Kodak ceasing production of all film - FALSE ALARM

[Austerby]

These sort of threads are good to remind some people that there are film users who do care deeply about continued access to their preferred products. It's good that the response to Roger's email was both prompt and active. I'm sure that the heartfelt reaction to this false alarm will have been noted by Kodak - brand loyalty/affection is a valuable attribute that is difficult to build but easy to destroy.

Just let's not have too many of them...

 

[Roger Hicks]

. . . I wish they sell this production line as soon as possible.

It's very nearly as expensive to move a film coating line as to build a new one (source: Ilford, who've done it), and besides, there is (or was) no shortage of coating lines in the world: I think Polaroid had 13.

And it IS high tech, as you'd know if you'd ever seen a modern coating line: they've changed a lot in 80 years. Coating speeds are now measured in metres per second for mother rolls, with multiple layers of ultra-thin emulsion being added simultaneously.

Cheers,

R.

 

[MartinP]

Well, some (almost) minimum-wage guy, on a temporary work-contract, in an out-sourced call-centre is now looking for another job. Want to hire him?!

Meanwhile, open the link in a new tab. . . .

look here

🙂

 

[KM-25]

I don't think you could have been a lot more straightforward and honest about it. All right, with hindsight, maybe a question mark at the end of the thread title might have been a good idea, but as you say, it was someone at Kodak who told you this. And repeated it on the 'phone. What were you supposed to think?

I would implore people to think to check a lot more than one source. A rumor about one product in a line up is cause for alarm. A rumor about the entire line is cause for common sense of which I feel was not properly executed in this case.

For example, he could have forgone the provocative thread and asked for other contact sources. This is why the Internet stinks, it can be very damaging to not get your facts straight, he needed to go well outside the UK before posting this crap.

I don't care what excuses he has, he could have done more to avoid this and I hope he has learned a valuable lesson....especially since it is the day we hear major news in terms of the results of the patent auction.

 

[colyn]

I know this has been talked about before, and a lot of misinformation, and half reporting has gone on.

In the wake of the Kodak BW400CN thread I contacted Kodak for clarification as to the status of that particular film.

I ended up having to contact them four times, because the first three got no response, today I received this:

Rather than a specific emulsion, the reply simply states "Kodak is ceasing production of KODAK film"

this is a huge blow to me, I've always come closer to getting the results I want with Kodak than with any other brand, and BW400CN was a big part of my 35mm shooting.
It's especially disappointing given that just recently they were posting up fun "keep calm and shoot Tri-X" images on their site.

I just talked to our Kodak rep here at work and his response is "not true"...
According to him Kodak continues to concentrate on their photo papers, chemicals, film, as well as other areas.
Some countries can if poor sales warrant doing so cease distributing certain products but Kodak continues to produce film...

 

[anjoca76]

Great, I just bought 100,000 rolls of Tri-X for nothing! 🙂

 

[anjoca76]

Kidding aside, this is good news for me, and for many, many others here. Perhaps it only postpones the inevitable, but I'll take that as a victory today!

 

[Roger Hicks]

I would implore people to think to check a lot more than one source. A rumor about one product in a line up is cause for alarm. A rumor about the entire line is cause for common sense of which I feel was not properly executed in this case.

For example, he could have forgone the provocative thread and asked for other contact sources. This is why the Internet stinks, it can be very damaging to not get your facts straight, he needed to go well outside the UK before posting this crap.

I don't care what excuses he has, he could have done more to avoid this and I hope he has learned a valuable lesson....especially since it is the day we hear major news in terms of the results of the patent auction.

It wasn't really a rumour. It was a straight statement from a Kodak representative. Backed up with 'phone call. Yes, I could check it by contacting a senior Kodak executive -- but we all know how good Kodak can be at returning calls/e-mails from Joe Public.

Hindsight is easy. I'm not going to be anything like as hard on the guy as you want to be.

Cheers,

R.

 

[jsrockit]

Wow, some people really took this way too seriously.

 

[KM-25]

Hindsight is easy. I'm not going to be anything like as hard on the guy as you want to be.

I am not being hard on him, just trying to make other people think before they post this kind of thing. My future livelihood depends on film being available, not the digital garbage I have been using for the past 20 years.

At least the thread title has been changed, now this actually has some value as to:

1. How not to go about getting your facts straight and to cast your net much wider when you hear such a thing from ONE person.

2. That people take this kind of news very seriously.

 

[sepiareverb]

Both my Kodak contacts responded very rapidly. Here is what one of them wrote:

Hi Roger, This is a mistake on Rangefinderforum. Very aggravating. We will find the source and correct it immediately. Looking forward to seeing you at Photokina.

Poor Luis A.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Poor Luis A.

I doubt he is a happy man. In fact, I wonder how long he will remain an employed man, if he does that sort of thing again.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Steve Bellayr]

Thank you Roger for the update.

 

[dave lackey]

I am not being hard on him, just trying to make other people think before they post this kind of thing. My future livelihood depends on film being available, not the digital garbage I have been using for the past 20 years.

At least the thread title has been changed, now this actually has some value as to:

1. How not to go about getting your facts straight and to cast your net much wider when you hear such a thing from ONE person.

2. That people take this kind of news very seriously.

I have to agree...at my age, I have seen dozens, if not hundreds, of false panic rumors get started about everything from Social Security checks requiring a 666 number stamped on it to "the end of the world as we know it". The common thread is that, beyond being a passionate subject, those starting the rumor never checked back with the primary source and waited for confirmation. What harm could be done by waiting even 48 hours for confirmation of the demise of something the photography world still holds dear?

In a photography forum where journalism is highly-esteemed, one would expect that news and sources would be confirmed (vetted?) prior to blasting the headline that was so inflammatory.:angel: Chicken Little lives.

Ah, well, anyone want to buy $1,000 worth of Tri-X 35mm film when it arrives at my home?😛

 

[Bob Michaels]

This is simply another example of today's mass market journalism primary concern about being first with the news rather than actually being correct.

We tolerate major TV networks calling a US presidential election incorrectly. We ought to be able to tolerate some anonymous internet poster.

I would be curious to see how many assigned real significance to the posting. Would everyone who believed him please contact me about some special financial opportunities to earn a guaranteed 12% annual return with no risk.

 

[Gumby]

Not everyone is a journalist. Many are just photography fans and others are equipment collectors. 🙂

 

[Pastor Chris]

I was just looking at the exhibitor list for the PhotoExpoPlus in New York and Kodak does not appear to be on there, either under the "E" or the "K" section of the list. Any thoughts?

 

[splitimageview]

This thread should be called 'fake' but 'accurate.' In other words, as reliable as CBS News and Dan Rather. 🙂

 

[dave lackey]

This is simply another example of today's mass market journalism primary concern about being first with the news rather than actually being correct.

We tolerate major TV networks calling a US presidential election incorrectly. We ought to be able to tolerate some anonymous internet poster.

I would be curious to see how many assigned real significance to the posting. Would everyone who believed him please contact me about some special financial opportunities to earn a guaranteed 12% annual return with no risk.

Well, I don't tolerate either. One and the same to me. When was the last time CNN ever got the death toll in a major event even close to right? The numbers are always way wrong. Posts about Kodak have to be true because I read it on the internet. 😛

But, still, in a community where so many of us either live by film or are at the least highly passionate about film, we would expect a bit of respect from posters to solidly verify their news before posting, IMO.

 

[sepiareverb]

I doubt he is a happy man. In fact, I wonder how long he will remain an employed man, if he does that sort of thing again.

Cheers,

R.

I've been fired for smaller errors.