Canon / Nikkon and medium-format

j_mcquillen · Mar 25, 2006

Just a quick query that's been bugging me for a while now...

Given Canon and Nikkon's dominance in the 35mm and now digital markets, why did they never make any real attempts at producing a medium format system?

Rob · Mar 25, 2006

Given the level of R&D which goes into each lens and body, they felt it more worth developing an interchangeable system which will sell to the masses, rather than a high-cost, low volume specialist market.

Rob

Hertz van Rental · Mar 25, 2006

Also, Nikon, Canon and don't forget Olympus started their assault on the camera market in the late 60's. By that time 35mm was the up and coming and 120 film was being seen as old fashioned.
The popular market - which was initially Japanese - preferred the convenience of a cassette loading film system and it had three times as many shots on the roll as 120.
Because of the smaller size of 35mm camera, lenses and accessories were all similarly smaller. This meant they were cheaper and you could carry more kit around with you.
I also suspect that the Japanese had 'product demarcation' initially in that they seemed at the time to only have a few companies making each type of product for export.
Canon, Nikon, Olympus and Minolta worked top end 35mm.
Mamiya and Zenza Bronica did medium format.
Toyo did large format.

Paul Ron · Mar 25, 2006

MF was stricly a professional's medium and priced out of the reach of most hobby shooters. The 35mm producers were after the larger market of casual wanabes and tourists, just as digital is doing to the film market today, and it will kill MF and film not because it's better, only because it's popular.

ThomThomsk · Mar 25, 2006

FWIW, some Bronica medium format cameras from the 1960s used Nikkor lenses, such as the D and S / S2 models, and they are supposed to be excellent. The D was introduced in 1959, the same year as Nikon's own F series.

Thomsk

DocFrankenstein · Mar 25, 2006

j_mcquillen said:
Just a quick query that's been bugging me for a while now...

Given Canon and Nikkon's dominance in the 35mm and now digital markets, why did they never make any real attempts at producing a medium format system?

I'd venture to guess that if they did, nobody would use nikkor or canon MF lenses. It's hard to compete with Zeiss cheap MF glass...

And therefore there would be no profits. :wink: