Mamiya and the
Digital Revolution

Along with
Hasselblad,
Pentax, Contax,
Bronica and some
other companies,
Mamiya used to be
a dominant player
in the medium
format segment of
the camera
industry.

The medium format segment is
comprised of those cameras which use
6*6, 6*4,5 and 6*7 cm film. The segment
has always been very small in relation to
the camera industry, only about 1-3
percent of all cameras sold have been
medium format cameras. It has always
been a niche market for professional
photographer.

On September 1, 2006, the
Mamiya camera business was
sold to Cosmo Digital and
formed a new company,
Mamiya Digital Imaging.

The shift
to digital
imaging
had
created a
lot of
problems
for the
company.

Let’s go back in time and
take a look at what
happened to Mamiya.

Mamiya emerged after the second world
war as a low cost alternative to Rollei. The
Mamiya camera was not as small or
smooth, but it was reasonably cheap and
unlike Rollei had interchangeable lenses.
Over the years, Mamiya kept improving
their products and emerged as a formidable
competitor to Hasselblad, for instance in
the segment for wedding photography.

Over the years, thousands of wedding memories
have been captured by Mamiya cameras.

It was actually in
Mamiya’s
segment that
digital imaging
started to
prosper in the
early 1990s.

Some of the
first digital
imaging
technology
came from
Leaf
Systems.

Leaf produced digital backs, which
could be attached to Hasselblad
cameras instead of film.

It looked like this.

Yes, big and bulky.

But the business utility
was great. Many film
photos were digitized
sooner or later anyway.
With a digital back, one
step in the production of
photos could be removed.

The first digital backs were
expensive and had a moderate
performance. The first one by Leaf
had 4 Megapixels and Kodak
launched one with 6 Mpixels.

But the performance was good
enough for some applications.

Press and Studio photographers
loved it and NASA was very
interested in the Kodak sensor.

Digital
imaging had
other
attributes
which made
it attractive.

An infinite
amount of
photos could
be taken and
then be
replicated,
manipulated
and sent, at a
very low cost.

So the
business utility
of a digital
back which
cost maybe
30 000 dollars
was still big.

And the image
quality was
Good Enough,
as long as the
photos were
not enlarged.

Despite the fact that digital
imaging actually had a high
business utility in these early
days, none of the established
medium format firms
succeeded in developing their
own digital backs.

Instead, many companies
were created around the idea
to develop digital backs for
established medium
format players.

Leaf…

Imacon…

Sinar…

Kodak also
developed
some digital
backs…

Phase One…

During the 1990s, these
companies kept selling digital
backs which could be
attached to medium format
cameras.

The analogue medium format
was still healthy, though the
segment kept shrinking due
to the improved performance
of smaller cameras.

The next big thing in this
segment was autofocus.
Mamiya, Hasselblad, Contax
and the others sought to
develop this new feature in
the late 1990s.

Mamiya introduced
autofocus in the
645 AF 4.5×6 SLR in 1999.

Having done so before
Hasselblad, the company
obtained an increased market
share on this shrinking market.

Together with back
manufacturers, Mamiya was able
to deliver a digital system at an
early point. However, this did by
no means guarantee the long
term survival of the company.

The Nikon D1 launched 1999 was the
first true alternative for most
photographers who wanted digital
cameras. It was mortal to many of
the old camera firms…

The digital SLR cameras from
Canon and Nikon were cheaper,
lighter and good enough.

These companies invested
massively in R&D and generated
cheaper and more advanced
models at a furious pace.

Within a few years, Hasselblad and Mamiya lost the
entire wedding photography segment to Canon.

Thus, the medium format
segment shrank even further
with the shift to digital imaging
and this put Mamiya in
some great trouble.

Collaborating with Leaf and
providing great but very
expensive products was
simply not enough.

However, Mamiya went further
in this direction – in 2004 the
company announced the
Mamiya ZD and the
Mamiya ZD digital back.

These products were severely
delayed. It is very hard for a
small company with shrinking
revenues to develop new
products, especially in such a
competitive market.

The Mamiya ZD was not
launched until early 2006 and
by then, the SLR models from
Canon and Nikon had reached
a performance level which
implied that few customers
demanded an expensive,
fantastic but big camera.

Thus, the efforts which were
put into these products did
not result in improved
financial results.

The situation became
desperate and Mamiya
announced in early 2006 that
the camera division
was for sale.

Mamiya had up until this point
been regarded as a survivor
since competitors like Bronica
and Contax had already
left the industry.
Things change rapidly in an
industry which has become
digital…

Mamiya was bought by Cosmo
digital imaging, an IT company.

The idea was to combine
software skills with Mamiyas
skills in imaging and thereby
regain lost ground.

New lenses were launched in
2006 and Mamiya initiated a
close collaboration with the
Danish digital back
manufacturer Phase One.

The previous collaboration with
Leaf resulted in the launch of
the DL28 in late 2008.
Priced at 15 000 USD, the
camera offered improved
autofocus and a better
integration with the
digital back of 28 Megapixels.

This sounds promising, given
that the price of medium format
cameras has been a critical
issue before, this camera may
help Mamiya to recover.

The collaboration with
Phase One resulted in the
Mamiya 645, which was also
launched under the
Phase One brand.

Just recently, in March 2009,
Phase One announced that the
company will invest in Mamiya.

“We are committed to providing open,
upgradable medium format camera systems,
so that pro photographers can enjoy the
maximum flexibility and versatility at an
attractive cost of ownership”
// Henrik O. Håkonsson,
President, Phase One.

“Furthering our relationship with
Mamiya Digital Imaging that we initiated
in 2006, we continue to design a broad
range of new cameras, digital backs
and lenses that will offer the world’s
leading photographers greater choice
and satisfaction.”

Together, Phase One and Mamiya Digital
Imaging own all competencies required
for developing superior, innovative
medium format camera systems. Our
combined expertise comprises
digitalization, camera fine mechanics,
optics design and production and
broad ranges of software and firmware
capabilities.”
// Toshio Midorikawa, President of
Mamiya Digital Imaging.

“This investment by Phase One enables
us to better optimize our
complementary capabilities to the
benefit of our customers. And as a
result of our close collaboration, new
products are just around the corner.
We plan to introduce both new leaf
shutter lenses and even more super
lightweight focal plane shutter lenses
in 2009. We aim to offer the world’s
widest range of medium format lenses
for Mamiya and Phase One.”

Whether this will help Mamiya out
of their trouble remains to be
seen. For sure, this is a step in
the right direction. However, the
SLR cameras from Canon and
Nikon are getting better each
year and the medium format
market keeps shrinking…

This story is a bit puzzling – there was a
financial logic in developing digital
backs long before the real shift to
digital imaging, yet still Mamiya never
captured this market but instead left it
to companies like Leaf, Imacon, Phase
One and Jenoptik.

Why?

The main reason is probably that Mamiya
had a competence base which was
related to precise mechanics and
optics, not electronics. Therefore, the
company did not have and failed to
develop the capabilities needed to
launch digital backs themselves.

By looking inside a product you get an
idea what the company and its
knowledge are really all about.

With the shift to digital imaging, much of
Mamiya’s competence base lost its
value and thus, the company
encountered great problems.

Sources
The online photographer
The British Journal of Photography
Digital Photography Review

Image attributions

Christian Sandström is a
PhD student at Chalmers
University of Technology in
Gothenburg, Sweden. He
writes and speaks about
disruptive innovation and
technological change.
www.christiansandstrom.org
christian.sandstrom@chalmers.se