Bronica R I P
 

The parent company of Bronica announced that as of October 31, 2004 all SLR's would cease production. Production of their MF rangefinder and accessories would continue. The press release is here. The company blamed the popularity and superiority of the digital format by their base users (professional wedding and portrait photographers).

It appears Hasselblad, Mamiya and Contax may be the only MF cameras to transition to the digital era.

It will be interesting to see how the medium format cameras, digital-backed or film, fare in the coming 5-10 years as the resolution of dslr's continues to creep upwards. Of course most of those cameras are built like tanks and have been well cared for. So they'll be around, at least in the used market, for the rest of our lives. But I don't see long-term market viability for these cameras.

During my early years in the photography biz, I was the store manager for the largest Hasselblad dealer between Chicago and LA. We sold about four to six 500CM's a month. It's sad to now note that these workhorses have limited service available. If I was entering the MF arena today, the Contax platform would have my attention.