BizNet OnLine Magazine, The Death Of The 35MM SLR

Is The Professional 35mm SLR Dead?
OMG! Has the 35mm Pro SLR gone the way of the Dodo Bird?

by Mike Lipshultz

Well I just got back from CES 2008, and PMA (Photo Marketing Association) 2008 is around the corner. And I can tell you that the 35mm SLR is still alive, but it is on it’s last leg.

At onetime Olympus, Minolta. Canon, Nikon, and Pentax, all had a very nice pro level lineup of film cameras, but the times they are a changing.

Look at this:

Olympus
Minolta
Canon
Nikon
Pentax

No Pro level 35mm being made.
Have 3 Cameras that I would call pro level.
Also has 3 in it’s line up.
Down to one!
No Pro level 35mm being made.

So if you are looking to get into a pro-level 35mm SLR you have a total of 7 models from 3 manufactures being made.

For now. I’m sure that as time goes on the list will shrink. I doubt that any manufacture will be investing in any further “new” cameras.

In fact if it was not for strong sales in Asia of film cameras most of the above manufactures would have called film cameras dead some time ago.

As such (and being a fan of film) I hate to say this but I would expect that in 2 to 3 more years film cameras in 35mm may be dead as with the exception of only one or two models to select from, and with those being the “last” models made.

Digital has gotten so good, and the high end units pricing out closer and closer to film (and in some cases better), that the beginning of the end is here.

BizNet Magazine Supports:

Because It's The Right Thing To Do.

If You Entered This Page Through a Search Engine Or Any Other Framed Website Click Here To Return To BizNet Online Magazine