bmattock
Veteran
Some good news for a change...
A few weeks ago, I decided to use some of my long-neglected Ethol T.E.C. developer, but I could not find dev data on the Massive Dev Chart for Kodak Tri-X 400 at EI 400, nor could I find it at BKA's website (they are the makers of Ethol products). So I emailed them and asked.
http://www.bkaphoto.com/
I didn't hear back from them right away, so I figured that was that, and went on and used Rodinal, which was fine. But today, I got a phone call from Mark Thompson, in charge of market development at BKA. We had a long and interesting chat - he's a huge camera junkie, currently restoring several 8x10, 5x7, and 4x6 field cameras, he loves rangefinders, and he loves B&W film and experimenting with different developers, lenses, and so on. In others words, a kindred spirit.
But I got a lot of interesting information from him, and I wanted to pass some of it on.
1) BKA has recently done a lot of soul-searching, and they have made a commitment that they are going to continue doing chemistry and film "until the bitter end," as Mark put it. They were recently awarded the contract to distribute all of Kodak's films to dealers all over the country, as Kodak has decided not to distribute film "dealer direct" anymore. As a result, they are kicking up their marketing team and they are going to do their best to put the word out that they are open for business and will be staying that way for as long as they possibly can.
2) BKA is involved in some long-term trials of various developers and film with schools such as Brooks, NYC School of Photography, Columbia, and others. They are beating the drum for film and chemical processing and they're trying to get that information to students as they learn the art of photography.
3) BKA is not just a jobber, but the actual manufacturer of a large number of the products they sell, including SP Lighting Systems, Edwal, Heico, Ethol, Diafine, Acufine, and other brands. They are a "big company" according to Mark, and are in no danger financially - if their chemistry and film divisions go away in time, the company will continue. But they are making the conscious decision to remain involved in film and chemistry as long as they possibly can.
4) They are fully stocked up with 4x5, 5x7, and 8x10 B&W films, and are just hoping to get them out into the hands of the public as quickly as possible. I asked him about European sizes like 9x12 and he said unfortunately, no. Dang.
They are strictly a wholesaler, not a retailer, but they believe they have done a poor job of advertising the various developers and film-based products they sell to camera stores and other retailers, and they want to remedy that. They believe the time is now to push as hard as they can to get the word out.
Anyway, it was very encouraging, and not something you hear much these days - a total committment to film. Cool.
Oh, and he's sending me a trial bottle of Edwal FG-7 to evaluate. He says it is a fantastic developer and he wants my opinion. FUN!
PS - I asked him about the possibility of resurrecting any of the Paterson formulas, which a bunch of people have bemoaned losing, but he said not a chance. Too bad.
A few weeks ago, I decided to use some of my long-neglected Ethol T.E.C. developer, but I could not find dev data on the Massive Dev Chart for Kodak Tri-X 400 at EI 400, nor could I find it at BKA's website (they are the makers of Ethol products). So I emailed them and asked.
http://www.bkaphoto.com/
I didn't hear back from them right away, so I figured that was that, and went on and used Rodinal, which was fine. But today, I got a phone call from Mark Thompson, in charge of market development at BKA. We had a long and interesting chat - he's a huge camera junkie, currently restoring several 8x10, 5x7, and 4x6 field cameras, he loves rangefinders, and he loves B&W film and experimenting with different developers, lenses, and so on. In others words, a kindred spirit.
But I got a lot of interesting information from him, and I wanted to pass some of it on.
1) BKA has recently done a lot of soul-searching, and they have made a commitment that they are going to continue doing chemistry and film "until the bitter end," as Mark put it. They were recently awarded the contract to distribute all of Kodak's films to dealers all over the country, as Kodak has decided not to distribute film "dealer direct" anymore. As a result, they are kicking up their marketing team and they are going to do their best to put the word out that they are open for business and will be staying that way for as long as they possibly can.
2) BKA is involved in some long-term trials of various developers and film with schools such as Brooks, NYC School of Photography, Columbia, and others. They are beating the drum for film and chemical processing and they're trying to get that information to students as they learn the art of photography.
3) BKA is not just a jobber, but the actual manufacturer of a large number of the products they sell, including SP Lighting Systems, Edwal, Heico, Ethol, Diafine, Acufine, and other brands. They are a "big company" according to Mark, and are in no danger financially - if their chemistry and film divisions go away in time, the company will continue. But they are making the conscious decision to remain involved in film and chemistry as long as they possibly can.
4) They are fully stocked up with 4x5, 5x7, and 8x10 B&W films, and are just hoping to get them out into the hands of the public as quickly as possible. I asked him about European sizes like 9x12 and he said unfortunately, no. Dang.
They are strictly a wholesaler, not a retailer, but they believe they have done a poor job of advertising the various developers and film-based products they sell to camera stores and other retailers, and they want to remedy that. They believe the time is now to push as hard as they can to get the word out.
Anyway, it was very encouraging, and not something you hear much these days - a total committment to film. Cool.
Oh, and he's sending me a trial bottle of Edwal FG-7 to evaluate. He says it is a fantastic developer and he wants my opinion. FUN!
PS - I asked him about the possibility of resurrecting any of the Paterson formulas, which a bunch of people have bemoaned losing, but he said not a chance. Too bad.
