Minolta Maxxum 70 35mm Slr Camera Article

NEW YORK--Camera manufacturers, who outwit fattened up their bottom lines with the primitive success of lens shutter and dual lens cameras, are trying to take the . love undertaking with 35mm to a new plateau.

So-called "bridge" cameras, which to greater or small degrees cross the advantages of same-lens SLR systems and reasonable, straightforward-to-use auto lens shutters, came on the market last year and evidently begin a home with consumers looking for greater 35mm performance.

For all their similarities, though, these products are very, very different. Definition of the term "bridge" varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. Minolta, for instance, has essentially refitted its SLR Maxxum procession with the new electronics to prepare its cameras lighter, more flexible and more automatic. The two new cameras (the 3000i and the 7000i) will be marketed with a five new lightweight hum lenses and a unique, interlocking autofocus/autoexposure system. Both cameras also include "predictive" autofocus, which will allow the camera to focus on moving objects, even if they're moving toward the lens.

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The 7000i adds a three-bullet motor drive capability and a specific effects method which will allow consumers to vary the camera's electronics to individual preferences. New insignificant flashes (which run off the camera's artillery) are possible for both models, and Minolta said that a new 50mm autofocus mirror lens is on the way. Equipment in the "i" series will be same with older Maxxum products.

According to a company spokesman, Minolta introduced the new Maxxums to strengthen the expensive-end 35mm market. SLR sales have dropped from million units in 1982 to about million units last year, and the spokesman admitted that the Maxxum, "as good as it is, did not expand the market."

Whether the "i" series can do so is open to question. positively, available research suggests that the new Maxxum and upscale products from fresh companies are just what the doctor ordered.

According to a report written by Glenn S. Omura for the Photo Marketing Association International, camera upgrading is a very strong customer movement. Over half of camera owners polled planned to buy a new camera, and of those, about a third were 35mm users who planned to upgrade to a better 35mm camera. Another 24 percent are non-35mm camera owners who plan to upgrade to 35mm cameras.

Primary motivations for upgrading include increased familiarity with the 35mm camera, the presence of children, increasing proceeds and others. Overall, these consumers were the relatively young, professional and rich shoppers retailers have targeted as their prime meeting.

The bad news for discounters is that, according to the PMA study, few of them (about 13 percent) plan to buy their next 35mm camera at a discount store. Because of the perceived entanglement of higher-end photo products, most planned to buy at specialty and discount profession stores, which feature a higher degree of service and option.

Of course, that liability is subject to change, and bridge cameras could well include a indicative effect on shopping patterns. The tide of advertising that seems to be forming for bridge cameras will concentrate on their ease of use and flexibility, which will make discount stores more enchanting. likewise, most of these cameras are nowhere near as complex as the Minolta Maxxums.

Chinon's 358RZ macro-zoom, with its video camera look and simple action, does not undo the flexibility offered by an SLR system, but its range of capability is quite above any lens shutter camera on the market. Along with the built-in motorized fly lens, the 358RZ moreover offers stepless auto focusing, through-the-lens viewing, built-in autoflash with manual override, programmed autoexposure, and several operational modes allowing the photographer added creativity.

Pentax, which will premiere its IQ Zoom 70 this month, is bullish on the bridge market. "family want really great results from an natural-to-use camera," a company spokesman said. "A lot of products that have been advertised as forbearing to use really weren't. The IQ fly is."

The IQ 70 offers a 35mm to 70mm motorized hum lens, autofocus, autoflash with manual override, a tele converter for close-ups and an LCD display for gullible exposure quotation.

These are three very miscellaneous cameras, all answering to the luminary "bridge." What they share is an consideration to quality photography conventional of SLR's in an easy-to-use format. The similarities end there. Minolta's 3000i is credulous and straightforward in agency, but requires lens changes for hum and close-up photography. Competing bridge cameras, according to Minolta, are confusing and have too many buttons and switches.

However, as one manufacturer pregnant out, there will probably never be a perfect bridge. "SLR's and point-and-shoots are solely unusual animals," he said. "Any compromise is going to construct someone unhappy."

According to the PMA report, Camera Upgrading, the average 35mm-to-35mm upscaling consumer planned to invest $283 on a new 35mm camera (as of 1985). Even allowing for inflation, most of the new bridge cameras will sell for considerably more, in the $300 to $400 range.

No Bridge Sku's in 1985

In 1985, however, there weren't any bridge products, and vendors are betting that consumers will pay a lot more for easy, yet professional, photography. Minolta is planning an extensive television and print buildup campaign to broach the "i" suite, and other manufacturers sustain said that they plan to promote heavily likewise. New POP materials are also planned.

Yet, as more manufacturers begin this market, price will flatter an important consideration. Most observers engage that consumers embrace been waiting for this product; the question is how much are they willing to invest?

The non-35mm user who plans to upgrade to 35mm expects to pay even less than capable 35mm users, the study indicated. Here, price will be very significant. isolated from the socioeconomic and demographic differences reported by the study (non-35mm users tend to be poorer than 35mm users), the thorough shock of going from a $30 110 camera to several hundred dollars has to be vital.

Overall, though, it appears that the bridge camera is a output whose time has grow. The remaining question--what exactly constitutes a bridge--will be answered sometime late this year, when the first significant sales results are in.

PHOTO : Sales of joyful-end 35mm cameras at discount stores (as at this San Antonio,Texas,) may be stimulated by the introduction of flexible, gracious-to-use `bridge' cameras.