This post is a companion to the latest 3DLANES podcast episode, and derived from its transcript. If you’ve followed the path I’ve taken through photography, cars, and watches, you probably already know I shoot a fair amount of film. Instagram gives it away. And yes, I’m aware it’s a strange hobby to double down on
Pentax Spotmatic vs. Canon AE-1 Program vs. Contax RTS Read More »
This post is a companion to the latest 3DLANES podcast episode. This is the second half of a topic discussed on the last post. The first half was about manufacturers who built things for other brands and eventually decided to build their own. This half is different. This is about brands that actually died, but
Back From the Dead: How Enthusiast Brands Get Resurrected Read More »
This post is a companion to the latest 3DLANES podcast episode. Two headlines landed in the same news cycle this month, and on the surface they have nothing to do with each other. Porsche said it’s cutting production to protect margins. Leica is reportedly in talks to be acquired by a Chinese firm. One story
What Can Porsche Learn From Leica? Read More »
This post is a companion to the latest 3DLANES podcast episode. This was supposed to be a Collective Horology weekend. I had the trip planned with my wife, hotel booked and everything, and Sunday morning was going to be Morning Motors, the Cars and Coffee that Driving While Awesome puts together. Instead I spent the
Kodak, Jaguar, Zenith: Brands That Had Every Ingredient For Higher Success Read More »
This post is a companion to the latest 3DLANES podcast episode. The camera started as a precision artifact. German. Exclusive. Built by hand in the same tradition as Swiss watchmaking, meaning it was expensive, it was serious, and most people couldn’t touch it. Leica, Zeiss, Rollei. That was the holy trinity. And like a fine
The Globalization of the Camera industry: It Became Everybody’s Business Read More »
This post is a companion to the latest 3DLANES podcast episode. Everything is digital now. And I think that is exactly why analog things keep coming back. Think about it. Manual transmission cars are not making a full comeback, but Cars & Coffee never went away. People are still reluctant to call an electric car
Is Film Photography Actually Struggling? Read More »
This post is a companion to the latest 3DLANES podcast episode. Leica was born in Wetzlar, Germany. They built the first 35mm camera. Revenue in 24/25 sits at 596 million Euros, driven primarily by the photo and mobile segments. Six product lines: cameras, sports optics, lifestyle products, watches, projectors, and eyewear. The M System The
Leica Camera AG: Products, Audiences & Five Forces Analysis Read More »
This post accompanies the latest 3DLANES podcast episode discussing the Nikon FM2, its origins, its place in photography history, and the competitive landscape at the time of its introduction. The Nikon FM2 was positioned between enthusiast and professional-grade equipment, a flagship-level camera at a mid-tier price. It remained in production for 19 years (1982–2001), becoming
October 1981.The manual-focus SLR market was mature, crowded, and tightening. Feature differentiation was incremental, competition was fierce, and margins were compressing. Minolta needed a camera that could defend its position in the mid-tier consumer segment without overextending into professional territory. Enter the Minolta XG-M, marketed in Japan as the X-70 and arriving there in 1982,
The Minolta XG-M: A Piece of Photography History, Today Read More »
This time around I would like to talk about a camera that has been my gateway into photography again. Introduced in April 1981, a 35mm SLR that packed all the tech available at the time, and then some. It’s predecessor, the Canon AE-1. Of course you read it on the title, I am talking about
Canon AE-1 Program: Its Creation and Impact on Photography Read More »
