AFi on hold in wake of Franke & Heidecke’s Closure
Last week we reported that Leaf was bought out by Phase One, which left a lot of Leaf owners concerned about the future of Leaf products. Now it has been confirmed that Franke & Heidecke, the company that produces the Rolleiflex camera body for Leaf Afi as well as Rollei Products (such as the X-Act 2), has closed its doors. With this also came a report of the production of Leaf AFi Systems being halted for the time being. No news as to whether they will continue this system. Although its somewhat awkward and bulky design, many people in the industry has favored this system, with its superior lens system and full digital conformability. This news also effects Sinar which also has a system built on this design – The Hy6.
more here
From what i’ve heard from someone at Phase, about six month ago, lack of financial stability in Franke & Heidecke is why they never invested in the Rollei camera body as an option when the H2 was discontinued.
People might not like the PhaseOne (Mamiya AFDIII) camera but Mamiya is a reliable company.
Comment by Critter — July 12, 2009 @ 9:59 pm
[...] AFi on hold in wake of Franke & Heidecke’s Closure | Real World Workflow AFi on hold in wake of Franke & Heidecke’s Closure | Real World Workflow. [...]
Pingback by AFi on hold in wake of Franke & Heidecke’s Closure | Real World Workflow « LUX-SF: On Image-Making — July 13, 2009 @ 6:50 pm
Fair enough Critter, but having used the AFi, I can say that it is/was the best MF digtal camera system out there and it will be a real shame if it’s relegated to “Delorean Status” in the near future.
Mamiya may be a solid company, and I actually like the AFD more than most, but Phase and Mamiya need to have a better weapon in their quiver if their are going to take on Hassy’s H system. Like it or not, it’s the mainstay in MFDB land right now.
Comment by Eric Zepeda — July 15, 2009 @ 10:03 am