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Another MF maker died today - DHW bankrupt.

ErikKaffehr

Well-known member
Hi,

I would speculate that Hasselblad may be a better candidate, if Sony wanted to go into MFD, which I doubt. Hasselblad has a lot to offer, a market position included.

Your point on tiny cameras with big sensor is an interesting one. Unfortunately, it is difficult to make tiny lenses for big sensors.

Best regards
Erik

Wouldn't that be a hoot:)

But Sony seems to be quickly traveling in the opposite direction … tiny cameras with big sensors.

- Marc
 

fotografz

Well-known member
Hi,

I would speculate that Hasselblad may be a better candidate, if Sony wanted to go into MFD, which I doubt. Hasselblad has a lot to offer, a market position included.

Your point on tiny cameras with big sensor is an interesting one. Unfortunately, it is difficult to make tiny lenses for big sensors.

Best regards
Erik
Yeah, that the rub isn't it? The incomparable Zeiss Otis line completely negates the whole small package idea. But the A7 cameras with the 55/1.8 isn't terribly out of proportion.

That's why the tiny FE 35/2.8 is my favorite lens on the A7R … maybe I got lucky, but mine is a superb performer. My big wish is for a pancake lens to use on the A7 cameras.

If Sony made a MFD, at least the body would be small … the mirror box for MF cameras is what makes them huge. Get rid of that and we are slimmed down quite a bit even if the lenses were still largish.

- Marc
 
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Ignazi Uriarte

New member
I wonder how many times they have been broke… as F&H, Rollei Fototechnik, Rollei Fototechnik + SAMSUNG, F&H, DHW… I used to worry about it, wishing they would manage out of
the bad situation they were in… but now I don’t feel any pity for them, first of all because they didn’t learn in decades how to sell a good product and second the bad experience I had with service.
The focusing ring of my 2,8/50 got stuck, I send it to Braunschweig for repair, got it back with no charges, I was happy and thankful for having the lens back, it looked
clean, focusing ring turned smoothly. Put the lens in the Pelicase… had no use for it at the moment. Then came a big assignment from a client, models, building of a set a.s.o.
Shooting tethered with the 2,8/50 my assistant keeps me saying shots are out of focus… at first I could not believe it was the lens… it seems F&H had misaligned the optics.
I send the lens to DHW, six months later I got it back as it was, not even good as a paperweight. Do I have now to buy a new 2,8/50 ? NO WAY !
 
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ErikKaffehr

Well-known member
Hi,

I would say that a technical camera could make a perfect match, especially with live view, and good implementation of live view.

With current prices, beyond my reach, but I really suggest technical cameras and live view are an ideal match.

Best regards
Erik

Yeah, that the rub isn't it? The incomparble Zeiss Otis line completely negates the whole small package idea. But the A7 cameras with the 55/1.8 isn't terribly out of proportion.

That's why the tiny FE 35/2.8 is my favorite lens on the A7R … maybe I got lucky, but mine is a superb performer. My big wish is for a pancake lens to use on the A7 cameras.

If Sony made a MFD, at least the body would be small … the mirror box for MF cameras is what makes them huge. Get rid of that and we are slimed down quite a bit even if the lenses were still largish.

- Marc
 

EH21

Member
Hi Ignazi,
I'm sorry to read about your service experience which isn't the norm. I've sent you an e-mail. All factory service does come with a warranty, hopefully we can get this sorted for you.
Regards,
Eric
 

East_London

New member
In all the years working as a photographer I never came across a more complete and almost perfect medium format system.
And the support received from DHW has always been great. Best of luck to them!
 

dougpeterson

Workshop Member
I met Johannes on the show floor today. He was upbeat and optimistic they can find a business solution. He was not wanting to provide any hints, which I can understand as if they are looking for a funding source, partner, or angel investor then they would not want to scare them away by disclosing anything.

Hopefully they will find such a solution as more makers is, IMO, always a good thing, and they have some good people.

That said he also clarified that they want to find this solution in the next six weeks.
 

JBanister

New member
This is the right time for Sony to acquire the platform. SONYYYYY!!!!
If you are going to dream, you better do it all the way up to heaven!
Eduardo
I don't know about Sony. I think they need someone who can play the role Fuji Heavy Industries played when Subaru was smaller - maybe someone like Kenteh Optical in Taiwan who might see advertising benefit from saying they have "Rollei HFT Coating" on their telescope lenses or something like that.
 

stngoldberg

Well-known member
This is the right time for Sony to acquire the platform. SONYYYYY!!!!
If you are going to dream, you better do it all the way up to heaven!
Eduardo
Sony has financial problems of their own. They lost several Billion dollars last quarter and haven't made a profit in years. Don't be surprised if their losses effect their camera division
Stanley
 

Jorgen Udvang

Subscriber Member
Their cameras are popular in China. Some of their affluent customers in The Middle Kingdom must surely have a truckload or two of money available for this worthy cause, no? I wish I had. Owning Rollei... that would be something :)
 

Shashin

Well-known member
No, it is called a liquidation auction. But, if you want a piece of history, there looks like there are some prototype cameras in the lots. Maybe you can pick up some CBC machines too.
 

Stuart Richardson

Active member
Yes, this is rather sad! I had the Hy6, and while I was not impressed with the Sinarback that I had with it, the camera itself was excellent, as were the lenses. It was a fantastic camera to shoot film with, but I eventually sold it because they took years to come out with a 6x6 film back for it. Of course, they came out with it not long after I sold it! Seeing the factory itself, it makes a bit of sense. Clearly they were doing their best to keep it running, but must not have had enough sales to keep it going. A bit of a downward spiral...

I visited the Leica factory back in September, and the contrast could not be starker. Both companies were producing high end, incredibly capable cameras, but Leica is clearly doing spectacularly well. It is an interesting contrast of how differently two companies at the pinnacle of film camera production transitioned to digital. Leica clearly cracked the code, and Rollei unfortunately did not manage.

In comparison to the images above, this is what the factory floor at Leica now looks like:


My condolences to the DHW team and the owners of their products...it's too bad that it had to end this way!
 

gazwas

Active member
What strikes me as a little unusual about those pictures is the distinct lack of built, finished product? There are some machined bodies but nothing more advanced in the production stage than some historical display pieces.
 
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f8orbust

Active member
Lot #576 has a few boxed X-Act 2s. The description says 25 large boxes, 10 small, plus some other gear, with a reserve (?) of 500 euros for the lot. Currently $6300 each at B&H ...

 

Geoff

Well-known member
As some of you may know, there were some interested third-party efforts to try and rescue DHW. Without going into details, two things to note - first, the idea was not to simply inject some cash and get the same operation up and running, but rather to implement a larger plan to relaunch the brand properly, invest in sufficient marketing and develop suitable new products. These plans did not come to pass, and so we have sadness instead.

Having used the Hy6 and 6008 products for some 20+ years, I plan to keep using them. In all its iterations, the Hy6 and its lenses, as well as the TLR still being made, are both fine products. The lenses are top tier, management difficulties notwithstanding. With proper support, this could have gone much further, but that's water under the bridge now.
 
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