Medium Format Photography in decline

Ever since the rise of digital imaging, the Medium Format segment of the camera segment of the camera industry has has been in decline.

Medium format cameras are bigger than ’normal’ cameras. During the normal cameras. During the analogue era, they were defined as products which used a larger fil d hi h d l film format than the standard 35 mm.

Instead they used 4 5*6 6*6 or 6*7 4,5 6, 6 6 or 6 7 centimeter film, thus enabling a much hi h i h higher image quality. li

In the digital era, medium format In the digital era medium format cameras use larger image sensors than the standard 35 mm sensors. h h d d 35

Those cameras were often used for wedding and portrait photography. and portrait

This segment has always This segment has always been very small small in comparison with 35 mm cameras.

With the introduction of autofocus and other features in small format cameras, the segment kept declining during the 1980s and 1990s the 1980s and 1990s.

Medium format players like Hasselblad, Mamiya, Contax, Pentax and Bronica were fighting each other in these years to obtain an increased share of a shrinking market.

Mamiya went bankrupt once in the 1980s and had to be reconstructed. Tough competition and a shrinking market were the main reasons for the decline.

In the early 1990s, digital imaging started to prosper in this segment in the form of digital backs. The film magazine was removed and instead a device which and instead, a device contained an image sensor was attached.

It is striking to what It is striking to what extent those products were supplied by companies that were not manufacturing medium format cameras… di f t

Imacon

Phase One

Kodak also Kodak also made some digital backs digital backs

Cameras are after all about precise mechanics rather than electronics – that’s probably why none of them succeeded in developing a digital back.

Digital imaging initially increased the value of medium format cameras…

The camera companies h i made sure that their sure that their products were compatible with these new devices.

This setting also enabled g photographers to choose whether they th would shift t di it l ld hift to digital or not. t It was a hybrid that worked It was a hybrid that worked reasonably well until no one really demanded fil d d d film any llonger.

Once that was the case, very few photographers were willing to buy to buy one camera and one digital back which together b hi h h became very expensive and bulky. The high‐end p y g models from Canon and Nikon were good enough for most applications for most applications, much cheaper and lighter.

Around 2002‐2003, the medium d h di format players faced huge problems. p y g p

Hasselblad had to lay Hasselblad had to lay off about 50 percent of its work force in 50 percent of its in 2004, and was forced to leave their office (the building on the picture) two years after having moved there.

Contax was busted later on…

… And so was Bronica.

Mamiya was also in a lot of trouble.

It became increasingly obvious that the medium format companies had to move closer to the manufacturers of digital backs in order to deliver a complete digital solution.

Hasselblad merged with Imacon, and Mamiya started to collaborate more with Phase One.

This strategy kept the companies alive…

… but nevertheless, the climate did not favour medium format photography.

Who wants to pay 25 000 25 000 USD just to USD just to have 39 Megapixels i l instead of of ’only’ 20?

As DSLR cameras become better and better, the medium format segment becomes smaller and smaller.

And trying to compete with the big guys in their segments isn’t really an option for a company with 150 employees.

Hence, these firms don’t really have an option.

The medium format has been declining ever since the early 1980s and will continue to do so until there’s nothing left.

Image attributions I ib i Hasselblad photos: Christian Sandström Hasselblad photos: Christian Sandström

Christian Sandström is a PhD student at Chalmers student at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden. He Gothenburg, Sweden. He writes and speaks about disruptive innovation and technological change. Find out more: www.christiansandstrom.org

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Medium Format Photography in decline

by Chris Sandström on Dec 21, 2009

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Medium Format Photography in decline — Presentation Transcript