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Marty
Tinkerer
Username: Marty
Post Number: 93
Registered: 11-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, January 05, 2012 - 07:11 am: | 
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I just saw on TV that Kodak is apparently preparing for bankruptcy... Wow. The end of an era. |
Neuberger
Tinkerer
Username: Neuberger
Post Number: 61
Registered: 01-2010
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, January 06, 2012 - 02:25 am: |
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Nothing lasts forever.
"The Times They Are a-Changin'" (Bob Dylan)
Now, who's Bob Dylan? |
Jeffk
Tinkerer
Username: Jeffk
Post Number: 56
Registered: 10-2011
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, January 06, 2012 - 09:27 am: |
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We're probably mostly a small bunch of older farts here :-), but most of the rest of the world thinks film (Kodak's historical focus of business) is something from the stone age, and only cares about digital - and mostly about cheap digital that is built into their latest smart phone and can automatically post photos to facebook. Kodak missed the boat on this major change a long time ago. |
Cooltouch
Tinkerer
Username: Cooltouch
Post Number: 197
Registered: 01-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, January 06, 2012 - 06:38 pm: |
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It's worth noting that Kodak was an early forerunner and market leader in digital photography, but they just let it slip away, mostly I believe because they've insisted on offering only amateur-oriented digicams, while not continuing to pursue the DCS series once the digital ball really got rolling. It's also worth noting that Fuji is apparently quite happily continuing to produce film emulsions and showing no sign of backing away from it. Plus Fuji seems to have been doing well with their camera offerings.
I just believe that Kodak has lost its sense of direction and no longer possesses a clear set of goals for the future that are worthwhile enough to pull it back from the brink.
It's sad, really. And I can't help but blame current management. |
Br1078lum
Tinkerer
Username: Br1078lum
Post Number: 202
Registered: 11-2010
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, January 06, 2012 - 07:36 pm: |
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The original digital camera, which was developed by Kodak, weighed 13 pounds, and saved the image to a tape drive. Now we have phones with 8 megapixel cameras in them. And somewhere along the way, there is Kodak, sitting by the side of the road, wondering where they took a wrong turn.
PF |
Neuberger
Tinkerer
Username: Neuberger
Post Number: 62
Registered: 01-2010
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, January 07, 2012 - 08:10 am: |
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Kodak even took the wrong turn while most people were still using film-based equipment in the early nineties. I preferred Ektachrome then, which out of the blue disappeared and was very hastily replaced by "better" (in terms of more profit?) emulsions. But green was no longer green, all other colors were not ony more colorful, they were aggressively multicolored to an intorerable extent. So like many other slide film enthusiasts I immediately switched to Fuji film, guess why!
I had tried to get in touch with the Kodak salespeople, and they just did not care, on the contrary, they rode the very high horse, and perhaps they still do. This time it is me who doesn't care.
I still like my 35mm SLR gear and my Fujichrome Sensia, but - of course - I also have several digital cams, all of them Fujis, what else? |
Cooltouch
Tinkerer
Username: Cooltouch
Post Number: 200
Registered: 01-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, January 09, 2012 - 10:22 pm: |
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Honestly, the only product of Kodak's I consistently used over the years was Kodachrome. More recently, Ektar, D-76 and Tri-X, but I've always been a color slide guy. So if Kodak disappears, yeah, I'll miss it, mostly because I'll have to scrounge around for B&W emulsions and developer that I like as much as what I'm using now. So, much of Kodak's marketing strategy the past 10+ years has largely been into areas that I have little, if any, interest in. Well, interest in Kodak-branded products, at least.
I have never associated Kodak's name with quality durable photo gear until I picked up a minty Retina IIa about 20 years ago. And I was asking myself even back then, where did Kodak go wrong? Because my earliest memory of Kodak cameras is the camera I was given by my parents when I was like 10yo -- some godawful piece of crap Hawkeye that took 126 film or some such. Unfortunately, from the early 60s until the present, Kodak has concentrated way too much on producing and/or marketing items that I just don't consider to be "quality." So, in a big way, the way I see it, they've dug the pit they find themselves in today. |
Neuberger
Tinkerer
Username: Neuberger
Post Number: 63
Registered: 01-2010
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, January 14, 2012 - 04:06 am: |
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The recent issue of The Economist (Jan 14, 2012) has all the details about why "Kodak is at death's door; Fujifilm, its old rival, is thriving" (subtiltle) in an article about technological change: "Kodak's last movement?", pp.57-58. I guess the question mark at the end of the headline is just an expression of helpless condolence or some sort of swan song politeness. |
Cooltouch
Tinkerer
Username: Cooltouch
Post Number: 202
Registered: 01-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, January 15, 2012 - 12:46 pm: |
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I find it interesting that Fuji continues to thrive and shows no sign of abandoning their film production. Yes, they've discontinued several emulsions, but those that are left are excellent, by and large. I love Provia and Velvia. So it's possible to do it right and still make money off the process (hopefully!), albeit not as much as during the golden age of film. |
Neuberger
Tinkerer
Username: Neuberger
Post Number: 64
Registered: 01-2010
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, January 19, 2012 - 11:39 am: |
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#1 ... well, quite obviously nobody here is reading The Economist, so I have to correct myself, that article's heading is "The last Kodak moment?"
#2 the question mark will have to be replaced by an exclamation mark, no matter whether it is MOMENT or MOVEMENT.
#3 From now on Kodak is history. |
Podstawek
Tinkerer
Username: Podstawek
Post Number: 4
Registered: 02-2010
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, January 20, 2012 - 12:42 am: |
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Hello everyone,
I have a simple question on the subject:
Does filing for bankruptcy mean Kodak will stop manufacturing all films soon?
