Konica Minolta pull out

[sammm]

Note that there is also a Sony Press Release today: http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/News/Press/200601/06-0119E/

[ottocrat]

Very sad news today. My first SLR was an X-500 back in 1986 and I used that exclusively right through to 2003 when I bought a Dynax 5, wanting autofocus to catch my toddler on the move. I held out for a couple of years waiting for Minolta to bring out a DSLR but in the end I couldn't wait any longer, and made the jump to Nikon. When the Dynax 5D was announced I kicked myself, this morning I was congratulating myself. If Minolta had been quicker off the mark to compete with the D70 and the 300D, perhaps we wouldn't be reading this news today.

 

As for those who say the name doesn't matter, Sony will carry on exactly where Minolta left off... I don't buy that. My Minolta camera has lasted me twenty years - I wouldn't expect anything from Sony to last more than three. It's not a brand I trust.

[ericd]

Robert, I'am Milnota user and own some killer lenses like the Rokkor 24mm/2.8 or the 85mm/1.7. When I wrote the "weak point of KM SLR offer was a limited choice of lenses" I didn't wrote that Minolta made bad lenses but that in their current offer the choice of lenses was limited compared to Ninon or Cakon ;-). That's especially true for DSLR lenses, they were rebranding Tamron lenses to fill the hole in their catalog.

From a marketing POV I hardly imagine Sony selling his DSLR with Sony lenses while their bidge cameras have Zeiss-branded lenses.

[ericd]

The real sad new is that they discontinue Konica films. Centuria 100 and Centuria 800 were very good stuff IMO.

[theaudiodoc]

Eric,

 

I see what you mean. The Minolta system may not have been as extensive as Canon's and Nikon's, but still it was extensive enough. Now the worry has to be what kind of system will be available in the future. What lenses and other accessories will be available in the rebranded Sony Maxxum lineup (other than used)? What about the announced 35mm f1.4 G (D) lens and other updated G and other lenses that many had hoped for?

 

Sam,

 

"Still, if they don't demonstrate clear commitment to the lens line as well as the body, I'll be trying to transition out. Unless someone can tell me where to find an 85/1.4 G really cheap... or the 80-200 ..."

You are not alone. Why would someone want to by into a Sony DSLR not knowing what system of new lenses, and accessories will be available? I am still shooting film with my Dynax 7 and Maxxum 5. Haven't committed to a DSLR yet, though I have had a digital point and shoot for more than five years now. Should I stay aboard a sinking ship waiting for Sony to come to the rescue? Or should I jump ship to Canon or Nikon? I'm sure there many of you that are wondering the same thing. This really needs to be clarified by Sony and KM, and very soon! I for one am not going to buy another KM branded product until I know.

 

Robert

[nee_sung]

1. Well, so much for the 9D!

 

2. I hope KM lenses will be dumped on the market.

 

3. Better get my film-7 back from the shop where I'm selling on consignment. I hope they haven't sold it.

[bob_gentile]

Yeah... it's a sad day (sniff). I started with Minolta back in '67 with a -101. I still

have it, plus a coupla other SRTs, an assortment of Rokkor lenses, and all the other

Minolta "manual" stuff I'll ever need or want. I sat out the shift to AF but

recently "went digital" with a Minolta Scan Elite 5400.

<p>Minolta has been in my world longer than either of my wives! Ha! But, like them, I

realize that no manufacturer can commit to a camera or lens series foreveror even to

photography. Technology moves too fast and it's moving faster all the time. Heck, the next

technology paradigm may make <em>lenses</em> obsolete! When that happens, <em>none</em>

the great optics companies will have anything to bring to the table and it'll be a whole

new ballgame. Goodbye Nikon, Canon, Shneider, Rodenstock, Copal, et al. The world moves

on.</p>

 

<p>As an <em>emotional</em> reaction, I'm saddened to see another venerable marquee

retiredjust as when I heard that Austin-Healey would no longer be making roadsters

or that Rabco would no longer be making tonearms for audio turntables. And then, to add

insult to injury, Thorens stopped making turntables! <em>Sacré bleu!</em> And the world

moves on.</p>

 

<p>But<em>rationally</em>I think... when Burke & James went out of

business, it didn't affect my 4x5 shooting. And... since I can still grab an image with an

SRT, get it into Photoshop with a 5400, and print it on an Epson, Minolta's leaving the

photo world won't <em>really</em> affect my 35mm shooting.  The world moves on and

I'll just move on with it.

[cmphoto1]

Lots of comments and concern about Sony's commitment.

 

All this makes me think that Sony is going to have to make some announcements at PMA.

 

chad

[joe_astro]

Well, I just read the official word on Steve's digicam's

http://www.steves-digicams.com/diginews.html#km-out

Minolta was my first camera (film). As others have said before when Konica got ahold of them I knew the out look was dim at best.

