Major camera company quits photo business

In recent years, photo retailers have explained a 60% drop in film
sales by saying digicams took it away. Now, a major manufacturer of
digicams itself says it's no longer going to sell them in America. And
Konica Minolta also is ending production of photo paper for the
American market - even though all of those cheap disposable cameras
that even now sell briskly for under $10 at seemingly every store each
require photo paper to print the pictures.
Aside from the article about the camera side of Konica Minolta's
shutdown in today's Washington Post (below), Konica Minolta is shutting
down its big photo paper plant near here in North Carolina - and
downsizing hundreds of those who'd worked there. This all raises the
question of whether the photo paper for processing all those disposable
cameras will just now be "offshored" to Asia - like so many other
good-paying American jobs.
================================================== =================
Photography icon Konica Minolta Group is shuttering its camera
business.
The Japanese company, which introduced its first camera and
silver-halide film paper in 1903, cited a photographic film market that
"is shrinking astonishingly by the surge of the worldwide
digitization." After March 1, Konica plans to phase out worldwide sales
of its film and digital cameras.
Konica's announcement comes a week after Nikon Corp. said it would
phase out most of its film-camera business to focus on marketing
digital cameras, which now make up the vast majority of camera sales to
consumers.
In the past two decades, consumer photography has blossomed with
easy-to-use technologies, such as cell-phone cameras, home printers and
services like online photo finishing. That progress came, however, at
the expense of darkrooms and rolls of film. The newest generation of
cameras has wireless connections that allow pictures to be uploaded
directly to the Internet and panoramic editing that stitches together
several shots.
"Film is in its twilight. You don't see the volume to support three big
businesses," said Christopher Chute, an analyst with the research firm
IDC. "Twenty years ago we'd spend a couple hundred dollars on a Nikon
film camera -- now we'll spend on a couple hundred dollars on a digital
camera."
At its height in the 1980s, film photography accounted for 80 billion
to 90 billion prints per year, Chute said. Last year, 101 billion
prints were made worldwide, 60 percent of which were digital photos, he
said.
One of Konica Minolta's rivals, Olympus Imaging America Inc., yesterday
said it would continue its film camera business for as long as
possible. "Film will be over soon, [but] we're going to be the last
company in it," said Stewart Muller, executive vice president of
Olympus, which makes about 40 percent of film cameras sold in the
United States. Digital makes up 95 percent of the company's sales, and
that's growing, he said. "But there will be people who hang on for some
time."
A representative of Eastman Kodak Co., the Rochester, N.Y., company
that in 1900 introduced the Brownie, the first consumer camera,
declined to comment on Konica's announcement. Rival Fuji Photo Film Co.
acknowledged in a statement that the "unexpectedly rapid shift toward
digitalization has greatly reduced demand for films and photographic
products," but said it would continue to produce silver-halide
products.
With the transition from film comes the end of the solitary creative
process in the dim, reddish light of darkrooms, said Kenny Irby,
founder of the Poynter Institute's photojournalism program. "What's
lost is a romantic experience in a dark room."
Instead, newspapers, magazines and many artists use computer software,
such as Photoshop, to do what liquid baths of nitrate and fixer
solutions used to do, he said. "The professional market had already
made this transition [to digital], so this is the death knell of film
in the amateur market."
Konica and Minolta, which merged in 2003, have sold 13.5 million
cameras since 1985, when the popular Maxxum/Dynax line was launched.
Konica plans to continue making that line of digital cameras, but they
are to be sold by Sony Corp. In April, Sony plans to take over the
service and repair for Konica cameras.
"In a changing world, profits for camera and photo businesses worsened
in recent years," Konica said in its statement, "and it became
necessary to drastically reform business structure for the further
growth of Konica Minolta."
================================================== =================
No $4 parking! No $6 admission! http://www.INTERNET-GUN-SHOW.com

This all raises the question of whether the photo paper for processing all
those disposable cameras will just now be "offshored" to Asia - like so many
other good-paying American jobs.



Hi.

