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"Minolta" cameras back on the market...
- Thread starter Heritage Cameras
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neilt3
Senior Member
Do a search on this forum , it's old news , but an interesting story .
It's possible that they just sell cameras branded Minolta after helping themselves to what was classes ( in a court ) as an abandoned trademark .
It seemed that there was no connection to Minolta / Konica Minolta at all .
It also appeared that the cameras were of very low quality .
There was a second thread which also involved conversations with a rep from a large American retailer whom I think has links with dpr .
Awkward questions were asked about the validity of selling a camera as a brand to cash in on a well known brand name , where the manufacturer might have no legal right , and the whole thread was deleted .
There was a lot more to it than that though .
On there website it showed in the adverts much to infer that the cameras were still connected to KM .
This seemed to be very misleading , but it was never confirmed if the two manufacturers had any links .
Have a read up on it .
It's possible that they just sell cameras branded Minolta after helping themselves to what was classes ( in a court ) as an abandoned trademark .
It seemed that there was no connection to Minolta / Konica Minolta at all .
It also appeared that the cameras were of very low quality .
There was a second thread which also involved conversations with a rep from a large American retailer whom I think has links with dpr .
Awkward questions were asked about the validity of selling a camera as a brand to cash in on a well known brand name , where the manufacturer might have no legal right , and the whole thread was deleted .
There was a lot more to it than that though .
On there website it showed in the adverts much to infer that the cameras were still connected to KM .
This seemed to be very misleading , but it was never confirmed if the two manufacturers had any links .
Have a read up on it .
SQLGuy
Forum Pro
Their web site says: Minolta® is a registered trademark of JMM Lee Properties, LLC and is used in the United States under license by Elite Brands Inc.
JMM Lee Properties apparently owns several well-known names for use in areas where they don't work or no-longer exist. e.g. Litton and Bendix.
Hike Pics
Senior Member
This Minolta MN35Z video from last year. I personally would like to spend a day with one to see for myself. Sometimes it isn't the camera, it's the photographer. And I have known skilled shooters to get nice images from the so-called "trashcam".
Years ago JK Imaging did a similar thing with Kodak. They put decent glass on them and went as far as to getting the OOC JPGs color close to the original EasyShare models. They not only offer several models but their customer service is excellent.
I would like to think Elite Brands knows what they are doing, since they have other photo brands in their product line. But only the person pushing the shutter button really knows.
Years ago JK Imaging did a similar thing with Kodak. They put decent glass on them and went as far as to getting the OOC JPGs color close to the original EasyShare models. They not only offer several models but their customer service is excellent.
I would like to think Elite Brands knows what they are doing, since they have other photo brands in their product line. But only the person pushing the shutter button really knows.
neilt3
Senior Member
The three threads that remain on these cameras are ;
https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/4160586 from May 2017
https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/4201811 from September 2017
And https://www.dpreview.com/forums/thread/4215709 from October 2017 .
The thread that was deleted contained numerous links showing that these cameras are not made under license or have any connection whatsoever to KonicaMinolta .
Going off memory , and if you want the facts you'll have to do your own research , JMM Lee started selling something on the lines of binoculars and branded them as "Minolta" .
KonicaMinolta wasn't happy about this and took JMM Lee to court about it .
JMM Lee argued that the "Minolta" was an abandoned trademark and KonicaMinolta no longer had any legal claim to it .
Turned out the Judge agreed , and as was the tradition with Minolta / KM , they lost again !
( remember Honeywell and Exxon ?)
So when JMM Lee decided to flog some cameras they bunged the "Minolta" name on them too .
KM clearly didn't want to chuck more money on lawyers down the pan , as they'd no doubt have lost that one too , so hence the Minolta branded cameras .
.
One thing that people had issue with was that these cameras were advertised as building on the heritage of ( the real ) Minolta cameras and optics .
So whilst they can legally sell a product with the brand name "Minolta" , to claim it was still a product made by KM would have been false advertising ( under license or otherwise ) , if that was the case .
I think this was on both their website and was on such as Adorama's website .
On that thread Helen from Adorama was going to get their solicitors to look into that after the business reopened following the religious holiday they were on .
The thread was deleted before further information was posted or discovered .
However the page implying KonicaMinolta as the maker is not there now ( as far as I can tell ) .
After a quick look on JMM Lees website here ; http://www.jmmlee.com/brand-minolta.html tells in brief the history on "Minolta" .
Whilst it doesn't claim outright that they are one and the same company still making cameras , it does let you believe that , as they now sell things under the "Minolta" branding .
You would think that , wouldn't you ?
And you would expect them to be of KonicaMinolta quality .
I for one would like to know the truth rather than just speculate .... though I know where I won't be spending my money .
.
As a side note these are only sold in the USA as far as I know , where the court ruled they could use the "Minolta" brand name . They don't seem to be sold anywhere else where laws covering trademarks might be different , other than grey imports via ebay .
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Last edited:
SQLGuy
Forum Pro
Well, not really a new type of story. The watch industry is rife with it. Brands raised from the dead after decades, or centuries. Elgin, Waltham, Gruen, Blancpain, Ball,... lots of companies that promote a heritage they bought with a name, or maybe didn't even buy, but just registered. Some of them make some good product, too.
Well, Elite Brand self granted licence.
Nothing to do with the original Minolta and I suspect that the Minolta logo is still owned by Konica Minolta.
Generic products that are sold under several brands.
Last edited:
PDX700
Well-known member
I understand that Seagull's 35mm camera uses old Minolta technology, including their lens mount. The use is supposedly under license, though it's unlikely, because Seagull made later models for Minolta. It's sold in their Chinese home market, but there are reports of some being exported.
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