Encouraging news.......

They have a blog where we can literally watch the paint dry in the building where yet another couple of (BW only!!!) films will come out.

And there are still people who don’t see the film resurgence!!! ;)
 
I'm very, very glad that there are still companies devoted not only to the preservation of currently available film products but to the development of new products. It is, indeed, a source of hope.

Trends are fleeting and there's no telling how long there will still be an interest in this stuff so I relish and applaud any effort to make the most of it while it lasts.
 
brbo said:
They have a blog where we can literally watch the paint dry in the building where yet another couple of (BW only!!!) films will come out.

And there are still people who don’t see the film resurgence!!! ;)
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I went to Toronto Zoo yesterday, I was only one with film camera.
Recently one of the stores in large Canadian city closed their E-6 lab. It was no orders.
I'm going to local Canada Day today event, as usual I'll be one and only with film camera.
And local Walmart quit from film developing few years ago.

But according to you I'm living in G-7 country which is total abnormally.
 
Ko.Fe. said:
I went to Toronto Zoo yesterday, I was only one with film camera.
Recently one of the stores in large Canadian city closed their E-6 lab. It was no orders.
I'm going to local Canada Day today event, as usual I'll be one and only with film camera.
And local Walmart quit from film developing few years ago.

But according to you I'm living in G-7 country which is total abnormally.
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Shopper's Drug Mart still takes in colour film for development and printing, for how long this lasts I am not making any predictions on.
 
In the video they mentioned a new infrared film in a side note.
I've asked them about it whether I've got that right. And indeed, there will be a new infrared capable film by Adox. Probably even soon, this summer, before next Photokina.
It will be a very fine grained, very sharp and high resolving film usable for normal photography, infrared, negative and reversal development. Due to their statement.
Sounds quite good to me. Seems to be a very versatile film.
 
brbo said:
They have a blog where we can literally watch the paint dry in the building where yet another couple of (BW only!!!) films will come out.

And there are still people who don’t see the film resurgence!!! ;)
Click to expand...

I think B&W film is in a healthy state. Everything else (film cameras, C41, E6), not so much.
 
I really hope ADOX succeeds in re-inventing themselves. I've never used any of their films but I think if they get off the ground and make more conventional films like 100 and 400 speed, I will switch to them. Last Friday Kodak gave an official notice during their earnings call saying they had 1 year to retire 400 million dollars in debt (which exceeds the value of the entire company) or their future was in serious doubt. With this news and Fujifilm's continual exit from film, there is significant room for smaller companies like ADOX to compete against the dying dinosaurs.
 
Ted Striker said:
I really hope ADOX succeeds in re-inventing themselves. I've never used any of their films but I think if they get off the ground and make more conventional films like 100 and 400 speed, I will switch to them.
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They already have the excellent Adox Silvermax / Scala 160 BW and CMS 20 II films. The new IR-HR and Adox CHS 100 II will follow in the next months.
An ISO 400/27° makes very little sense for them at the current market situation. Because this market segment is overcrowded with so much films:
Ilford Delta 400
Ilford HP5+
Ilford XP2 Super 400
Ilford Pan 400
Kentmere 400
Kodak Tri-X
Kodak T-Max 400
Foma 400
Foma Retro Soft 320
Bergger Pancro 400
Ten original emulsions. Which are in current production. Quite a lot to choose from (all other 400 labelled films on the market are either repacked Kentmere 400, or old, discontinued and expired film from leftover warehose stock, or no real ISO 400 films).
For a small start-up company like Adox it makes no economic sense to enter this extremely competitive market so early. Too much brutal competition.
Makes more sense to fill market gaps, where is no or very little competition from the large(r) companies. For example a successor for the famous Agfa APX 25.
Or infrared capable film, which they are already doing with the current development of the IR-HR film.
And of course they are concentrating on their excellent photo chemicals and silver-halide papers. And their new photo filters.

Ted Striker said:
Last Friday Kodak gave an official notice during their earnings call saying they had 1 year to retire 400 million dollars in debt (which exceeds the value of the entire company) or their future was in serious doubt.
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The film production at Kodak has been profitable in most quarters in the last years. Maybe there will be a restructuring at Eastman Kodak, or a split-off of some business parts. But I have no doubts that the film production will be continued.

Ted Striker said:
With this news and Fujifilm's continual exit from film, there is significant room for smaller companies like ADOX to compete against the dying dinosaurs.
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There are no "dying dinosaurs", neither Kodak nor Fujifilm. Fujifilm's silver-halide business segment is profitable and growing. A billions dollar business being bigger than all other silver-halide product manufacturers together. In their last quarterly report they have announced to increase their market share in the X-Ray film market, which is increasing in several Asian countries, mainly China. And recently they have introduced new 3-Packs for C200 and Superia 400 in the North American market. You don't do that if you want to pull the plug.
 
