[boriscleto]

https://kosmofoto.com/2018/08/ne-se-the-company-behind-the-ihagee-elbaflex-s...or-bankruptcy/

Dear friends,

We have a rather sad message for you today. A few weeks ago, our main investor Stefan Immes and CEO of Net SE had a serious traffic accident, which he barely survived. Although we have been able to talk to him and although, for a very short time of the day he has become the astute, humorous and positive entrepreneur we know, it is now clear that due to the severity of the injuries he will not be able to continue running the company in the foreseeable future.

For a team as small as ours / For a company of 15 employees only, this entails a large number of changes. Currently, we are in the process of reorganization and are trying to establish a working system as no successor regulation can yet be found for the Net SE Group. For this reason, we are currently undergoing a restructuring process with an as yet unknown outcome for the individual divisions, such as CP Görz.

Especially as far as Crowdfunding is concerned, we think that we will need until the end of October to be able to share our conclusions on how to proceed. One of the top priorities of our Crowdfunding team is, of course, to deliver the orders we receive as promised. However, we ask for your understanding that, for legal reasons alone, we cannot make any faster decisions without having reorganized the company.

For technical questions, our support team is of course still available, but we can only make limited forecasts about the development progress of our projects.

We are honestly touched and the shock still sits deep. We are also extremely sorry that we are not able to spread better and more positive news at the moment, but we are working very hard to change this at short notice.

Yours sincerely, Net SE Crowdfunding team / team at Oprema Optik / the team at MOG

In other Kickstarter project news Reflex (the vaporware changeable mount SLR) has been pushed back into 2019...

Reflex: Bringing back the analogue SLR camera by REFLEX ? Kickstarter

But let's start with the question that will be on most people's minds; How is production going and will the camera ship on time? The honest answer is that while a lot of work has been done and progress is made on a daily basis, shipping as was originally planned for the end of August is now not realistic. We are still aiming for Photokina in September to present the camera, but in these past few weeks it has become apparent to us that the camera will not ship before end 2018. We are aware that for some this will come as a disappointment, but hopefully after reading the following, the added value on which this decision is based will seem clear.

They haven't even started production of their first product, but lots of vaporware in the pipe...

I wish this actually existed...

Film Processor: Electronics, sensors and automation have come a long way since the 90's and there is definitely room for a practical and affordable personal mini-lab. We are working on a fully automatic desktop-size developer. The ReflexLab does C41, E6 and Black and White and takes any film format from 110 up to 5x7"

Estimated retail price will be under £500

Lens-Based Scanner: Again a product with great room for an update from both flatbed to dedicated film scanners, be it in scanning speed, resolution or software. The ReflexScan can do 110 film up to 5x7" size negatives and has a small footprint.

Estimated retail price will be around £200

Field Notes and Metadata: The central Reflex app connects these 3 key products (this includes Reflex I) and syncs both data and metadata, as well as communicating film developing and scanning presets.

Prime Lens: A first in a line of three fast aperture manual prime lenses. A Sony E-Mount version will also be released.

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Last edited by boriscleto; 08-09-2018 at 08:44 AM.

[antipattern]

That would be a shame about Meyer Optik. I liked their reissues of old Meyer designs, many of which have a unique rendering. I understand that these lenses were not every one's cup of tea and their lenses were a bit too expensive to me. But it was still nice to see some of the Meyer legacy being brought back to life. I'm not sure about the Elbaflex, which I think has not enough. I hope they can sort out their woes and Meyer can be resurrected a third time...

[D1N0]

How ever did they go bankrupt. Extremely overpriced lenses that reached their goal within a day and still they manage to go bust.

[travelswsage]

And their is no real communication or updates on any of the Kickstarter campaigns. I liked the idea of the Biotar 75/1.5, bit the bullet and backed the campaign. It looks like it may be a bad loss and a lesson hard learned ...

[BigMackCam]

It's terribly sad that the CEO has had such a serious accident, but filing for bankruptcy within mere weeks of this event? It doesn't quite ring true that this is the only - or even the main - reason. You only file for bankruptcy when you can't meet the demands of your creditors, so the company's finances must have already been on a knife edge. Either that, or they've been hit with a large and unexpected financial obligation for which they have no provision. The cynic in me suspects there's more to the story...

As for the Reflex SLR... I still don't understand the desire to buy one of these, when there are so many lovely used SLRs available. Yes, they might need servicing to get them working perfectly and ensure long-term reliability, but the cost of an excellent condition body and full service is going to be considerably lower than a new Reflex SLR. Still, for those who've committed, it's not great news...

