No more film camaras?

You could have predicted this years ago but really didn't give it much thought. I've been using digital cameras for years because it is so easy to get them onto my computer. Many people resisted the evolution from film to digital citing the key concern; "I just like to flip through my pictures." The meaning behind the concern was that pictures put on the computer rarely made it to a quality print process.

Enter Walmart and other main stream retailers who offered an easy way to have your digital film developed. While still costing a good bit more than the old "roll" of film per picture, the fact is fewer pictures needed to be developed simply because you could pick your best shots overall.

Then enter smaller and faster cameras with better quality and larger storage. I can take 500 medium quality pictures with my "card deck" size camera that print beautifully. Now I can still choose my favorites but I have more favorites to choose from. Now I'm printing more pictures and paying more for them. That's okay... it's worth the freedom.

So, my prediction? That the camera manufacturers would stop making film cameras. Okay, that's a broad stroke and not likely to ever come to pass but it looks like the end of some consumer market film camera development has started to be affected by the digital age.

Canon to Stop Making Single-Lens Camera

May 25, 10:08 AM (ET)
TOKYO (AP) - Japan's top camera maker, Canon Inc. (CAJ), will stop developing new single-lens reflex film cameras as more people abandon film for digital, company officials said Thursday.

The Tokyo-based Canon's move followed a similar move by its closest Japanese rival, Nikon Corp., which announced earlier this year it would stop making seven of its nine film cameras and concentrate on digital models.

Canon will continue making film cameras already on the market as long as their demand remains. Whether to withdraw from the film camera business will be "decided appropriately by judging the market situation," said Canon spokesman Hiroshi Yoshinaga.

Full article at MyWay