Kodak said on Thursday it would sell its traditional off-the-shelf print-film busines

[pete hogan]

There's a comparison to make with film and vacuum tubes in user electronics. Like film today, tube manufacturing and distribution started to shuck in the '70s. We hams with our prized Collins gear had to start laying in a good supply of tubes. Over the years prices climbed, maybe an order-of-magnitude, but here 40 years later they're still available. Not at any old drugstore or electronics outlet, but available. The comparison is not perfect, tubes are pretty durable and store easily, but we can expect the market model to work about that way.

I guess I'll pay what I have to for Tri-X, and when I can't find it anymore, I'll buy something else.

 

[dcsang]

I don't know what to make of it all to be honest. The news release said that Kodak is pursuing it's intent to sell the business. That does not mean it's sold . . . . . yet. At the same time, you have Kodak's marketing folks (or at least their social media folks - @kodakcb for example) proclaiming how great film is, how they'd love to see everyone's film fridge and such. This, to me at least, just adds to the confusion. My concern is not so much for B&W (I love Tri-X but if I have to, I'll find another B&W 400 ISO film that I can "play with" up to 1600 or down to 200) but the Portra colour films that I would miss IF everything goes according to plan.

What a sad and continuing set of nails into the coffin that was once such an iconic company.

Cheers,
Dave

 

[Gumby]

n/a

... and on what date will you be changing the tense of your "handle" to past tense, my kind friend? 😀

 

[Gumby]

I don't know what to make of it all to be honest. ...

Now that's the conclusion that more should come to grips with. Nobody knows... yet.

 

[ChrisPlatt]

After Perez finishes off Kodak he can apply for that opening at Bain Capital.

Chris

 

[fstops]

Imo this news is a turning point in the film resurgence and retro nostalgia that had gripped photography after digital became mainstream. other than that everyone knew this will happen and nothing has changed in that regard.


In regards to film cameras, there will be some sort of digital-film in the future, maybe with demise of film that product may come to us sooner. It has been done before and the sensors are getting cheaper by day. Even if its a APS-C sensor, its fine.

Photography has been a fast moving medium since its beginning, one day there will be noise free sensors and people will be looking nostalgically at today's sensors for noise and that retro-digital-look.

 

[Jamie123]

Photography has been a fast moving medium since its beginning, one day there will be noise free sensors and people will be looking nostalgically at today's sensors for noise and that retro-digital-look.

Hardly. You don't see many film users looking nostalgically at the crappy early color neg films. Digital is not an improvement over the film process in the same sense that modern emulsions are improvements over earlier emulsions. It's a different photographic medium. Digital users today aren't particularly fond of early digital systems, either.

As for 'digital film' in regards to 35mm I personally think that's just wishful thinking. But hey, I don't have a crystal ball so I'm not making any predictions.