10. Medium format players like Hasselblad,
Mamiya, Contax, Pentax and Bronica were
fighting each other in these years to obtain an
increased share of a shrinking market.
12. In the early 1990s, digital imaging started to prosper in
this segment in the form of digital backs. The film
magazine was removed and instead a device which
and instead, a device
contained an image sensor was attached.
13. It is striking to what
It is striking to what extent
those products were
supplied by companies that
were not manufacturing
medium format cameras…
di f t
25. The camera companies
h i
made sure that their
sure that their
products were compatible
with these new devices.
26. This setting also enabled
g
photographers to choose whether
they
th would shift t di it l
ld hift to digital or not.
t
It was a hybrid that worked
It was a hybrid that worked
reasonably well until no one really
demanded fil
d d d film any llonger.
27. Once that was the case, very few
photographers were willing to buy
to buy
one camera and one digital back
which together b
hi h h became very
expensive and bulky. The high‐end
p y g
models from Canon and Nikon were
good enough for most applications
for most applications,
much cheaper and lighter.
29. Hasselblad had to lay
Hasselblad had to lay off about 50 percent of its work force in
50 percent of its in
2004, and was forced to leave their office (the building on the
picture) two years after having moved there.
35. It became increasingly obvious that the medium format
companies had to move closer to the manufacturers of
digital backs in order to deliver a complete digital solution.
44. Image attributions
I ib i
Hasselblad photos: Christian Sandström
Hasselblad photos: Christian Sandström
45. Christian Sandström is a PhD
student at Chalmers
student at Chalmers
University of Technology in
Gothenburg, Sweden. He
Gothenburg, Sweden. He
writes and speaks about
disruptive innovation and
technological change.
Find out more:
www.christiansandstrom.org