jerryc41 wrote:
It's always sad to see a brand of anything go out of business, especially one with such a long history, but if people aren't buying, why keep producing?
http://petapixel.com/2015/10/01/voigtlander-rangefinder-cameras-are-no-more/
Voigtlander began making lenses in 1756.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voigtl%C3%A4nder
I really dont think this latest event is sad at all. As pointed out on the Wikipedia page, Cosina Voigtländer:
Cosina started producing cameras and lenses
under the Voigtländer brand in 1999, when it introduced a new M39 mount body and lenses. It has since produced a prodigious variety of these lenses in M39x26, Leica M mount, Nikon S rangefinder mount (some fully usable with Contax RF bodies), and SLR mounts including M42 and Nikon F. Cosina produces hoods and accessory viewfinders for many of the lenses.
Note that while the lenses feature familiar Voigtländer names, the optical formulas are all new, with the exception of the limited-edition collapsible Heliar. [emphases added]
As MT Shooter remarked, the
real Voigtlander died decades ago. In an article on the subject of Voigtlander LF lenses, Arne Cröll notes:
In 1970, the Voigtländer company was dissolved and merged into Zeiss-Ikon, although LF lenses still carried the Voigtländer name. In 1972, Zeiss-Ikon stopped the production of all product lines, including the Voigtländer LF lens production; existing stock was sold for a few more years afterwards.
And the rest of the history is nothing more than a succession of different firms, with no connection whatsoever to the original company, acquiring rights to the Voigtland brand name then turning around and licensing it to various Japanese and other manufacturers to paste on their products as, presumably, nothing more than a marketing ploy.
So Id say, anyway, Im glad this happened and, Voigtlander, R.I.P. :)