Skiff said:
The film production at Kodak has been profitable in most quarters in the last years. Maybe there will be a restructuring at Eastman Kodak, or a split-off of some business parts. But I have no doubts that the film production will be continued.
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Kodak is indeed talking about splitting off part of their business; the flexigraphic portion. This is one of the most profitable parts of Kodak and also the only one that has growing revenue. Kodak hopes to get 400 million for this. If they get it (and that's a HUGE if), that would be enough to retire their debt. However, the remaining portion of the company would have no growth left. Most other divisions have declining revenue or at best stagnant. Kodak never breaks out the profits of their film business. It's buried in their Consumer division which includes revenue from inkjet printing as well as licensing their name. From this we can at least learn that film is an *extremely* tiny portion of the company.

Skiff said:
There are no "dying dinosaurs", neither Kodak nor Fujifilm.
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Kodak is currently in severe decline. The stock has dropped -19% for month, -37% for the quarter, and a whopping -60% the trailing year. It is one of the most shorted stock out there. A second bankruptcy is a very real possibility, which means the ownership of Kodak will be wiped out. Again.

Kodak's debt rating has junk status. Their borrowing costs are huge. They have very real liquidity issues. Kodak's cash flow dropped 35% last quarter. Their last quarterly report indicates that a layoff of 325 people is coming in 2019.

Any one of these problems is a severe one for a business. Collectively they indicate a company in a very bad state.

Kodak is being hammered by the tariffs as aluminum prices are on the move up. That is mentioned in their financials. The strong dollar means that overseas business won't produce what they had expected.

Very little is going right for them at the moment. They need a break, a big break. It would be nice if Ektachrome would be that break but I don't think anyone believes that a new E6 film will contribute anything meaningful to Kodak's financials. There isn't a single mention of this film in their reports. Not one. That is a very significant omission.
 
Skiff said:
They already have the excellent Adox Silvermax / Scala 160 BW and CMS 20 II films. The new IR-HR and Adox CHS 100 II will follow in the next months.
An ISO 400/27° makes very little sense for them at the current market situation. Because this market segment is overcrowded
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For once I remembered that Silvermax/Scala 160 is the heir of APX100. They did have a project to make a direct substitute of both APX's but the 400 was shelved after a beta testing for market reasons.
IIRC APX100 was to come down the line and the project might have just morphed into Silvermax/Scala. The site mentions using legacy Agfa material (transparent base) as the way of producing it affordably but also calls for reformulation when that material runs out, and hopefully an introduction to 120. The IR-HR could be very interesting.

CHS100II is an Efke descendant. Tomorrow I've got a small packet from Fotoimpex and sadly couldn't order to try it. Don't shoot much B&W but I expect to, shortly.
 
Prest_400 said:
For once I remembered that Silvermax/Scala 160 is the heir of APX100.
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Silvermax / Scala 160 is very close in its characteristics to the original Agfa Scala 200X. I've tested both side-by-side under identical conditions.
Adox Silvermax / Scala 160 BW is a bit finer grained than the original Agfa Scala. But also has 1/3 stop less sensivity. The spectral transmission / tonality is almost identical.
Yes, there is a great similarity to original Agfa APX 100, too. Because Agfa Scala was based on the Agfa APX 100 emulsion.

Prest_400 said:
CHS100II is an Efke descendant.
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No, it is absolutely not!! Completely different films and technology. I've also tested them side-by side.
The new Adox CHS 100 II (a first production was already introduced in 2014) is much much better than the former Efke film: It is much sharper, has much better resolution, finer grain, and a much much better quality control. And it can be reversal processed as BW slide with excellent results.
 
Thanks for the insight
Skiff said:
No, it is absolutely not!! Completely different films and technology. I've also tested them side-by side.
The new Adox CHS 100 II (a first production was already introduced in 2014) is much much better than the former Efke film: It is much sharper, has much better resolution, finer grain, and a much much better quality control. And it can be reversal processed as BW slide with excellent results.
Click to expand...
Sorry, I meant Efke substitute or descendant by way of characteristics pursued BUT with German quality.
At 5€ a roll in Fotoimpex it's really well priced too.
 
Things have really accelerated since the post from 2 days ago. Kodak's stock is now in free fall, down -14% in two days, -30% for the trailing month. The news from the announced selloff of the Flexigraphic division of the company has not given investors much if any confidence. 100% of all of Kodak's gain since January has now been wiped out and the share price is perilously low, well below $3/share.

The owners of Kodak are taking a hellacious hit this month. Absolutely brutal.
 
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