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needs a manufacturer to step up and start making affordable enthusiast film cameras again
Yea.. I'm sure something like a Mju-II mk2 would be flying off the shelves.
Think the question is just whether some manufactures gets that before prices for film and dev rise to something ridiculous per roll. I actually haven't bought film in a while (apart from cheap and cheerful 3-packs of Kodak Gold at the drugstore) and checked prices the other day and was really surprised to say the least..
salad-
It's a fine balancing act isn't ? Kodak and Fuji have bumped up prices recently as things get smaller scale and more niche.. they can't do it too much though as it starts to put people off shooting film altogether. Essentially we're paying about £20 for roll/dev/scan for 35mm Portra or Fuji Pro. That's alright as an occasional thing, but not something that's sustainable shooting day in/day out (for me at least).
I get the impression film is just about keeping it's head above water.
I read the other week that Hasselblad have discontinued Flextight scanners, and along with the previously canned Noritsu and Fuji Froniters means there isn't a new lab scanner available. Everyone is trying to keep their existing scanners going, which increasingly fall over as they get older. Lab I use is a mess of semi-broken/ just about working machines out back.The one positive thing is Fuji bringing Acros back when it looked as though they where pulling out of film altogether. Hopefully they'll commit further as they produce so much that the film industry needs - film, paper, chems, cameras, scanners etc
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It's weird isn't it. Not that I know anything about the camera business but you think given the hype it's already got and the press you'd get from releasing a new film camera, a Mju ii reissue could sell by the bucketload at over £100 a pop.
Ste_S
lemonade
Yeah, that's a definitely an issue. Long term it needs a manufacturer to step up and start making affordable enthusiast film cameras again to keep the film bubble going.
I'd hope as digital sales are further erroded by phones, someone might start to look at film again.