 

In 2004, when I picked a direction to go "digital" I went with Canon and bought a 20D. I have used it semi-professionally and have been very happy with it.

 

Anybody out there have any great ideas on converting (if possible the bayonets of my Minolta lens to Canon?

[photojoe]

I feel Sony could do good things with marketing and even hardware for the Dynax/Maxxum camera line. They have comitted to making compatable DSLR products for the future.

<P><P>

Yet, in light of the recent fiasco with <a href="http://blogs.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/">SONY illegaly installing Rootkits on their customers computers</a> I have grave concerns about the software that one might be required to intall in order to use any new Sony Dynax/Maxxum cameras that they produce.

[clinton_abe]

The first generation of Sony DSLRs will probably be made in KM's factory along with the lenses that KM produced. KM is becoming an OEM supplier to Sony. It is unlikely that Sony would build a whole factory when they can buy the stuff from KM.

 

On my recent trip to the CES, I was talking to the Sony sales manager in my area. We were talking about the upcoming cameras and the lenses. He said Sony equipment not only comes with Carl Zeiss lenses, but also Canon lenses. The Canon lenses are used on the studio (TV) equipment. Maybe some day in the far, far future, we'll see Canon lenses made on the former KM AF mount. Ahhh, the possibilities.

[jbs]

Wow! And the Dimage prosumer camera's (7*-A2,A200) were the best on the market. The best feel in any camera I've owned. Anyone selling their A2?

[chris_harley1]

What we all really need now is some quick and definitive news from Sony to say they're really commited to supporting Minolta users. If they don't they'll lose that core base of users they hoped to capture. What a crappy day.

[chris_harley1]

Oh, and by the way Clinton I'm big enough to admit I was wrong and you were right regarding Minolta's plans. Still, I guess we're all losers in this one :(

[User_502260]

The question now is not which companies will still make cameras, film or digital, but whether an SLR type camera will remain in production at all. Before the introduction of the Minolta Maxxum 7000 (Dynax) in 1985, film SLR sales in the U.S. had slumped from a peak of 6,000,000 units to a low of 1,500,000. Konica's landmark C35AF in 1978 started the trend toward compact AF point & shoot viewfinder cameras. Many amateurs got sharper photos with an AF point & shoot camera than they could with a manual focus SLR camera. The Maxxum changed all that. By 1986 both Canon and Nikon had AF SLR film cameras on the market. A few other companies made them but only the ones from Minolta, Canon and Nikon succeeded in the market.

 

We are now in an awkward situation. Support for all photography related to film is falling away very quickly. When the average snapshooter can no longer have film processed conveniently, it's dead. That day is coming very soon. Sony may or may not continue to make an SLR camera. I would have to bet they will either not make one or will make one for only a very short time. The EVF cameras offer many of the benefits of an SLR camera and before digital photography there was no EVF type camera available for still shooting. If EVF or viewfinder type digital cameras keep getting better and cheaper there wil be fewer and fewer people willing to pay $1,000 or more for a DSLR. Not only will SLR type cameras disappear, fixed focal length (prime) lenses will also disappear. If the zooms that replace them are good enough and fast enough and if digital sensors improve their ability to deliver high quality images in low light then prime lenses may not be needed. That's what happened to amateur 8mm and Super-8 movie cameras. The older models had interchangeable lenses or lens turrets but everything changed over to zoom lenses. Once the volume of buyers for a particular product drops too much, no matter how high the price is the manufacturer can't make money. That's what happened to the Zeiss Contax cameras made by Kyocera. That's what is also happening to the very expensive digital backs made for medium format film cameras.

 

My first good camera was a Konica SLR so I wil miss the combined company but my collection has far more cameras and lenses than I everdreamed about when I started taking pictures 35 years ago. I was thinking of getting a Konica-Minolta 5400 scanner. Does anyone think the scanner line will be continued by Sony?

[bill_tuthill]

Sam M-M, where do you get the impression that Minolta will still

manufacture cameras and lenses for Sony? Minolta has not designed

a single new lens since the 70-200/2.8 SSM and 300/2.8 SSM. All other

new Minolta lenses were manufactured by Tamron. There is nothing in

either press release about K-M designing, let alone manufacturing,

new Sony DSLR models. Perhaps some K-M employees were transferred to

Sony. Let's hope so, because Minolta ergonomics are superior to Sony

by a wide margin.

[walfredo_cirne]

Hi All!!

 

I'm a long time Canon user (both film and digital) who recently bought a KM 5D. The reason for the purchase was its low light capabilities. A fast prime, ISO 3200 and image stabilization is a dream, and exclusive of KM SLRs.

 

So, in all this discussion, Jeff seems to have a really good analysis. If he's right, the is no evolution for the very low available light crew. Is this really the case? Am I just out of mass market?

