investment

Leica and SoftBank invest $121 million in Light

Jul 19, 2018 by John Aldred Add Comment

Light made big news when they announced the L16 back in 2015. A crazy handheld camera that was actually 16 cameras in one. Not much bigger than a smartphone it threatened the end of DSLRs. The sample images looked very impressive, but when it got into peoples hands, they were entirely underwhelmed. It didn’t kill DSLRs.

But people did take notice. People at companies like Leica Camera AG and SoftBank Vision Fund, who have now invested $121 million in the unconventional camera company. It’s an interesting, but not an illogical investment for Leica. The merging of their hardware knowhow and Light’s software expertise could be a perfect combination.

Report says Japanese government wants Fuji to “help” Nikon by buying a stake in it

Jun 7, 2017 by John Aldred 12 Comments

This is an odd and unexpected bit of potential news. I say potential because at the moment it’s mostly a rumour. But it’s quite an interesting thought. Nikon has been struggling, there’s no two ways about it. In Nikon’s own financial report they cite an “extraordinary loss” of around 53 billion yen (~$485 million). This resulted in 1,000 job cuts and completely dropping the newly planned line of DL cameras.

The respected Sentaku magazine reports in its June issue that the Japanese government is trying to find a company that can help Nikon. But that’s where the story starts to get a little confusing. The June issue is not available online. Fuji Rumors continue the story based off a Japanese blog relaying the point of the article.

Bowens Lighting and Calumet Photographic acquired by AURELIUS, bad news for Bowens?

Jun 7, 2016 by John Aldred 3 Comments

After Calumet’s closure of US based retail stores and filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2014, it was pretty clear they were in trouble. With Bowens, this news comes as something of a surprise, however pulling out of The Photography Show at the last minute was a big clue that something was up.

Now, both companies are reported to have been acquired by investment company AURELIUS.

VSCO Gains Recognition as it Receives $40 Million in Investments

May 6, 2014 by Maaz Khan 2 Comments

Visual Supply Company [VSCO] is a small company in Oakland, California. Right now, they employ 43 people. You’ve probably seen their name pop up on the photography charts in the iOS and Google Play app stores; that would be VSCO Cam, the company’s image-editing app, which has basically become an absolute must have for mobile photographers. Proving that they’re not just another filter processor, the company’s gained almost a cult-like following because of their commitment to film emulation. Reports are now coming in that another company’s seeing potential in them as well, with Accel Partners announcing their investment of $40 million into VSCO.