Are you anxious about the demise of film?

[rxmd]

There seems to be another wave of anxiety about the future of film and photography in general going on at RFF - what with the greatly exaggerated rumours about the death of Kodak, anxiety about life after Tri-X, possible replacements for Kodak's Leica M9 sensors, questions about anticipated price drops for used M9s after the supposedly-imminent disappearance of colour film and processing, affirmative videos about the future of film, announcements of end of production of some Fuji films and resulting anxiety about other Fuji films, and so on.

Personally I don't think all those people are really all that worried as they make it out to be. Maybe the end of film is just the topic du jour once more, after the X100 or the crazy prices on the Leica market or the Nikon mirrorless have been exhausted. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think there is a lot of armchair anxiety going on, the same you see in political discussions where the end of the world and civilization as we know it is expected around the corner every few years. The world keeps ticking along happily, people adapt, new topics inevitably come about, and the circus moves on.

So, are you guys really that afraid about the demise of film and whatever impact you fear it'll have in your life and hobby?

 

[efix]

Having just found back to film, and seeing how many emulsions have already been cut off, how little film there is available and how bad the infrastructure has already become in some countries, I am indeed worried about the future of film. And with all those bad news about Kodak, I am worried all the more.

But I fear there is little that I, you, or all of us film users together can do, except for continuing to buy, shoot and process film, and if worse comes to worst, get ourselves huge fridges to store the last rolls available.

Of course, I do hope that at least a couple emulsions will survive, and that there will still be a small choice of slide and colour negative films available in a couple years, and that we won't be limited to a choice of three different b&w emulsions. But I am not very optimistic in that regard.

 

[ChrisN]

Life will go on. I'm fairly confident that film will remain readily available for many years to come, albeit with a smaller range of choices. I suspect that Ilford will be the last major player, with several smaller makers also serving the market. Fortunately I like HP5! 🙂

And when the time comes, I'll shoot my last roll with pleasure, and care, and develop and print it in the darkroom. Then I'll keep shooting with whatever digital device I fancy at the time.

 

[J. Borger]

No, not for B&W.
Even if the larger brands quit (which i do not expect) the smaller companies will only become stronger. Companies like Rollei, Adox, Efke still introduce new B&W films on a regular base. Every niche is a Market. It's only a question of WHO will provide the films in the long run.
With internet "avalability" of film and chemicals becomes a non-issue in my opinion. Who cares where it comes from.

I also think it's better to support companies who commit to film (Ilford) instead of stocking-up dicontinued films.

 

[johannielscom]

Having just found back to film, and seeing how many emulsions have already been cut off, how little film there is available and how bad the infrastructure has already become in some countries, I am indeed worried about the future of film. And with all those bad news about Kodak, I am worried all the more.

But I fear there is little that I, you, or all of us film users together can do, except for continuing to buy, shoot and process film, and if worse comes to worst, get ourselves huge fridges to store the last rolls available.

Of course, I do hope that at least a couple emulsions will survive, and that there will still be a small choice of slide and colour negative films available in a couple years, and that we won't be limited to a choice of three different b&w emulsions. But I am not very optimistic in that regard.

I suggest you get lotsa space in a huuuuge cooling warehouse.

 

[johannielscom]

No, not for B&W.
Even if the larger brands quit (which i do not expect) the smaller companies will only become stronger. Companies like Rollei, Adox, Efke still introduce new B&W films on a regular base. Every niche is a Market. It's only a question of WHO will provide the films in the long run.
With internet "avalability" of film and chemicals becomes a non-issue in my opinion. Who cares where it comes from.

I also think it's better to support companies who commit to film (Ilford) instead of stocking-up dicontinued films.

Completely correct. All people in the future have to do is re-invent their process when film X is substituted by film Y, and photographers have done so since the birth of photography so I don't see the problem.

 

[noimmunity]

Not worried about the demise of film, cuz I don't think that is going to happen.

Now, if the question were, "are you worried about your ability to afford the rising costs of film?", I would have a different answer. For now I have about 80 rolls of XX and 20 rolls of ND80, plus some odd rolls of RVP 50, so I'm cool for a while...

 

[bobbyrab]

Most of my photographic output is commercial and as such my film use is an indulgence on my part, so my worry is more about cost. I just tracked down some Kodak c41 B&W at £3.50 a roll, the alternative was XP2 at £6 per roll. If in future film becomes more and more expensive then fairly quickly it will not be a viable option for me commercially. I imagine the future where, yes film will be available, but it will be expensive to buy and mostly home developed, or sent some distance as fewer labs bother with dev for film. At this stage digital M cameras might become more attractive to makers other that Leica.

 

[kshapero]

I miss a lot of things and film if it goes will just be another.


I miss cars with carburetters and basic ignition systems.

I miss friendly corner stores that actually gave a sh!t about their customers.

I miss being able to drive to work in half an hour over the same distance it now takes me one hour to travel.

I miss being able to engage with someone's child without arousing the suspicion of an anxious parent.

I miss the times when graffiti was a word and not something I have to look at every day, everywhere I go.

I miss the Australia I emigrated to in 1974 and not the 51st state of America it seems to have become.

I miss the times when there wasn't fast food outlets ... everywhere!


