Bob, I think the biggest consumer camera thing in my lifetime has been Polaroid. Edwin Land sold a lot of cameras and film by marketing the same thing that George Eastman did. You snap the picture, we do the rest...but WE do it instantly!
I think there is a strong parallel between Polaroid and digital. The quality is lacking but the gratification is instantaneous. Everybody has to have one of the new cameras, it's a trendy, high tech kind of thing. Polaroid film and camera backs have taken a place in the pro's set of photographic tools. But after 30 years, Polaroid is a bankrupt company and the consumer market has moved on to the next innovation. Regards, Bob S. [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > In my lifetime, the consumer has moved from box cameras through to 126 and > later to 110 and finally to 35mm by way of the point-and-shoot cameras. 35mm > was the format we used for creating slides and B&w From this turn to our > format, the consumer has driven what they want in cameras - simple and easy > to use. > Their dollar gravitates to that product that either garners rave reviews > or is advertised on television. The race has started and the winners - > although short term - benefit from their short term profits. Now that > digital is here, again, the manufacturers are driven by the consumer. > How does that relate to us? We see a move away from traditional > photography. What is traditional photography? Photography that can be > achieved with a light tight box, a lens and film - wether it be a mechanical > camera or a 8X10 field view camera.
