“Sources at Kyocera have confirmed that the company is to cease production of film and digital cameras, putting a huge question mark over the future of one of the oldest brands in photography, Contax.” (story)

It’s a shame to see how the so-called free market, the true God the Western world is currently praying to, is destroying so many companies. It teaches you a simple lesson - which Europeans will understand much more easily than Americans - namely that if you measure everything by whether it’s profitable or not you’re making a big mistake.

PS: It especially irks me to see that Kyocera will now be “concentrating on its mobile phone and semiconductor business.” As if cell phones added any value to human society!

PPS (7 March): Mark Tucker brought my attention to this somewhat more precise article according to which “the 645 range would continue in production for the foreseeable future.” That’s excellent news - even though I don’t have one of those. Any step away from the on-going uniformity in photography is good news.