Konica-Minolta to exit camera/photo market

[geese]

Point and shoot is definitely going well with mobile phones. i am based in the UK, and remember when the London boming happened, all pics/videos on the TV are from camera phones. with some good camera phones on the market now, day to day pic can be achieved with phones like Sharp 903 or the new Samsung with 8MP camera, even good enough for printing. as i did mention on the other post, that Nokia have a section on their site http://www.seenew.com where you can find photos taken by proper photographers with Nokia N90. the quality is not bad at all.

obviously not good enough for proper commercial use but otherwise, SLRs will be out of the business.

also, i would like to add that size is not everything. remember when our first mainframe computer was invented, who would believe in a PDA phone with 400mhz processor and 128 memory? so i see no reason why not to believe one day compact (size wise) cameras or camera phones taking over the whole SLR in maybe 10-15 yrs ! !

I think camera phones have expanded the camera market rather then replace the traditional camera.

The quality of camera phones is getting better, but it wont reach the level of a 'proper' digital camera, simply because the lens is so much smaller. A decent camera has a lens size that if put on a phone, would make the phone huuuge! Its more of a physics problem, then a technology one. And also it is difficult to put a proper flash on one. They'll certainly never replace SLR's I doubt Nokia would make a phone that you change the lenses on, or are able to manually control lighting and film speed).

I dont think people will stop buy cameras, they'll be used for occasions like holidays or what have you. Camera phones will be more for every day things events. Like going to the pub.

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

I think camera phones have expanded the camera market rather then replace the traditional camera.

The quality of camera phones is getting better, but it wont reach the level of a 'proper' digital camera, simply because the lens is so much smaller. A decent camera has a lens size that if put on a phone, would make the phone huuuge! Its more of a physics problem, then a technology one. And also it is difficult to put a proper flash on one. They'll certainly never replace SLR's I doubt Nokia would make a phone that you change the lenses on, or are able to manually control lighting and film speed).

I dont think people will stop buy cameras, they'll be used for occasions like holidays or what have you. Camera phones will be more for every day things events. Like going to the pub.

But a vast majority of users are only really looking for decent 4x6 prints. And "decent" is in the eye of the beholder. I had a customer recently that wanted a 4x6 print from her camcorder. Gave her a print from the Kodak kiosk. She was pleased beyond belief. I was "OK" with the results.

I can see the likes of an Olympus Stylus 800 sized phone and camera combination. The phone would require maybe the use of a headset of some sort, and a stylus for touch screen input, but not out of the realm of reality.

 

[geese]

I can see the likes of an Olympus Stylus 800 sized phone and camera combination. The phone would require maybe the use of a headset of some sort, and a stylus for touch screen input, but not out of the realm of reality.

It isnt, but how do you get the balance right? camera-phone? phone-camera?

Mobiles can take decent quality pics alot of time (although the night time quality isnt good enough for most people), but i'm still not convinced by some arguments that say they'll replace the point'n'shoot camera in the future. It might do in part, but I still reckon people will buy both.

Its like the mp3 phones and the iPod- the phone should be a fine candidate to replace the iPod, but its not happening yet.

 

[Le Big Mac]

But a vast majority of users are only really looking for decent 4x6 prints..

Right, but dSLRs aren't aimed at those users, and users of dSLRs aren't looking for only decent 4x6 prints. Maybe the P&S will go away, all combined with cell phones. But not as a replacement for a dSLR.

 

[kwajo.com]

i see no reason why not to believe one day compact (size wise) cameras or camera phones taking over the whole SLR in maybe 10-15 yrs ! !

SLR will not be dying any time soon. The market is growing for them right now, and their sizes cannot get much smaller because in order to use the lenses they require, the distance from the lens to the sensor needs to stay the same. Plus people like the feel. a bigger, solid, heavier camera is better for steady shots, and they just feel good to shoot with.

another thing that may die, but I hope it won't, is the viewfinder. I can't stand using the LCD to frame a shot, well, I can stand it, but it sucks for manual focus, as do a lot of electronic viewfinders. nothing beats a nice big, bright pentaprism (not pentamirror) viewfinder, they are pure joy to use

 

[Lincoln]

Minolta will be missed

I think that it is sad that Konica-Minolta are exiting the market, I used to have one of their 3rd generation Film SLRS a while ago and it handled really well. I currently use a Canon 20D which is an excellent DSLR.

I think they left it a bit late before releasing their own digital SLR and from what I've read the cost of the componets inside the camera must have left very little profit for them especially if they tried to compete agains the Nikons and Canons out there.

One less competitor means one less reason for the others to innovate, lets hope that Pentax can stay around.

Finally, it should be interesting to see how Sony develop whats left of Konica-Minolta. Lets hope that the R1 is just a sign of things to come!

 

[Counterfit]

another thing that may die, but I hope it won't, is the viewfinder. I can't stand using the LCD to frame a shot, well, I can stand it, but it sucks for manual focus, as do a lot of electronic viewfinders. nothing beats a nice big, bright pentaprism (not pentamirror) viewfinder, they are pure joy to use

Amen! I was just looking at a Sony camera on Wednesday (just for kicks, I'd never seriously consider an EVF camera). The resolution determines whether you'll be able to focus it well enough, especially when doing macro stuff.

One less competitor means one less reason for the others to innovate, lets hope that Pentax can stay around.

I don't think it will change much as far as innovation from Canon and Nikon goes. Those two push each other quite a bit, and have basically left the others in the dust.

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

I don't think it will change much as far as innovation from Canon and Nikon goes. Those two push each other quite a bit, and have basically left the others in the dust.

Well look at the landscape so far from the underdogs of Konica-Minolta, Olympus, and Pentax. KM offers image stabilization in the body. Olympus offers sonic dust cleaning of the sensor and now live preview, and the fastest zoom lenses for a DSLR. Pentax, well their claim to fame was the smallest DSLR (quickly copied) and great compatibility with older lenses (still not quite matched).

 

[Counterfit]

Well look at the landscape so far from the underdogs of Konica-Minolta, Olympus, and Pentax. KM offers image stabilization in the body. Olympus offers sonic dust cleaning of the sensor and now live preview, and the fastest zoom lenses for a DSLR. Pentax, well their claim to fame was the smallest DSLR (quickly copied) and great compatibility with older lenses (still not quite matched).

I wish I could get sonic duct cleaning for the focusing screen on my Rebel 2k...

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

Man, some are late to the Wake: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/191737/

(and maybe myself, since I just saw the above thread)

Given the large emerging market in China and elsewhere, it is thought that Sony was/is looking for an easy way in. In developed markets (US/Europe) there is a demand for support for what K-M left behind.

 

[bousozoku]

Man, some are late to the Wake: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/191737/

(and maybe myself, since I just saw the above thread)

Given the large emerging market in China and elsewhere, it is thought that Sony was/is looking for an easy way in. In developed markets (US/Europe) there is a demand for support for what K-M left behind.

That thread points to this thread.

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

That thread points to this thread.

I know that. But there were comments that deserve some comment here.

Sorry if I tried to keep this thread alive for those that did not do a search.