http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/ Engadget Comments for Konica Minolta throws in the towel, quits the camera biz http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2008 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/Jan 19th 2006 5:59AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/Jan 19th 2006 6:10AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/
Minolta Maxxum SLRs and lenses have been available in large numbers from liquidation sites like Overstock.com; maybe that should have been a clue.]]>Jan 19th 2006 6:20AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/
Oh what the hell, this stinks.]]>Jan 19th 2006 6:48AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/Jan 19th 2006 6:54AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/Jan 19th 2006 7:42AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/
I suspect it might be 5-10 years and there won't be any film to purchase, much less film cameras and accessories. "Photo centers" will be come commercial high speed color printer centers - if they're even manned. I mean, Kodak's kiosk where you load your memory card (digital film) and pick, crop, and print the shots you want without dealing with any employees is probably how it will turn out. There's a hit to the work force...]]>Jan 19th 2006 7:51AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/Jan 19th 2006 7:52AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/Jan 19th 2006 8:58AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/Jan 19th 2006 9:01AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/Jan 19th 2006 9:11AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/Jan 19th 2006 9:24AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/Jan 19th 2006 9:37AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/Jan 19th 2006 9:42AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/
I never purchased their products but their name has been in it for such a LONG time...as long as I can remember and seeing canon and Nikon I can remember the name Minolta. I'm curious what will become of their company and name. Wonder what they are making money from.]]>Jan 19th 2006 9:49AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/Jan 19th 2006 10:03AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/
You got it, man. My 5D, now less than 2 months old, seems like a dying relative or something else as piteous.

Given that I don't buy Sony products on the basis of their crappy customer service, Sony taking over KM's warranty responsibilities does not make me a happy camper.

The only possible upsides to this is the prospect of a stream of new, high-quality lenses (Sony does have some good glass in some of its cams, and KM will continue to make lenses for Sony'd DSLRs) as well as perhaps an increase in availability of good used lenses as folks leave the KM mount family.

Dunno. All told, I'd probably still buy the Maxxum 5D again today -- it's just such an excellent camera.]]>Jan 19th 2006 11:19AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/Jan 19th 2006 1:01PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/
I had 2 Minolta Digital Cameras: E323 and Z3. Great Cameras!

Photos Taken With Minolta Cameras:
http://www.photo.net/photodb/presentation?presentation_id=269217
http://www.photo.net/photodb/presentation?presentation_id=269218
]]>Jan 19th 2006 2:25PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/]]>Jan 19th 2006 3:43PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/Jan 19th 2006 4:59PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/Jan 19th 2006 5:03PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/Jan 19th 2006 5:21PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/
I must jinx camera companies. My first programmed SLR was a Konica T3 and then a T4 joined but I dropped them when the FS came out. Too simplisitc. I then switched to Canon for the EF and A1's ease of use but sold them to get into the large format, a Bronica ETRS. When the MAxxum 7000 was first advertised in 1985 on the Miss Universe (or was it Miss World??) i jumped on that. Added a 9000 pro outfit and then a 7xi. Waited 14 years until I went digital.

So companies that are no longer here in the USA:
1. Konica (by itself)
2. Bronica
3. Minolta (by itself)

Anyone have a suggestion whose camera I should buy 10 years down the raod?

Bill]]>Jan 19th 2006 10:48PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/Jan 20th 2006 11:51AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/
When I think back
On all the crap I learned in high school
It's a wonder
I can think at all
And though my lack of edu---cation
Hasn't hurt me none
I can read the writing on the wall

Kodachrome
They give us those nice bright colors
They give us the greens of summers
Makes you think all the world's a sunny day, Oh yeah
I got a Nikon camera
I love to take a photograph
So mama don't take my Kodachrome away

If you took all the girls I knew
When I was single
And brought them all together for one night
I know they'd never match
my sweet imagination
everything looks BETTER in black and white

Kodachrome
They give us those nice bright colors
They give us the greens of summers
Makes you think all the world's a sunny day, Oh yeah
I got a Nikon camera
I love to take a photograph
So mama don't take my Kodachrome away

Mama don't take my Kodachrome away
Mama don't take my Kodachrome away
Mama don't take my Kodachrome away

Mama don't take my Kodachrome
Mama don't take my Kodachrome
Mama don't take my Kodachrome away

Mama don't take my Kodachrome
Leave your boy so far from home
Mama don't take my Kodachrome away
Mama don't take my Kodachrome

Mama don't take my Kodachrome away]]>Jan 20th 2006 10:49PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/I'm still thinking about it. Maybe prices will come down fast, and plenty of lenses will still be available - used and new (i.e. Sony). My real concern is the servicing in the future. My real disappointment is that there will be no successor to the 7D.
One reason I like the 7D is that it is more intuitive than the other DSLR's - traditional dials and switches still make more sense than multi-function buttons. They just don't look high-tech enought for the likes of Sony, so I bet they are going to disappear on any Sony made product down the line.
I'd appreciate your thougths on getting a 7D now as opposed to a Nikon 70s or similar.

Paul]]>Jan 21st 2006 3:32AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/
I've read that Sony come second when it comes to selling the most digital compacts, so if the only way KM cameras can continue to exist is through Sony, then so be it. Better that than nothing at all.

I also think that the Sony name will attract anyone who knows nothing about camera brands, at least more so than KM ever did. A cheap Sony dslr with a kit lens and Anti-Shake may look decidedly good to many a person wanting to get into slrs for the first time.

And if, further down the line, Sony knock out a more expensive, capable model with Anti-shake, then I'll be there. Anti-shake is not some curiosity, it has left my Nikon equipment on the sidelines on a regular basis. Nikon don't make VR macros, or short, sweet VR primes and why would I bother with such a lens now? Pick up any Minolta lens, put it on a 7D/5D and it's VR. It really works for me.

If Sony can pick up the pieces and keep the whole handy Anti-shake thing (and I can't see them getting rid of that marketable feature) then they've got a customer right here.]]>Jan 25th 2006 9:47AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/
Every day just gets more depressing as I like to shoot film and I like KM cameras and gear. I've fought it and fought it, but now that I'm being forced to give up the cameras I like, I might just surrender and go digital.

Very bad news.]]>Jan 26th 2006 9:48PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/Jan 27th 2006 4:49PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/
The 7D's appearance last March convinced me to enter the DSLR world. I've taken 23,000 pictures with it, and completely love it. I've been anticipating a Minolta upgrade with a full-frame sensor...

I'm writing a letter to Sony stating that if they release a propriatary-laiden crap camera with memory stick, mini-DV, or betamax storage, I WILL jump ship to Nikon or Cannon.

Here's hoping the Minolta camera division stays intact and is not influenced by crap Sony consumer mentality.

Check back in Jan '07...
]]>Feb 8th 2006 11:39PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/Sony offers excellent customer service , except it seems in the USA , which doesnt suprise me from what I read here as the majority of you are a bunch of complaining SOB's , so no-one would please you.
The end is allways a new beginning and this is just that , I think we should all wait and see what we are going to get from Sony before we judge or start saying rubbish that we cannot back up with fact.]]>Mar 1st 2006 7:57PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/Pete]]>Jun 25th 2006 6:36AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/
you will always have a place in my camera closset.

Rest in Peace Minolta :(]]>Jul 5th 2006 4:29AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/Sep 12th 2006 2:10PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/konica-minolta-throws-in-the-towel-quits-the-camera-biz/Dec 17th 2006 7:25PM