Zone VI Cameras - Going, Going, Gone!

[Eric Biggerstaff]

I posted this in another thread but thought I would start a new one as well.

I called Calumet today and asked if they had any Zone VI Ultralight cameras in stock. I noticed they were not listed on their site any longer. I was told that as of the end of last week, all Zone VI cameras have been discontinued. never to be made again.

What a shame, as they were/are a great camera ( at least the older one I have is) and in many ways Fred Picker and Zone VI got people excited about LF again. I wish they had made a 5X7 version!

I decided to go through the Calumet site, and of course, it appears there is very little left in the way of traditional photography, LF in particular.

Just thought some of you may be interested.

[Ted Harris]

Nor were the cameras sold by Calumet, with the exception ofthe first ones that were assembled from stock accquired from Fred Picker/Zone VI, quite the same as those that were manufactured by Fred, Richard Ritter and Company. Even those that were made from the original parts didn't have the same attention to detail that Richard insured went into every camera that left the plant.

[Kirk Gittings]

I decided to go through the Calumet site, and of course, it appears there is very little left in the way of traditional photography, LF in particular.

Long live those retailers who see a future in LF, Freestyle, J&C, Midwest, Photo Warehouse etc.

[Eric Biggerstaff]

Yes, we all need to support them the best we can.

[naturephoto1]

Long live those retailers who see a future in LF, Freestyle, J&C, Midwest, Photo Warehouse etc.

Don't forget Badger Graphics, B&H Photo (and Adorama), and KEH for used equipment.

Rich

[Gary Smith]

Sad to hear about the loss of the camera, but they still had a fair amount on there website. One the the big problems, is the old webpage had LF as a seperate page, not its all bundled into Film cameras. I think part of it its not as easy to find anymore, but alot still seems to be there. But thats just my opinion.

Gary

[Ron McElroy]

Supporters of Zone VI lost bigtime when Calumet bought the company. I don't know what the corporate philosophy is at Calumet, but they obivously didn't have a clue on how to incorporate Zone VI into their business.
Fred Picker was a great cheer leader for large format photography for amatures, very good at marketing and assembled a team that designed and built good products. I'm sorry to see it all go away.

[Capocheny]

Fred Picker was a great cheer leader for large format photography for amatures, very good at marketing and assembled a team that designed and built good products. I'm sorry to see it all go away.

Ron,

I agree with your comment...

People like Fred and Richard championed their business because of a love for what they were doing... in other words, it was a passion that grew from the heart!

Corporations, on the other hand, tend to be more "ABOUT" the bottom line... that is, the financial statements. Although this is not ALWAYS the case, in general, it is!

Cheers

[Frank Petronio]

Good riddance, Calumet has sucked for years

At least Picker cashed out OK, didn't he?

[BrianShaw]

I decided to go through the Calumet site, and of course, it appears there is very little left in the way of traditional photography, LF in particular.

I'm broken up about the loss of another great camera, but is this really a fair statement? I went to the Calumet site, too and found a bunch LF cameras still being offered:

Calumet - 3 models
Cambo - 3 models
Pilhole Resource - 5 models
Sinar - 3 models
Toyo - 8 models
Zero - 1 model

Plus a whole bunch of accessories.