[dsmithhfx]

Is there independent confirmation (e.g. local news report) of this "serious traffic accident" ?

[pathdoc]

The cynic in me suspects there's more to the story...

The paranoiac in me goes further than that, but we are soaring here into the realms of detective fiction rather than proven or even probable fact.

How ever did they go bankrupt. Extremely overpriced lenses that reached their goal within a day and still they manage to go bust.

Lomography, on the other hand, continue to soldier on. There are some aspects of their philosophy regarding film photography that don't sit well with me, but OTOH they have a reasonably diverse line of products that probably does a lot to keep them afloat and subsidize the hardcore lens-development branch of the company (which has a good record for turning ideas into hardware). Meyer 2.0 could do a lot worse than become a division of Lomo. In fact, if I were the one with the chief decision making power in Mr Immes' absence, I'd be treating that as my first and best option for survival.

[D1N0]

Apparently they have been insolvent from Juli 17. http://www.di-branche.de/DIGITAL-IMAGING/news/default.asp?rb=news&nws_item=4...=2&nws_start=1

[dsmithhfx]

we are soaring here into the realms of detective fiction rather than proven or even probable fact.

OTOH we've only been given a company press release with assorted uncorroborated claims, proclaiming good intentions...


(but I don't even have a dog in this hunt)

[BigMackCam]

The paranoiac in me goes further than that, but we are soaring here into the realms of detective fiction rather than proven or even probable fact.

Now, when did that ever stop a good internet "news" story?!

Lomography, on the other hand, continue to soldier on. There are some aspects of their philosophy regarding film photography that don't sit well with me, but OTOH they have a reasonably diverse line of products that probably does a lot to keep them afloat and subsidize the hardcore lens-development branch of the company (which has a good record for turning ideas into hardware). Meyer 2.0 could do a lot worse than become a division of Lomo. In fact, if I were the one with the chief decision making power in Mr Immes' absence, I'd be treating that as my first and best option for survival.

Lomography has been very clever in creating a hipster photography market based (initially) around old, used, cheap-to-source and (later) cheap-to-manufacture, low quality cameras and lenses, further leveraging relationships with original manufacturers like Russia's KMZ plant to provide distribution of niche products worldwide.

Part of the success, I think, is due to them promoting the "it's hip to shoot analogue" concept and community, and aiming many of the products at those with little or no photographic skill - at least, to begin with. Lomography has become something of a movement and a club, and that's very attractive to some people - especially when their "happy mistakes" are considered "artistic achievements". It's a clever way to shift products that many would dismiss as rather poor (though I will admit that they produce and supply some great products - you just have to be very selective!!).

I agree completely MOG joining the Lomography family. It would extend Lomography's range of more serious products, whilst remaining faithful to the artistic and hip aspects. And it would be a better outcome for MOG than the alternative...

[travelswsage]

Apparently they have been insolvent from Juli 17. Digital-Imaging - NEWS Die Net SE ist im Insolvenzverfahren, * Meyer-Optik-G

Before this last news of the CEO's accident the last update was on July 5 which said the project was coming along fine but that Tokina was no longer involved in the project and that their would be an approx. 3-month delay while sourcing components from within Germany.. How do you go from everything's fine on July 5 to bankruptcy filing on July 17?

[BigMackCam]

Apparently they have been insolvent from Juli 17. Digital-Imaging - NEWS Die Net SE ist im Insolvenzverfahren, Meyer-Optik-G

Which almost-certainly means they were either (a) planning insolvency proceedings weeks in advance of this, or (b) had creditors knocking at their doors for months before-hand... Either way, long before Herr Immes's accident.

I'm making assumptions here, of course, rather than stating fact. But I remain cycnical...

[clickclick]

Really would like to see the Meyer Optic side pull through. I was very tempted to pre-order one of their lenses.


I know nothing of the structure or backing of the companies involved, but I wonder if there is any sort of liability in the accident that puts things in a situation where they have to sever ties. This would perhaps explain sudden insolvency, but it doesn't address the timeline of some of the other issues pointed out above.

[boriscleto]

I don't know how a project like the Elbaflex could fail. Who wouldn't want a Kiev 19M with the light meter removed? And who wouldn't pay $1,500 for that? For that price you can buy about 10 Kiev 19Ms on eBay, and you might even find one with a working light meter.

[dsmithhfx]

I don't know how a project like the Elbaflex could fail. Who wouldn't want a Kiev 19M with the light meter removed? And who wouldn't pay $1,500 for that? For that price you can buy about 10 Kiev 19Ms on eBay, and you might even find one with a working light meter.

Dude. It's got a wood grip glued on. A teak-stained wood grip. SMH.