Mamiya Digital Imaging and Leaf Imaging are two major names in the world of cameras. While Mamiya creates camera bodies and lenses and is based in Tokyo, Leaf has it’s headquarters at Tel Aviv and is known for making medium-format cameras and their digital versions which would attach with camera bodies. In a dramatic move, both companies have joined hands to produce better medium-format cameras and to counter to competition they face from mainstream SLRs. The new brand will be called ‘Mamiya Leaf.’
The biggest problem that the companies making medium-format cameras face, is the competition from main SLR makers such as Nikon and Canon. An SLR is not as good as a medium-format camera but it still does an excellent job and suits most of the users. The greatest advantage an SLR has, over a medium-format camera, is that an SLR is much more affordable. For instance, Nikon’s D4 costs about $6,000 while an 80-megaphixel Phase One-Mamiya combination will cost a whooping $40,000. D4 certainly has a lower resolution compared to the Phase-One camera but most of the users are not looking for the highest quality and are rather happy with good quality.
This competition from SLR companies is one of the reason why the two major medium-format camera companies have joined it. Through this alliance, Mamiya and Leaf hope that they will be able to share their resources, work together on products and as a result, produce products which are much better and are available to customers much faster. Claiming that this partnership would be very fruitful, Leaf’s general manager claimed that customers will thoroughly enjoy the powerful products which will be a result of this partnership.
Image courtesy imago6.
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