Unless another company purchases Kodak's emulsion patents and plants, does that mean the end of my TriX ?! |
Br1078lum
Tinkerer
Username: Br1078lum
Post Number: 215
Registered: 11-2010
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, January 20, 2012 - 12:05 pm: |
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The film division is still profitable, from what I saw earlier on the subject. I don't think Kodak is going to disappear, but will be broken up into different parts for easier sale. The name has so much value, there is no way it can just fade into history. Heck, Polaroid is still around, and coming out with new cameras.
PF |
Cooltouch
Tinkerer
Username: Cooltouch
Post Number: 208
Registered: 01-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, January 27, 2012 - 01:04 pm: |
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Sorry, I don't read the Economist, but there's enough news out on the 'net to get a pretty good take on what's happening with Kodak.
Yeah, I thought for sure Polaroid was toast, once the digital revolution really got rolling. But they're managing to hang in there -- barely. It seems to me that Kodak has so many advantages over Polaroid that there is really no excuse that the company should be in the dire straits it finds itself in. Perhaps there will be a silver lining to Kodak's Chapter 11, though. Maybe a restructured and healthier Kodak will emerge from bankruptcy with more potential for turning a profit, instead of simply having a strategy for staving off a situation that need not be inevitable. I remain hopeful. I don't want to lose my D-76 or my Tri-X. Or my Ektar or Elite Chrome either, for that matter. |
Waynemel
Tinkerer
Username: Waynemel
Post Number: 143
Registered: 08-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, January 27, 2012 - 03:34 pm: |
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Does Polaroid actually still exist? I thought another company had simply bought the rights to the name and were using it to market products (similar to Vivitar and Yashica). |
Br1078lum
Tinkerer
Username: Br1078lum
Post Number: 220
Registered: 11-2010
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, January 27, 2012 - 07:17 pm: |
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I don't know the genesis of the current Polaroid corporation, but they truly are developing new cameras. Besides the Zink line (digital camera with a built in printer), they have come up with a camera that looks and operates much like a smartphone, with apps and everything. Except you can't dial out. They were for a while just a brand, but seem to be making a comeback into the camera market.
Vivitar never owned a plant, all their products were contracted out to their specifications. I think if they had stuck to their core business instead of trying to sell cameras too, they would still be around today. And Yashica started to contract out production way before the company folded up.
PF |
Thol
Tinkerer
Username: Thol
Post Number: 7
Registered: 08-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, March 02, 2012 - 06:16 am: |
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Did Yashica fold up? I thought it reorganized around its German connection and became Kyocera — a name well regarded here in Japan.
As for available emulsions — I rue the day if and when Kodak vanishes. As good as the Fuji films are, Kodak has filled a niche. Not so many years ago they all did. All the emulsions were good for something special. For exampIe, I really miss Konica's C-41 monochrome Sepia 400 — a spectacular film in every way ... wide EV values, low grain, stunning saturation, forgiving of stop settings, available in 120 medium format blah blah. Now ... if such a brilliant emulsion can vanish off the planet, what is to say that the venerable Tri-X is about to be another dinosaur.
Hours ago, BBC reported that Kodak's on-line processing component has been sold. |
Waynemel
Tinkerer
Username: Waynemel
Post Number: 150
Registered: 08-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, March 02, 2012 - 07:15 am: |
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Kodak has just announced that they are discontinuing all of their transparency films... |
Br1078lum
Tinkerer
Username: Br1078lum
Post Number: 242
Registered: 11-2010
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, March 02, 2012 - 07:32 pm: |
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The Kodak posting aluded to the fact they still have some reversal stock in the works, so there is about a six month supply of the E films left. That is, if there isn't a big rush on it.
They also reiterated that Portra, Ektar, T-Max, Tri-X, and BW400CN will continue to be produced.
PF |
Bill_alexander
Tinkerer
Username: Bill_alexander
Post Number: 29
Registered: 12-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, May 24, 2012 - 02:37 pm: |
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Is a Sad Day to hear of Kodak's demise, have been a loyal Customer for Decades..Just wish they had made More Professional 35mm Cameras for a longer period of time,,, |
Br1078lum
Tinkerer
Username: Br1078lum
Post Number: 315
Registered: 11-2010
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, May 24, 2012 - 08:38 pm: |
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Saw the other day where Fuji is finally ending production of it's APS films. Now that was a big Kodak flop, though it got drug out for a long time. The concept of the film cannister design was nice, but the fact that to adapt it to 35mm would have meant a complete redesign of existing camera lines kept that from happening. Eventually, some high-end models did come out, such as the Nikon Pronea, but it was too late to save the format. Now I have to go look for some APS film, and see if it's been put on clearance.
PF |
M_currie
Tinkerer
Username: M_currie
Post Number: 292
Registered: 07-2006
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, May 25, 2012 - 08:37 am: |
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APS seems like a missed oportunity,l perhaps becaus of the timing. The film made possible all sorts of advances that never happened right, such as different framings on the same roll. Instead of varying spacing of shots, it just cropped the same as a cheap 35 mm. camera. Most of the digital information was unavailable from normal processors, too. Oh well, bad timing I guess, ubt it's too bad they couldn't have done more with the last iteration of film! |
Gemgemhk
Tinkerer
Username: Gemgemhk
Post Number: 22
Registered: 11-2011
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, July 27, 2012 - 07:44 am: |
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I really worry if the Leica M series film cam body will go out of market too, anybody worry too? If a cam has no negative to take photos , it surely has no value, I aint no collector, I am a photo taker only. I .......sigh. dont know the future. I got a M6 class should I sell the body out now? |
Jamilh
Tinkerer
Username: Jamilh
Post Number: 2
Registered: 07-2012
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, July 31, 2012 - 07:28 am: |
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Really a Bad news for me.
Kodak is a great company.
................
Portrait Photography Ideas for you! |