This unfortunate event just demonstrates the unfairness of the "Free Trade"
policy insisted upon by the USA.

A "Fair Trade" policy, would increase the price of many products in the
Developed World, but would also increase the standard of living in the Third
World, and reduce the availability of "Starvation Wage" labour there.

Once the "Third World" has all the production jobs, guess who will be on
"Starvation Wages", if there are any jobs left.

Roy G

Tesco News quoted me:
This all raises the question of whether the photo paper for processing all
those disposable cameras will just now be "offshored" to Asia - like so many
other good-paying American jobs.

and replied:
This unfortunate event just demonstrates the unfairness of the "Free Trade"
policy insisted upon by the USA.
A "Fair Trade" policy, would increase the price of many products in the
Developed World, but would also increase the standard of living in the Third
World, and reduce the availability of "Starvation Wage" labour there.

Get real. Nations like India and China would rather have lots of
jobs at poverty wages than NO jobs at all based on an export market.
And it's only their poverty - and resulting poverty wages - that gives
them that export market to American, Canadian, and European
"offshorers." After all, what American company would "offshore" jobs
to India or China if the labor there cost as much as in Kalifornia?

No $6 admission! http://www.INTERNET-GUN-SHOW.com

" wrote:
After all, what American company would "offshore" jobs
to India or China if the labor there cost as much as in Kalifornia?

Ah yes, the lovely practice of moving call centres to countries where
English is not the first language then training operatives to act like
robots just to save a few pennies.... phone calls that go like this

Paul gets half a dozen dead calls, ones where phone is answered
quickly by him but silence greets him until he is told the other
person is cleared, during that time even if he hangs up the line stays
busy.... until eventually he gets a crackly connection.

"Hello," says lady in Eastern accents, "Is that Mr Heslop?"

Paul, in full knowledge of what he is doing by now "What are you
selling?"

Lady, slightly flustered as I have deviated from script "Hello, my
name is EasternLady and I am ringing to offer you something you don't
want again, for the tenth time this fortnight. We..."

"I'm sorry, Ms Easternlady, but as I have told your company many
times, I am not interested in something I don't want. Wouldn't it be a
good idea to remove us from your list?"

Easternlady is more rattled, script has been chucked out of window..
slight pause... "Hello, my name is Easternlady and I am ringing to
offer...."

"Ms Easternlady, I have already told you, I am not interested, I will
not be interested, EVER. I told you this yesterday, and the day
before... I'm not interested. Not. NO."

Slightly longer pause ... "I am ringing to offer...."


"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" slam!
----------------------

This happened so many times we joined one of those things where they
take your name off lists and we also have some call barring, and we
STILL GET SOME COLD CALLS from Easternlady!
--
Paul (Had a '28 Ford, had payments on that)
-------------------------------------------------------
Stop and Look
http://www.geocities.com/dreamst8me/

Paul Heslop wrote:
" wrote:
After all, what American company would "offshore" jobs
to India or China if the labor there cost as much as in Kalifornia?

Ah yes, the lovely practice of moving call centres to countries where
English is not the first language then training operatives to act like
robots just to save a few pennies.... phone calls that go like this

Paul gets half a dozen dead calls, ones where phone is answered
quickly by him but silence greets him until he is told the other
person is cleared, during that time even if he hangs up the line stays
busy.... until eventually he gets a crackly connection.

"Hello," says lady in Eastern accents, "Is that Mr Heslop?"

Paul, in full knowledge of what he is doing by now "What are you
selling?"

Lady, slightly flustered as I have deviated from script "Hello, my
name is EasternLady and I am ringing to offer you something you don't
want again, for the tenth time this fortnight. We..."

"I'm sorry, Ms Easternlady, but as I have told your company many
times, I am not interested in something I don't want. Wouldn't it be a
good idea to remove us from your list?"

Easternlady is more rattled, script has been chucked out of window..
slight pause... "Hello, my name is Easternlady and I am ringing to
offer...."

"Ms Easternlady, I have already told you, I am not interested, I will
not be interested, EVER. I told you this yesterday, and the day
before... I'm not interested. Not. NO."

