At 03:42 8/5/99 , W. J. Liles wrote:
[snip]
>I am afraid I do not like this world of committee and focus group
>designed all electronic everything that changes every month for no
>particular reason. The very fact that Leica and Olympus followed their
[snip]
I am afraid I do not like it either, however there *is* a reason for the
continuous changes. It has to do with business cycles, consumption of
goods, competetion, and barriers to competition. In other words, it's part
of the greater strategy to get more of your money from your pocket into
"theirs." Enough of our society has gotten hooked on having to have the
"latest and greatest" that it has become profitable to continuously change.
[Mount Soapbox]
[Begin Rant]
This is not incredibly new, but the business cycle for it has shortened.
Example: Kodak's somewhat successful attempts to capture market share with
new film sizes every 5 to 10 years. Start with 620 and 828 years ago and
progress through 126, 110, Disc and now APS. Each was geared to sell
*Kodak's* cameras and film until the competition could get to market with
their compatible. Kodak uses its marketing muscle each time this happens
to convince consumers it's a *must have* technological breakthrough.
However, Kodak has never really set any new film size standards that have
any staying power. 120 and 35mm remain *the* long-haul standards. The
jury is still out on APS; you have to give it a decade or so first. I
sometimes wonder if Kodak *wants* it to stay around, or if they would
rather make it obsolete with the next new film size so they can sell more
cameras. Ever wonder why Kodak's pro film emulsions stay around a *lot*
longer without revision or change? The pros, some of whom take great pain
and some expense to calibrate exposure and color, will not tolerate
continuous change.
Token Olympus Content:
I refuse to be suckered by this. It's why I still have OM and Rollei
hardware after two decades and why everything is 35mm except for a 645
which takes the other standard: 120/220.
[End Rant]
[Dismount Soapbox]
-- John
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