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  #1  
Old 10th December 2020, 06:48 PM
RickEmmanuel RickEmmanuel is offline
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Default Nikon F6 no more.

Sad but inevitable. I hope this isn't old news but I read on one of those Google notifications the other day that Nikon have decided to discontinue production of their last 35mm roll-film camera, the F6. By all accounts it is a brilliant (if expensive) camera. A long journey from that icon, the F with many iterations over the decades. A lot of us may have seen the photogs carrying 2 F's and and a Leica M3 around their necks in the paddy fields of Vietnam. However, there are many brilliant 35mm cameras out there (and lenses) and I've seen quite a few for sale since September. A brilliant Spotmatic hardly used in 40 years; plenty of decent OM2n's at the £130 mark, the occasional Pentax LX (again hardly used). You don't need the most technological camera to take good photographs. Take care. Rick
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Old 10th December 2020, 07:58 PM
SanMiguel SanMiguel is offline
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I noticed that too, Rick. Sad to see the end of the line for the F6, which seems to get a lot of good press. In many ways it was amazing Nikon kept it going for so long. Perhaps the subject for another thread: “What’s the newest film camera that you own?”

Apart from Large Format (eg Intrepid, Chamonix), Holga/toy & pinholes does that leave Leica as the only film camera manufacturer? Their MP and M-A models. Not cheap by any stretch of the imagination but if we film users don’t buy them then they too will go.

Michael
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Old 10th December 2020, 08:20 PM
RickEmmanuel RickEmmanuel is offline
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Very true Michael!
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Old 11th December 2020, 08:38 AM
John King John King is offline
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Default The F6

I bought a used one about 5 years ago and never regretted it. I did not pay an awful lot for it compared to used ones at the time. It was around £650! The body is a bit of lightweight (physically) compared to the likes of the F4, but never the less it really is a superb instrument.

Apart from the huge slowing down of sales everywhere there was a bit of a hiccup when some of the electronics came under scrutiny by the EU and sales of them in EU were banned. This, only for some reason affected only certain models with a span of serial numbers (Mine isn't one of them).

You can even get an idea of how many shutter actuations it has had! On the built in data back there is a counter that tells how many cassettes of film has passed through. Not an exact science I know but it gives a good idea.

Last edited by John King; 11th December 2020 at 08:41 AM.
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  #5  
Old 11th December 2020, 01:10 PM
RickEmmanuel RickEmmanuel is offline
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That's very interesting John - and a reasonable price too for a state of the art 35mm.
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Old 11th December 2020, 02:13 PM
Mike O'Pray Mike O'Pray is offline
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Yes, for many weeks there was a lot of discussion on the question of: Was the rumour as it was then true? Nikon seemed to take its time to make the announcement as well

On a slightly broader note what this signifies to me is that while film use may be increasing it is nowhere enough to persuade Nikon to continue with its only film camera nor I would assume from its decision, is the trend in increased demand for film anything like enough to suggest that film camera production is viable

Some pundits and followers of such pundits on another site were spreading the message of "Rejoice again, I say rejoice"

I fear that the "market" has a much more sombre outlook as things currently stand

Mike
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Old 11th December 2020, 10:02 PM
John King John King is offline
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Default NIkon F6

Quote:
Originally Posted by RickEmmanuel View Post
That's very interesting John - and a reasonable price too for a state of the art 35mm.
Yes when I saw the camera body advertised I expected it to be 'worn' but it wasn't. It was still boxed with all the usual bits and pieces. The cassette counter was only registering around 119 it is around 379 now. It was/is unmarked still and if I were to sell it I would be certain to make a profit - but it isn't for sale.

The only downside I have found is the change from a 4 pack of AA batteries as per the F4/F5 to the two CR2 lithium's, for which it has a a bit of an appetite.
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  #8  
Old 12th December 2020, 11:55 AM
RickEmmanuel RickEmmanuel is offline
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Agreed Mike. It would be interesting to know the age group in which roll film use has expanded. No doubt Nikon have done surveys to find this out. As a guess I hardly think it is amongst sub 50 age group - or even the sub 60. You read a lot of "when I was 14 I got Paterson printing set and I've been hooked ever since". That can't happen now and hasn't happened for decades. Yet the retired generation have now more leisure time and money than ever before (witness all the big camper vans on the road), are active longer, travel more and are ready to shoot landscapes on film. My supposition is that they are building on childhood experience. However, this market segment will ultimately decrease.
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Old 12th December 2020, 01:11 PM
Mike O'Pray Mike O'Pray is offline
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Rick, there may be a few in the groups you mention who have returned to film but who may no longer have a darkroom or have even kept the equipment but I think that the increase in demand for film probably comes from a much younger group who barely knew the world of film or darkroom in its heyday. You can now be 30-35 yrs old and still have no user experience of film.

To those it is a "new and exciting discovery". They are likely still to use their iphones for the bulk of their photography but may well spend quite a lot on film as it is something new and exciting

My worry is whether it will remain a steady hobby as they grow older and there then arises matters such a marriage, mortgage and kids

Some love trying so-called new films( such as old cine-stock with exotic names of Babylon 13 and Fantome 8 - yes I kid you not! )

All of this is fine but as I said my fears are that (1) this increase in demand will never get to the stage that film camera manufacture becomes viable and (2) without the space and extra commitment required, few if any, might graduate to a darkroom

While film processing, including home processing might be increasing and that's good, I must admit that I scratch my head wondering where the like of Ilford gets enough sales of b&w darkroom paper to make it worthwhile.

On the other hand the arrival of Ilford MGV suggests that there is a viable market.

The other bright spot might be small companies like Adox or even Foma who can produce at a profit the materials that analogue requires and even in the case of Adox bring out new films and paper

What is almost inevitable is that such companies cannot take advantage of economies of scale and thus their products will be expensive to buy

In short our hobby is likely to grow more expensive. I see no way around this

Mike
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  #10  
Old 12th December 2020, 07:46 PM
John King John King is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RickEmmanuel View Post
Agreed Mike. Yet the retired generation have now more leisure time and money than ever before (witness all the big camper vans on the road),
Actually most of them are rented, not owned by the driver. Still it takes a large wedge of cash to splash out for a couple of weeks driving what in some cases amounts to a HGV with beds!

I had first hand experience of how incompetent some of the drivers were last September when I was up in Sutherland. Narrow roads, limited overtaking places and steep hills. There was a lot of head shaking by other car drivers.
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