Trius
Waiting on Maitani
Wednesday I called Kodak pro support to ask some questions, most importantly where can I get the new TMY-2 (new Tmax 400)...
First, calling Kodak pro support is always a great experience. The reps are right here on State St. in Rochester, not off-shored/outsourced somewhere. Every rep I've encountered (2 so far over about 4-5 calls) is very knowledgeable, and when they don't know the answer to a question, they get it quickly while I'm on the line.
One outcome of this call was that indeed, the new T-Max will not be heading into the distribution channel until next month, after current inventory is shipped out. That's understandable and fair enough, though I wonder why the new stuff was announced before current stocks were still sitting in a Rochester warehouse. (Yes, all Kodak film production is now consolidated in Rochester.)
But the rep stated that the customer support center should be getting some rolls soon, so she will send some out to me, direct and free, when it comes in. OK, combined with her really great customer service skills, that's superb.
OTOH, she confirmed (after searching her resources), that Tri-X 35mm in bulk rolls is discontinuted. Damn. And she stated the obvious but painful ... don't expect K64 to continue on the line card forever.
Next ...
Thursday I stopped in at a local camera shop to buy a couple of rolls of Tri-X (prior to getting 2 or 3 100ft rolls from inventory at Freestyle, Central, or elsewhere) ... and the owner and I chatted about Kodak film. Basically he's not happy. Film sales are up, paper sales are very strong (he's sold 400+ boxes to local schools, and obviously some schools with larger needs have purchased direct), so his opinion is that Kodak has handed the film and paper market to Harman, which now is basically dictated the pricing.
Sigh. I'm not posting this to start an anti-Kodak rant. In fact, I'll be writing a letter to Antonio Perez w/ cc to Mary Jane Hellyar about their strategy. Yes, their b&w paper is gone, but now that the film market has pretty much consolidated, they can still make money. Film is now pretty much a niche market, which means prices can be higher and they can achieve a higher gross margin. But beyond that, it is important for EK to continue a leadership role in film purely from the standpoint of still imaging leadership. Sometimes you have to lead in areas where there isn't cold hard bottom line profit. I don't think Perez gets this, but I'm going to tell him. The future is important, but so is the past.
First, calling Kodak pro support is always a great experience. The reps are right here on State St. in Rochester, not off-shored/outsourced somewhere. Every rep I've encountered (2 so far over about 4-5 calls) is very knowledgeable, and when they don't know the answer to a question, they get it quickly while I'm on the line.
One outcome of this call was that indeed, the new T-Max will not be heading into the distribution channel until next month, after current inventory is shipped out. That's understandable and fair enough, though I wonder why the new stuff was announced before current stocks were still sitting in a Rochester warehouse. (Yes, all Kodak film production is now consolidated in Rochester.)
But the rep stated that the customer support center should be getting some rolls soon, so she will send some out to me, direct and free, when it comes in. OK, combined with her really great customer service skills, that's superb.
OTOH, she confirmed (after searching her resources), that Tri-X 35mm in bulk rolls is discontinuted. Damn. And she stated the obvious but painful ... don't expect K64 to continue on the line card forever.
Next ...
Thursday I stopped in at a local camera shop to buy a couple of rolls of Tri-X (prior to getting 2 or 3 100ft rolls from inventory at Freestyle, Central, or elsewhere) ... and the owner and I chatted about Kodak film. Basically he's not happy. Film sales are up, paper sales are very strong (he's sold 400+ boxes to local schools, and obviously some schools with larger needs have purchased direct), so his opinion is that Kodak has handed the film and paper market to Harman, which now is basically dictated the pricing.
Sigh. I'm not posting this to start an anti-Kodak rant. In fact, I'll be writing a letter to Antonio Perez w/ cc to Mary Jane Hellyar about their strategy. Yes, their b&w paper is gone, but now that the film market has pretty much consolidated, they can still make money. Film is now pretty much a niche market, which means prices can be higher and they can achieve a higher gross margin. But beyond that, it is important for EK to continue a leadership role in film purely from the standpoint of still imaging leadership. Sometimes you have to lead in areas where there isn't cold hard bottom line profit. I don't think Perez gets this, but I'm going to tell him. The future is important, but so is the past.
