Steve wrote: I don't think film will end for a long time, but once it becomes a niche market it's "dead" as far as the camera makers are concerned. I don't expect any further development in 35 mm SLRs. They'll be a heathy market, however, in older equipment and this alone will keep a revenue stream for the film makers.
REPLY: Firstly, SLR's is a nice market to start with. Secondly, film will still be a preferred medium form many into this niche, at least until digital is more than merely an alternative. Thirdly, film slr's can be developed "cheaply" as spin-off from DSLR development. After all, the cameras share all the expensive camera parts and technology associated with it. The difference is a film transport vs. image processing circuitry. Surely not a big issue for either engineering and production. Provided there will be a film market, although seriously shrinked, there still will be development in film slr's. Not at least because they could be more profitable as manufacturer could charge more from film enthusiast than from the highly price sensitive digital market. What manufacturers need to do is to provide a reason for users to upgrade their film slr's. I believe we will see eg. a Nikon F6 quite soon... Pål
