In message said:Given the news about Konica-Minolta exiting the photo-business, has
anyone heard
anything about what is happening with their scanners?
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0601/06011901konicaminoltaout.asp
W
At the end they say they'll be:Surfer! said:
Surfer! said:
This can simply be summed up as "Cut and Run".
That's probably overstated, but it doesn't affect your conclusion 'there isDon said:I don't think so. It's just normal business practice in response to
failing customer demand.
As I noted some time ago, the scanner "fad" has peaked about 12-18
months ago. In other words, most who wanted to get a scanner have
already done so and sales are now dropping rapidly.
I mean, Nikon hasn't released a new scanner for a couple of years now
either. And even back then there was nothing new, just repackaged old
scanners really (same resolution, same bit-depth, etc).
Furthermore, this "let's digitize our films" fad was also responded to
by various businesses which offered this as a service. Most people
were quite happy to let a service do this instead of doing it
themselves. So it was a fairly limited specialty market to start with.
Besides, one of the reasons people want to digitize their analog film
in the first place is because they have already gone digital by
switching to digicams. Pretty soon it's going to be just as hard to
find film as is to find an LP these days, which is a niche market.
As I noted some time ago, the scanner "fad" has peaked about 12-18
months ago. In other words, most who wanted to get a scanner have
already done so and sales are now dropping rapidly.
I mean, Nikon hasn't released a new scanner for a couple of years now
either. And even back then there was nothing new, just repackaged old
scanners really (same resolution, same bit-depth, etc).
Furthermore, this "let's digitize our films" fad was also responded to
by various businesses which offered this as a service. Most people
were quite happy to let a service do this instead of doing it
themselves. So it was a fairly limited specialty market to start with.
Besides, one of the reasons people want to digitize their analog film
in the first place is because they have already gone digital by
switching to digicams. Pretty soon it's going to be just as hard to
find film as is to find an LP these days, which is a niche market.
Therefore, film scanners are going to get as rare as record players.
rafe b said:IMO, the two significant film scanners introduced
in the last two years were the Nikon LS-9000 and
the Minolta 5400. Though I would have preferred
to believe that the 9000 was only an "incremental"
improvement over the 8000, it seems to be a
significant increment. These two machines are
demonstrably sharper than their peers.
I wish you wouldn't say that. My 8000 is flaking out, and a new 9000 is
about US$3000 in Tokyo. Aaaaaaaaaaarg.
rafe b said:Well, you've got a 5D. So you don't really need
a new scanner, do you?
Seriously though -- I've seen the evidence, both
on the Minolta and the 8000. Much as I love my
Nikon scanner, it's been bettered.
IMO, the two significant film scanners introduced
in the last two years were the Nikon LS-9000 and
the Minolta 5400. Though I would have preferred
to believe that the 9000 was only an "incremental"
improvement over the 8000, it seems to be a
significant increment. These two machines are
demonstrably sharper than their peers.
The question here is, who needs the extra resolution? Can you print
big enough to show the difference in resolution without grain getting in
the way.
Is there a direct comparison of the LS-8000 and the LS-9000 available
on the web?
rafe b said:www.terrapinphoto.com/jmdavis
There are full-res scans from my LS8000 and
some beautiful BW scans by Max Perl on an
LS9000, some of the sharpest I've ever seen.
And several scans from the 5400 also.
But aren't those the gigabit scans? My impression was that the sharpness of
those scans was more a matter of the film than the scanner.
But aren't those the gigabit scans? My impression was that the sharpness of
those scans was more a matter of the film than the scanner.
That's probably overstated, but it doesn't affect your conclusion 'there is
no real money in film scanners'. With K-M in all likelihood gone Nikon has
the film scanner market for itself, might still be interesting enough to keep
the best selling model(s) in production for some years.
As one who has been scanning film since around
1998, I wouldn't exactly refer to it as a "fad."
It's a shame, 'cuz I still enjoy working with film.
Scanned 4x5 kicks butt, and no affordable
digital camera can touch it.
That's what I mean. There will be a niche market because some people
find analog to be "warmer" and generally just like it. Same reason why
some, especially classics fans, to this day prefer vinyl over CDs.
Speaking as a lover of Classical music, I reckon that most people
couldn't hear the difference between vinyl & CDs if they were not told
what the source was.
CDs have been a huge boon IMHO as the recording companies have been
searching their back-catalogues and re-releasing old recordings - for
example last week we were listening to Casals playing the Bach Cello
suites, in a 1939 recording. That must have been out of the catalogues
for almost 50 years before Naxos started re-releasing historic
recordings.
Personally my interest in taking film is that it's so easy to take loads
of shots without really thinking with digital - I feel my photography
will benefit from a bit more thought.