The End of Schneider digital and analog lenses.

[ihdap]

The german photomagazin "Photonews" just anounced the end of production of all Schneider Kreuznach photographic lenses, including all Schneider Digitar lenses and of course all remaining analog viewcamera lenses. Phaseone Schneider lenses are currently produced by Mamiya and might be not affected.
The maintanance and the sales of the remaining lenses will be operated by www.greiner-photo.de
The Arca Swiss Online Store by Snap Studios already erased all Schneider lenses for the Arca R-System in their shop.
These are sad and disturbing news.
Hopefully Rodenstock will take over and stabilize its monopoly.

Regards Peter
Art & Photography
IHDAP

 

[torger]

Indeed sad, but it's been known in this forum that this would happen for at least six months. Phase One's Schneider lenses are not affected.

Schneider simply drops two niche lens lines that are no longer profitable. In the digital Digitar line they also had the problem that the sensor technology went in a different direction than the lenses were designed for leading to compatibility issues which of course was a huge blow to their popularity.

The lenses will live on in the second hand market for many many years though, and anyone that wants to build a system with Schneider Digitar lenses will be able to do so with some patience.

I don't think it will be a big change for Rodenstock which almost had monopoly on new sales already, except for the 120 and 60mm few new Digitars were sold.

 

[Lars]

I blame this decision just as much on the MFDB makers' inability to bring the cost of the backs down to increase market volume. More cameras on the market would have raised demand for lenses. Lens markers followed suit, pricing themselves out of any significant market volume.