Tamron calls time on Bronica
The production lines have closed on Bronica's SLR range. Simon Bainbridge reports on the end of an era for medium format
The rumours circulating around the industry in recent months are true - Tamron has ceased production of all but one of Bronica's medium format cameras.
Official word came from Takashi Inoue, president of Tamron USA, who confirmed that the Japanese-based company had discontinued all of Bronica's SLR cameras following a sudden slump in sales in the United States. A spokesman for Tamron in the UK confirmed to BJP that Britain (and the rest of the world) faces the same future, with immediate effect.
Only the RF645 rangefinder, launched at Photokina four years ago, will continue production.
'Since the advent of digital photography, medium format sales have declined at a rapid pace,' said Inoue in a statement. 'Imports today are just a fraction of what they were even two years ago. For Bronica, that slip has been faster since our core customer base, portrait and wedding photographers, has adapted well to digital SLR equipment.'
Jim Mackay, general manager of Intro2020 (which imports Bronica to the UK), told BJP that Bronica sales were particularly strong here, accounting for 50% of the medium format market at one time. But those sales were reliant on the social and college market, and as in the United States, the adoption of digital SLRs has hit business badly.
Stacie Errera, chief marketing officer at Tamron USA added: 'These photographers are now providing customers with a quality and cost-efficient product that has virtually eliminated their need for the higher quality results that medium format film or digital backs can provide. While some customers are faithful to the format, the current sales volume and devastating purchasing forecasts cannot sustain the production of Bronica SLR products.'
Rival manufacturers, such as Hasselblad and Mamiya, have been less affected due to their focus on commercial photographers and their investment into digital and modern autofocus systems. Tamron, it seems, was unwilling to make similar investment into a market it could see was shrinking. Bronica is thought to account for just 1% of turnover for Tamron (who bought a majority share in the medium format manufacturer in 1995 and merged it into the parent company three years later).
Inoue confirmed this in his statement, saying that with the discontinuation of Bronica, the company is now in a better position to dedicate more resources to developing optics for digital SLR cameras.
Many predict that the medium format market will shrink down to just two or three manufacturers in the coming months, with Hasselblad and Mamiya sure to stay the distance.
Tamron is currently completing the last run of ETR-Si cameras, having ceased production of the SQ-Ai earlier this year and the GS-1 two years ago. Service and repairs will continue for a further seven years on the cameras but crucially, this is seven years after the discontinuation dates, not following sale.
Stacie Errera, chief marketing officer at Tamron USA:
'While some customers are faithful to the format, the current sales volume and devastating purchasing forecasts cannot sustain the production of Bronica SLR products.'
Takashi Inoue, president of Tamron USA:
'Imports today are just a fraction of what they were even two years ago. For Bronica, that slip has been faster since our core customer base, portrait and wedding photographers, has adapted well to digital SLR equipment.'
Bronica RF645: Sole survivor:
The RF645 rangefinder is the only Bronica that will continue production. Launched four years ago at Photokina 2000, Tamron explained that 'manual rangefinder cameras have staged a come-back as a new generation of users begin to explore the potential of this type of camera for creating images with a more personalised touch'.
Dealer reaction:
'We are very disappointed,' said Alan Ridsdale of Dale Photographic in Leeds. 'They are jumping the gun. We are still selling a lot of medium format, new and second-hand. A lot of photographers are going back to film. It's cheaper and they haven't got on with digital.'
'It was inevitable,'says Stephen Ferris of Wey Cameras in Surrey. 'The market has got smaller and smaller, and Bronica isn't set up for digital. There has been a huge drop-off in film cameras in the last 12 months, but we are still selling lots.'
'I'm not surprised,' says Paul Watson at MPS in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. 'Bronica just didn't respond to digital. Sales have dwindled for the past 18 months. More than 75% of the social photographers have switched to digital SLRs, whereas they used to buy Bronicas and then step up to Hasselblads. And the studio guys have been buying into Mamiya.'
