I believe, is less direct communication (i.e. marketing) to existing users. How many of us register a product, especially a camera, and then receive newsletters, updates, "We thought you'd like to know" items from the maufacturers. Mamiya is probably the most active in terms of camera dealer Show Days and a pretty decent User Forum on its web site, but we used to have great publications like Minolta Mirror and Olympus: Vision Age designed to cultivate one's growth in skills and loyalty. Does Hasselblad still publish those beautiful topic brochures, for example? It always struck me odd how little-if at all-Fuji even communicated to its user base. THAN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_littleboy__tokyo__ja Posted February 3, 2003 Share Posted February 3, 2003 Fuji Japan says that said rumor is complete nonsense and that, in particular, the GW680, GSW680, GW690, and GSW690 have _not_ been discontinued. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert_fisher Posted February 3, 2003 Author Share Posted February 3, 2003 Well, Fuji UK says just the opposite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert_fisher Posted February 3, 2003 Author Share Posted February 3, 2003 Are GW680/GSW680 cameras available anywhere except Japan? Not in the US or UK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_littleboy__tokyo__ja Posted February 4, 2003 Share Posted February 4, 2003 As I understand it the GW680/GSW680 were never available outside Japan and the GW670/GSW670 were never available in Japan. (Those were specific examples that I actually asked about.) The Fuji professional MF cameras are all still listed on all the Fuji US, UK, and Japan sites. http://www.fuji.co.uk/professional/cameras/index.html http://www.fujifilm.com/JSP/fuji/epartners/Products.jsp http://www.fujifilm.co.jp/camera.html I suspect that your "major British Fuji dealer" is lying to you. They don't have the camera in stock, would have to order it (and don't know how long it would take), and would rather that you switched to something that they have in stock than that you switched to another distributor. This sort of lying by dealers has been going on for as long as I've been buying cameras, which is pushing 50 years... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_bright Posted February 4, 2003 Share Posted February 4, 2003 I shall make a point of looking after my GW670111 a little more now. It produces picture quality that is as good as anything I've owned or seen. I've spent a fortune on cameras & equip over the last couple of decades, but this £649 (new) was the best value I've had. If anything the price for these cameras will probably increase, as they become harder to obtain and people realise what they've missed. Treasure your possession. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin_ing Posted February 4, 2003 Share Posted February 4, 2003 The news release section of Fuji's Japanese site says nothing about discontinuing any of their medium format film cameras. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric_duncan Posted February 4, 2003 Share Posted February 4, 2003 "Better get used to these kinds of announcements. Sad to say but we're only at the beginning of a long road toward discontinuation of film cameras." And how many digital models have been discontinued as technology races to improve? Fuji is now introducing its 4th generation super CCDs. What else is coming from Foveon? The implication that an investment in film gear is throwing money into a dead end, while investment in digital gear is securing a stake in the future is false.Buying the latest 14-megapixel digital wonder does not mean an end to spending on new equipment as new capture sensors, storage media, printers, software packages, etc are introduced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric_duncan Posted February 4, 2003 Share Posted February 4, 2003 The statement I quote above also does not consider that new film cameras and new films continue to be introduced, even as others are discontinued. This is normal market dynamics. It costs a lot to develop, launch, and support a new product. Are Nikon, Leica, Pentax, Kodak et al insane for introducing new film products into a dead end market? I think not.I have bought a Fuji digital camera, and new Epson scanner and printer. But I also continue to buy new accessories for my Bronica and Minolta film cameras, and continue shooting with them. Film will die. So will digital, and so will I. Nothing lasts forever. Individual camera discontinuations are unfortunate for those who use/like them. But I don't spend time trying to generalize or worry. Photography in some form will go on. Now, I've got some images to make. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ed farmer - mount laurel, Posted February 4, 2003 Share Posted February 4, 2003 I knew that film was dead when Nikon discontinued the F2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skygzr Posted February 4, 2003 Share Posted February 4, 2003 Robert - Could you post a link to the notice on the UK site? I can't find it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob_chong Posted February 4, 2003 Share Posted February 4, 2003 "If anything the price for these cameras will probably increase" No, they won't. When was the last time you saw this ad: "Clearance Sale! All prices raised! Hurry and get discontiniued models at 150% their regular price!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allan_jamieson2 Posted February 4, 2003 Share Posted February 4, 2003 " I suspect that your "major British Fuji dealer" is lying to you. They don't have the camera in stock, would have to order it (and don't know how long it would take), and would rather that you switched to something that they have in stock than that you switched to another distributor. " In this instance I would tend to back Robert up, as the major British dealer he is talking about is Robert White; and you will have to go a long way to find a better or more reputable camera dealer than them. It isn't in any dealers long term interest to tell a customer that a camera has been discontinued, if it hasn't. Meantime, probably best to sit back and see what news ( if any ) comes from the official Fuji channels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gnps Posted February 4, 2003 Share Posted February 4, 2003 Well, I'm going to Focus On Imaging show here in the UK on 23rd of this month. Fuji always have a large stand there and you can be sure I'll raise this issue with them directly.In the meantime I remain an enthusiastic GSW690III owner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adrian_tyler Posted February 4, 2003 Share Posted February 4, 2003 i saw a thread a while go predicting the discontinuation of fuji mf cameras, the poster got a bit of a battering, not unlike this chap. before xmas i tried to purchase a gw690 here in spain, none availablie a n y w h e r e. no problem methinks, robert white, but alas no stock, well well well well, in the end i sourced one in new york. anyway, my most experineced dealer here says to me yesterday, "i can't get them ... fuji are discontinuing the mf camera line ... to dedicate themselves to the h1 and the x-pan" kind of all makes sense now, maybe they are all lying, c o n s p i r a c y !. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gyuri Posted February 5, 2003 Share Posted February 5, 2003 <I>"Well, I'm going to Focus On Imaging show here in the UK on 23rd of this month. Fuji always have a large stand there and you can be sure I'll raise this issue with them directly. In the meantime I remain an enthusiastic GSW690III owner."</I> Dear Nigel, I suggest, to buy first a Kodak T-shirt, with a big kodak logo. When the Fuji say: "oh, we are sorry, we will stop", You just put you Kodak T-shirt on, with a BIG KODAK logo ;-) Regards, Gyuri <A HREF="www.hege.tk">www.hege.tk</A> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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