I could keep going to infinity here but what's the point ... things change and we just have to accept it.

Well Keith, yes it is all true, but......

Yes things change for some for good, some for bad.
Just starting to really use digital as a hedge against a film demise. Time marches on.
Please excuse me while I load film in my M3 and, oh yeah, put a fresh battery in my Sony NEX.😀

Have a good one, mate.😎

 

[palec]

I'm not worried for the next 4 years.
(4 years ago when I restarted shooting film similar apocalyptic scenarios were already written on the wall)

 

[thegman]

In some ways, these are exciting times for film. It's a transition from mass-market to niche market, and the niche is where fun things happen. Mass market has to appeal to the desire for mediocrity (look at most new houses, cars, cameras, restaurants, everyhing). Niche markets have to appeal to those who love those niches.

 

[Robin Harrison]

You'll have to let us (well...at least me) know your source, bobbyrab! A London store? An online retailer?

I'm paying roughly twice per roll what I was five years ago, I guess. If that doubling happens every five years, I won't be shooting 35mm film in ten years time. Or at least I will be shooting the occasional out of date roll just to keep the film cameras ticking over! 120 I'm less worried about somehow, because the reasons to shoot it over digital are more numerous.

But yes, the thought of the demise of film does niggle away at me.

 

[Neare]

No, I don't subscribe to any particular brand. Whether Fujifilm, Kodak or Ilford are making it, that doesn't bother me. I believe that some film companies will close down within the decade, kodak looks that way. That is because the market isn't large enough to sustain them all anymore. But when one drops off, the sales for the others will pick up and the supply will slowly once again be constant. For all we know R&D could start again, new emulsions etc. after that.

Not worried at all, there's a clear and large enough market for film. I'm tired of these fear mongering discussions and statements. Film is not dead, it's just different.

 

[Rob-F]

I agree with those who say that film will be around for the foreseeable future. If Kodak stops making film, surely someone, somewhere will commence making what Kodak doesn't. When solid state (transistorized) amplifiers came out in the late 1960's, people worried that vacuum tubes would go away, and they would not be able to get tubes for their hi-fi gear. Well, OK, GE, Sylvania, RCA, Telefunken, et al, eventually quit making tubes. But tubes are not gone. The manufacturing has just shifted to other countries. Mostly Eastern Europe, as well as China. I can get all I want of my favorite tubes (EL34, 12AX7). They are made now in St. Petersburg, Russia. Not in the USA. Russian Mullards, Sovtek, Reflector. That's fine. And there are more brands of vacuum tube amplifiers now than there were in 1960.

The same thing will happen--and has already happened--with film. It may be made in Croatia by Efke, and no longer by Kodak. I can live with that. The worst thing is not that it's not being made; it is; but that we are no longer making tubes--and soon, film--and a lot of other things--in our own country. And that the people who were making them no longer have jobs. Or money to spend. Or homes, in some cases.

 

[dave lackey]

I voted that it is apocalyptic...but that is not really true.

I am just spending my time USIGN film rather than talking about the end of film.

 

[Austerby]

I'm not anxious as I think the demand will continue to exist.

I do think though that we'll see further structural changes in the films that are made so many users will be forced to change brands.

If it is the case that, say Tri-X, is a particular formulation then I could see something happening similar to that which occured to Rodinal, ie that other manufacturers would replicate it if the original was no longer available.

I do anticipate though that film will become a predominantly black and white product due to the straightforwardness of home processing and scanning/printing for which there will always be a demand.

I can anticipate the end of a lot of colour film product lines, so if you're particularly attached to your Portra, Velvia or Ektra then I'd be preparing to stockpile those at some point in the not too distant future. Some colour film may continue alongside the monochrome but the pinnacle films that we have today may well have a sadly curtailed product lifecycle.

 

[Chris C]

My photographic nirvana is shooting Portra 400 on 4x5. It's just the most joyful photographic experience from go to whoa that I have by a considerable margin. I'm not really sure what I'd do if Kodak went bust and Portra 400 went the way of the Dodo. I guess I could switch over to Fuji at the expense of a stop and 1/3 and not worry too much. It's not ideal though. But I'll wait and see what happens rather than lose sleep about it.

I wish I could be happy shooting exclusively b&w though. I can't see that process going anywhere for several decades at least. But for the b&w shooting I do I'm not worried at all. Tri X, HP5, Foma 400, etc are all completely interchangeable as far as I'm concerned.

 

[_mark__]

I'm very concerned about the increasing cost of colour film and processing it's getting a bit daft!

 

[Steve M.]

I've been hearing about the end of film for a long, long time. Seriously. While some films have gone away (we're just talking B&W here, right?), new ones have come into the market. I can get rebadged Tri-X from Freestyle for great prices, and the $1 a roll C-41 B&W I've been using for testing turned out to be so good that I shoot it regularly now. I'd probably be concerned about film's cost if I lived in Europe, but here in the US even that isn't a worry. Might be at some future date, but I have enough to worry about these days w/o that. Film usage looks strong to me. If there's a market, there'll be film.

 

[rizraz]

I think film has a long way to go......."the demise of kodak", well it's only kodak at the moment...... there are still others holding the torch..... worried, no, as I don't use Kodak even thought "old" people in my part of the world call films..... Kodak.