 

[]s

Walfredo<div></div>

[clinton_abe]

Bill- KM's earlier press releases stated that they were getting out of selling the consumer directly and would move to become a OEM supplier for other companies. Also, KM still has the capability to produce cameras. Sony is just going to contract to have KM produce the DSLRs, rather than build their own factory. Perhaps at some future date, Sony may buy the KM factory outright.

 

As to the lenses, it is unclear what will happen. I guess it depends to the response to the new DSLRs.

 

I would imagine that you will see a large effort by Sony to promote the new DSLRs, something that KM couldn't afford to do. You'll see a lot more advertising in a lot more areas.

 

So, all you Minolta supporters better get over the shock of the recent news and support Sony. Otherwise, in a few years, you'll be complaining when Sony announces that they are dropping 'production' of their DSLR line and no one produces a camera body that uses the Minolta A-mount lenses. (Actually, I would think at that point, the rights to the lensmount would be bought by some company in China, which will then produce bodies in China.)

[mark_tompkins]

Article in the Wall St Journal (today, page A11) said the KM is selling some assets related to DSLRs operations to Sony. Also said that Sony plans on launching a DSLR over the summer. Sony says they are taking over development, design and production assets that will be necessary for them to release new DSLR camera models. Looks KM will not be making cameras for Sony. Article doesn't mention lenses.

[bill_thorlin]

Both the press releases ( Sony & KM ) say "partial transfer of certain assets". As usual it is obscure ( could be deliberately so given past track record ) and open to many interpretations. Maybe sometime we will get a clear statement.

[clinton_abe]

Bill- Among the 'assets' that are being tranferred are the rights to the A-mount and the Anti-Shake technologies. It is interesting to note that in none of the press releases nor news stories, is there talk about Sony paying for these assets. Usually you'll read something like "Sony pays $$$ for KM's lensmount and AS technologies". Did KM just give the rights away? I guess we'll have to wait to look at KM's financial reports.

[greg_heil1]

Clinton

 

> (Actually, I would think at that point, the rights to the lensmount would be bought by some company in China, which will then produce bodies in China.)

 

AFAIK there is no reason for anyone to "buy" the lens mount. It is now well in the public domain. There are plenty of lenses out there. But will anyone put out bodies with the good new features (like riding the mirror pentaprism anachronisms etc) and keep the good innovations that Minolta created (ergonomics AS etc) without loading it up with intrusive, market segmenting, consumer unfriendly, features like DRM, encryption etc? i would love to see someone in China do it, if they have the technology. Maybe Samsung/Pentax will adopt the mount. i don't think they'd mind poking Sony in the eye if they got too proprietary. Nah, they have enough mounts to sell their bodies with.

 

O/w a single source like Sony does not leave me feeling confident. Their proprietary approach is the reason for most of their failures - despite their excellent technology. i am thinking particularly of their MD technology. Truly the right stuff, but they stuffed that little write only bit into it so consumer devices could only get Analog data out of their MD's. Even if they plugged the MD into a read/write drive on one of Sonys own computers (which all remained niche products for the same set of reasons). Totally anti consumer gratuitous violence. Just because they wanted to segment the market.

 

The consumer photography market can probably suffer this segmentation enough to keep Sony's profits rolling ... but what about folks on a forum like this - will we accept having our own photographs held hostage? i admire the technology that is in the 828 ... a great camera, too bad it is totally unusable for someone who wants to operate in a raw mode and get professional level control, and results out. These are software devices now, not the hardware that we are used to tinkering around and making do with. It will be very easy for Sony to keep going on its well trodden course.

 

Someday, When the Sheep Look Up, we will just make our own cameras. Distributed, open source, manufacturing is not an impossibility you know. Universal assemblers are getting more and more accessible. It is our dollars, and if we choose so, we can get what we want.

[bill_thorlin]

The only specifically mentioned technology that I can see is the lensmount/A-mount.

 

To repeat - "partial transfer" - transfer sounds a lot different from "sell" - so who knows.

 

Perhaps the most important aspect that has gone unmentioned is "staff", apart from another load being got rid off. This is where the innovation comes from - perhaps all the good ones left when they saw the future of "photo imaging" in the first 5 year plan.

[clinton_abe]

Greg- I wasn't talking about companies coming out with lenses that fit the KM A-mount, I was talking about bodies that have the lensmount. Sony owns, or will own, the rights to this. So, if they decide to dump the DSLR market, they may sell the rights to the mount.

[chris_at_vividoptic.com]

At LAST a company with a marketing department takes hold of the KM dSLR and lens line.

 

HOORAY.

 

Just you watch. There will be a 5D upgrade, 7D upgrade, and 9D launch all at the same time. And they will bring back the 100/2 as a sign of there commitment. Watch that space.

 

BRING IT ON SONY I vowed that when the 9D was launched I would not buy it, happy enough with my 10,110 frames off my 7D. But, if the 7Dii or Sony 9D is at a good price. I will buy one as my sign of respect for a GOOD MOVE.