What happened in JUNE 2009 in the world of photography?

Kodachrome

This film, designated by many cognoscenti as 'iconic', has been slow in dying. That the film would become extinct, was a sure fact. The comments about its death are quite remarkable: most persons lament its disappearance but note also that they stopped using the film long ago. The obvious conclusion then is that the photographic community killed the film, not Kodak. If you like the film, you use it. If you do not like the film, you do not use it. It is as simple as this.
Kodak itself is vague about the future of silver halide materials. They note that Kodachrome users can switch to Ektachrome slide material, but the information about the new Ektar 100 states that it is best to start using this film as the future of E6 processing is not assured.
I personally still use the film and I have a number of rolls in the fridge. My favorite camera for this film is an old Leica M3, recently cleaned and adjusted. It now functions like new. Add to this combo the Gossen Mastersix exposure meter and you are back in the fifties. That period was more revolutionary than we now are willing to remember.
The world has been recorded in the colors of Kodachrome and this flavor has been instrumental in our vision of the universe.
Currently we see the world through the filters and layers of photoshopped image files, captured on solid state sensors. The switch from Kodachrome to Photoshop is a cultural event of the highest magnitude and an indication that photography is no longer at a crossroad (AgX or silicon) but entering a new stage.

Olympus PEN

Indications that photography is in a revolutionary mode can be gleaned from the introduction of the new MFT (micro four thirds) model by Olympus: the PEN or E-P1.
Fingernail sized sensors are out and have reached their limits. Better image quality requires larger sized sensors. The main problem with the small-sized sensors is color noise at higher ISO speeds and the magnification problem: with larger magnifications (A4 format) the definition of the lens/sensor combo breaks down.
The MFT approach has been commented upon as a major reshuffling of the market. But is it? The very profitable dSLR market is firmly controlled by Canon and Nikon and no one else is allowed to enter this segment. In this perspective the MFT strategy is an act of despair to stay alive in a market that increasingly becomes driven by a commodity approach.



The USP (unique selling point) of the MFT products by Olympus and Panasonic is the ability to change lenses that are as compact as the body is. The overwhelming majority of cameras is sold with a fixed or removable zoom lens. And we may safely assume and predict that most MFT cameras will be fitted with a zoom lens that never leaves the lens flange. The creative filters and the automatic scene recognition point to a target group of young urbanites with enough money to spend and without a photographic consciousness .
The success of the Pen is not guaranteed, but if the MFT will succeed, a new chapter in photography will be opened. It could yet end as a footnote
in history!
A compact camera with interchangeable lenses and a large sensor allowing high image quality is already on the market for several years and seems not to be making big numbers: the Leica M8! But then you need even more money to spend.

Leica

Whatever you think of the Olympus strategy, we may be sure that the company has one: its drive to re-invent the classical assets (see the Pen F and OM-2) in a full digital environment is admirable.
The recent announcements by Leica (at a user meeting in the Hessenpark) make you wonder if the camera maker with a history even longer than Kodachrome has a compass for the future.
The announcement that there will be no new dSLR (aka R10) makes sense: presumably the same arguments as are being used by Olympus and Panasonic (as a Leica partner they share some ideas don’t they?) are being pondered by the Vorstand. The fact that the R10 project has been killed is also a warning for the many Leica cognoscenti who confidently predict the Leica future based on inside information. The german FOTOmagazin was pretty sure that the R10 was imminent. More magazines have been spreading rumors as insider facts. The company is evidently reconsidering all options and decisions for the future direction have not yet been cast in stone. The current halfheartedness at Leica is clearly demonstrated by the change in course about the upgrade program. When the M8 hit the market, Leica made a statement that the M8 investment would be protected against technological obsolescence with the upgrade program implying that future developments could be retrofitted in the M8. This strategy was implemented with the announcement that the M8 could be fitted with a new shutter with slower top speed, a sapphire glass and some more options. When the M8.2 came on the market, the buyer could opt for an M8 (basic), an M8.2 (basic) or an upgraded M8 (aka M8.1). The pricing of the upgrades was outrageous and this had to be changed soon. Now the upgrade program is killed, presumably because this option cannibalized the sale of the M8.2.



The M9 is announced but that has been done already in the past and the delay in the commercialization of this product is explained by the complicated interaction between optical properties and the sensor properties. Nothing new here.
Leica will not engage themselves in MFT products and seems to bet their future on the S2. I will not comment here on the product, but present this calculation: In interviews Leica has indicated that the development costs for the S2 are in the tens of millions.
The total market volume for large sized sensor cameras has been set at 10.000 of which Leica wants at least 10% (which is a quite high target). Assume that Leica gets indeed 10%, that is a production run of 1000 pieces. At an indicated price of Euro 20.000 the turnover then is Euro 20.000.000. The profit margin is not known, but if we assume an industry average then it will take Leica about five years to get break even!
The global trend in the electronics consumer market (digital cameras are in this segment too!) points to price reductions and very low profit margins.
For Leica to survive, they have to ask a high price and and design products precisely for the target group that wants the product and has the money.
And here agin we see the Kodachrome effect: many people say they like Leica, but do not buy the product. My remonstrance is simple: if you like the product, you buy it.
Leica lenses are not only expensive, buy also difficult to manufacture. The slow market introduction of the new Noctilux has been attributed to initial production problems.

Nokton 1.1/50mm

This lens has been introduced recently and will be available soon at an amazingly low price. MTF measurements show that the lens is in the same performance league as the older spherical Noctilux designs, but a fraction of the cost. The Nokton has an interesting behavior in the focus shift. More study is needed to make concrete statements.
For many decades Leica could claim that the high price of their products was justified by a large quality gap with the competition. The new Nokton is indeed not in the same quality segment as the NX 0.95, but one may begin asking the question whether the Leica quailty can survive the current trend in downgrading lens performance and lower prices.