Slightly longer pause ... "I am ringing to offer...."


"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" slam!
----------------------

This happened so many times we joined one of those things where they
take your name off lists and we also have some call barring, and we
STILL GET SOME COLD CALLS from Easternlady!
But then the machinery and the trade routes are intact and running, and
who bothers to retrain Amerikans (or English) when there is a skill pool
already available in countries like China...You got to pay 'em the same
anyway... It's right what the man sez, Globalisation is a really neat
way of the Amerikan empire shooting itself in the foot
Hugs
Eddie

"Eddie Daughton" wrote in message
...
Paul Heslop wrote:
" wrote:
snipped

It's right what the man sez, Globalisation is a really neat way of the
Amerikan empire shooting itself in the foot
Hugs
Eddie

I'll drink to that. Capitolism. Where the rich get richer and the poor and
middle classes, singles and families just get butt****ed!

Eddie Daughton wrote:

But then the machinery and the trade routes are intact and running, and
who bothers to retrain Amerikans (or English) when there is a skill pool
already available in countries like China...You got to pay 'em the same
anyway... It's right what the man sez, Globalisation is a really neat
way of the Amerikan empire shooting itself in the foot
Hugs
Eddie

Well, this be England, but yeah, I read Michael Moore about the great
American screjob some time ago.

--
Paul (Had a '28 Ford, had payments on that)
-------------------------------------------------------
Stop and Look
http://www.geocities.com/dreamst8me/

screjob ???


:O)

--
Paul (Had a '28 Ford, had payments on that)
-------------------------------------------------------
Stop and Look
http://www.geocities.com/dreamst8me/

On Sat, 21 Jan 2006 20:49:05 +1000, "Jasen"
wrote:


"Eddie Daughton" wrote in message
...
Paul Heslop wrote:
" wrote:
snipped

It's right what the man sez, Globalisation is a really neat way of the
Amerikan empire shooting itself in the foot
Hugs
Eddie

I'll drink to that. Capitolism. Where the rich get richer and the poor and
middle classes, singles and families just get butt****ed!

What's your preferred system?

--
Bill Funk
Replace "g" with "a"
funktionality.blogspot.com

"Bill Funk" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 21 Jan 2006 20:49:05 +1000, "Jasen"
wrote:


"Eddie Daughton" wrote in message
...
Paul Heslop wrote:
" wrote:
snipped

It's right what the man sez, Globalisation is a really neat way of the
Amerikan empire shooting itself in the foot
Hugs
Eddie

I'll drink to that. Capitolism. Where the rich get richer and the poor
and
middle classes, singles and families just get butt****ed!

What's your preferred system?

One that is similar but fairer and more regulated :-) One where a
corporation actually realises that by looking after the average worker by
properly rewarding hard work, they can do better in the productivity stakes.
I work for a mob of doctors who run a huge pathology company that brings in
about a billion dollars in revenue each year. The pay their workers the
bare minimum and the workers know it. The workers are miffed and they do
only what is required or less much of the time. I know first hand that
rewards pay dividends in business.
Too many companies in this and other western countries cut costs by
employing workers in third world countries such as China and India. This
has obvious effects. Capitolism in this form backfires eventually. Our
Prime Minister wants to compete on the world stage with the likes of these
countries. How can you compete with a worker in another country who gets a
few dollars a week compared to our many hundreds of dollars paid to western
workers......you can't. So we all import, import, import! That ****s up
the trade deficit even more because we just HAVE to have our technology and
cheap food. That's the issue with free trade and globalisation in short.
Unfortunately, it isn't a level playing field for you have totally different
working conditions and wages in poorer countries being taken advantage of by
corporations.
Obviously there is more to it than this, but the bottom line of anything
these days is money and greed. Capitolism would be fair if people who
participated where actually decent human beings with a conscience..........a
conscience and the corporate world do not mix well it seems, and this is
only the tip of the iceberg.
Communism is not acceptable either......maybe someplace inbetween?




--
Bill Funk
Replace "g" with "a"
funktionality.blogspot.com