Some marks are indelibly linked to classic photography. Names like Agfa, Minolta, Rollei and Yashica evoke what is known as the golden age of analog imaging, having propelled the medium from a marginal area of experimentation to a dominant and commercially viable industry.
Their products were among the best film cameras for beginners and professionals alike. However, times are changing and not all brands, whether iconic or not, have transitioned to the digital age with the same success.
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This happened to me recently, when I was standing in line at a cheap hardware store and noticed a stack of AA batteries with Agfa titles on them. Wait, Agfa still exists? Apparently so, but not necessarily like you might remember from the “good old days”.
You see, the names endure, but the companies that own the rights to them change behind the scenes, without the general public ever realizing what has happened. Sometimes this is due to understandable industry consolidation – brands like Manfrotto, Gitzo, Lowepro and Sachtler, which make some of the best tripods and camera bags, are all currently owned and operated by Videndum plc, for example – but in other cases the exchange is much less predictable.
AgfaPhoto
The history of the first Agfa company dates back to the mid-19th century, where it began life as a dye production company. Over the next 150 years the company became one of the most successful and respected film manufacturers, producing some of my favorite emulsions like the monochrome Agfa APX 100 and 400 and the legendary Ultra 100, known for its rich colors and used to great effect by equally legendary photographers like Martin Parr.
The digital age was unfortunately not kind to Agfa, and around the turn of the century the struggling imaging division was sold. It survived for another year as an independent entity known as AgfaPhoto GmbH, but eventual bankruptcy was inevitable. Although Agfa still exists and thrives in other sectors ranging from healthcare to “green hydrogen solutions” (yes, you know as well as I do what that means), the imaging division is a little harder to track down.
AgfaPhoto Holding GmbH is all that remains of the parent company, but it licenses the name to various other companies that make imaging-centric products. Lupus Imaging & Media uses the name on an assortment of disposable cameras and memory cards, while German company Plawa has an exclusive deal to use the AgfaPhoto name on digital cameras.
It currently produces the OPTIMA series of compact cameras, basic but suitable for casual, everyday photographers. A look at the specifications shows that they still use CCD sensors rather than the CMOS units more commonly found in modern digital cameras, perhaps demonstrating a reliance on vintage plans used at the time of AgfaPhoto’s insolvency.
To add to the complexity of the arrangements, many of these products are manufactured by a third party (or fourth?) in Europe or China, notably Ferrania in Italy, which itself has a complicated history in film production. As for the batteries I have come across with the name AgfaPhoto, they are manufactured under license by GBT-Batteries, headquartered in Germany but manufactured in China.
In short, if you see a camera, accessory or anything that says AgfaPhoto on it, it definitely wasn’t produced by the Agfa we all knew and loved. As for Green Hydrogen, the Agfa corporate site tells me with confidence that I “need a ZIRFON™ membrane inside your electrolyzer”.
Aren’t we all….
Yasica
This is another brand you would have been happy to see on the shelves of many camera stores in the latter half of the 20th century. It was born in Japan in 1949 under the name Yashima, becoming Yashica after its expansion and acquisition of the Nicca Camera Company, which allowed it to enter the 35mm rangefinder market.
It holds the prestigious record of launching the first ever commercially viable electronically controlled 35mm camera, the Yashica Electro 35, making it an undisputed major player in the already extremely competitive camera market.
In a familiar turn of events, as this competition intensified over the decades, Yashica, now owned by a ceramics company called Kyocera, struggled to make money. Under the leadership of Kyocera – which also owned another iconic name, Contax – Yashica had evolved from a high-profile professional camera maker to a more budget-friendly consumer brand.
Eventually, in 2005, production of all Yashica brand products ceased and entered a dormant state for three years.
Then, in 2008, Kyocera sold the rights to use the Yashica name to the MF Jebsen Group, a conglomerate based in Hong Kong. Under their leadership, the Yashica Y35 was released in 2017, a retro-style camera designed to resemble the aforementioned Electro 35, and more recently, the Yashica FX-D 100 digital film simulation camera, followed by an inexpensive camcorder, the world’s smallest mirrorless camera, and even night vision binoculars.
Some of these products are clearly a world apart from the original Yashica, but the FX-D 100 has the look and feel of a traditional Yashica SLR, with Yashica written on the chassis. However, the main company is entirely different from the one that started the brand all those years ago.
Minolta
The technology of this great independent camera brand found new life when Konica Minolta was acquired by Sony in 2006. Since the assets acquired by Sony included the lens mount and associated technology, this became the basis of the Alpha family of cameras, which continued to claim a significant share of the mirrorless camera market (albeit now with the E-mount).
But look in the less visible corners of the Internet and at some mainstream retailers, and you might still find a camera or two bearing the Minolta name. If Minolta as an independent entity has ceased to exist and Sony now owns the usage rights, how is this possible? Sony is pragmatic, but it’s not the kind of company that easily licenses its intellectual property without a very profitable cause.
The truth is, no. She also didn’t use the Minolta name on any products, which ultimately was the problem. Under the laws of various countries, companies can only retain ownership of a trademark if they actively use it on active products. Since Minolta was dormant, it was acquired by JMM Lee Properties, LLC, a California-based company specializing in acquiring brands with expired licenses.
JMM then licensed the name to New York-based Elite Brands Inc., which uses it on its own basic digital cameras and other products such as in-car cameras. If you see a Minolta camera, it has nothing to do with Konica Minolta or Sony. Or Minolta for that matter.
Rollei
Once again, this is a case of the parent company collapsing, leaving an orphaned, but valuable name. Rolleiflex went bankrupt in the early 2000s and, as often happens in such cases, the company’s assets were divided.
This seems to be a less tragic example than some of the others mentioned here, because at least Rollei as an entity has somehow survived as an offshoot of that original company, albeit under new ownership. The company is now called Rollei GmbH & Co. KG and still sells photo products under the Rollei brand.
This is not to say that new ‘Rollei’ cameras are still made by Rollei to Rollei’s specifications, and the waters remain cold when it comes to finding out exactly who currently holds the licenses to make Rollei lenses, for example. It appears that 7Artisans is currently manufacturing Rollei AF mirrorless optics, including the 85mm f/1.8 for Nikon Z and Sony E mounts.
Meanwhile, the Rollei 35AF camera lens for the Rollei 35AF film camera is manufactured by Mint Camera, and the Rolleiflex Hy6 mod2 medium format film camera system is produced by DW Photo, under license. This last point is actually quite encouraging since these cameras are manufactured in very small batches, sometimes to order, in the former Rollei factory in Braunschweig, Germany.
There’s something about this setup that seems healthy, and I can imagine a group of analog enthusiasts lovingly continuing the work Rollei employees have done for decades.
This may not be the case at all, but it’s a much more positive outcome than some of the other examples on this list.
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