JohnTF
Veteran
http://www.democratandchronicle.com...26/ryerson-university-robert-burley/16259297/
Am not sure who is left these days? Foma? India? Efke?
Am now part of the problem, recently sold some of my freezer contents.
Regards, John
Am not sure who is left these days? Foma? India? Efke?
Am now part of the problem, recently sold some of my freezer contents.
Regards, John
Scrambler
Well-known
Ilford is still going. Kodak too. These are downsizings not complete closures of these firms.
Efke is dead: the machinery wore out.
Agfa still produces.
There is film made in China too. Fwiw.
Ferrania plans to restart soon.
Keith
The best camera is one that still works!
That doco is more about a bunch of people watching a controled explosive demolition job than it is about Kodak or the demise of their film business.
And they are all there shooting it with their digicams which I find rather ironic!
And they are all there shooting it with their digicams which I find rather ironic!
Pioneer
Veteran
What we are witness to today is an entire culture ensnared in the clutches of massive change.
Companies are dying, changing and even trying to reinvent themselves in order to survive. Film will not actually die, but what comes out the other end will be different.
It is the end of domination by monolithic companies producing goods on a huge scale. Massive production along with huge sales made the entire system possible. Now we are very quickly moving to a boutique model where I believe that companies will need to be agile enough to engage in a customized manufacturing model, similar to Ilford's annual sheet film sales. Pre-orders with much smaller customized production runs will become the order of the day.
Kodak will continue to make one or two films, perhaps TMAX and Portra. The others will be prepaid orders placed once every year or two. Ilford will be similar. The smaller companies will produce occasional custom batches of specialty emulsions like RPX25 or IR820.
And it goes without saying that the current pricing structures are probably unsustainable. Analog film supplies of all sorts will become more expensive. And Do-It-Yourselfers will flourish. Small companies like Photo Formulary will provide basic chemical and hardware supplies in support of the DIY market.
But don't worry. Since predicting the future is notoriously difficult, I am almost certainly wrong.
Companies are dying, changing and even trying to reinvent themselves in order to survive. Film will not actually die, but what comes out the other end will be different.
It is the end of domination by monolithic companies producing goods on a huge scale. Massive production along with huge sales made the entire system possible. Now we are very quickly moving to a boutique model where I believe that companies will need to be agile enough to engage in a customized manufacturing model, similar to Ilford's annual sheet film sales. Pre-orders with much smaller customized production runs will become the order of the day.
Kodak will continue to make one or two films, perhaps TMAX and Portra. The others will be prepaid orders placed once every year or two. Ilford will be similar. The smaller companies will produce occasional custom batches of specialty emulsions like RPX25 or IR820.
And it goes without saying that the current pricing structures are probably unsustainable. Analog film supplies of all sorts will become more expensive. And Do-It-Yourselfers will flourish. Small companies like Photo Formulary will provide basic chemical and hardware supplies in support of the DIY market.
But don't worry. Since predicting the future is notoriously difficult, I am almost certainly wrong.
Keith
The best camera is one that still works!
Now we have them under a different guise IMO ... Google, Amazon, eBay, paypal ... take your pick!
Ko.Fe.
Lenses 35/21 Gears 46/20
Where I'm it is Kodak and Ilford. Heck... , Shanghai, since you mentioned India
10 of 120 and 25 or so of 4x5 of Shanghai are possessed in my freezer on yesterday.
Hugs&Kisses, Ko.
markus_h_photography
Established
I'm sure I saw one person there holding a "Kodak Easyshare" digicam!
JohnTF
Veteran
How the hell is this not "news", but rather fodder to be buried in Film / Developing / Chemistry? (not to be considered in any manner defamatory to those good folks)
I suppose blowing up a bridge would be put with "recycling asphalt" or "fish safety" ?
Well, it is what it is.
Thanks for several excellent replies, the next ones will be in 2016?
Well, as Bluto might have remarked, "All those years in Journalism wasted."
I suppose blowing up a bridge would be put with "recycling asphalt" or "fish safety" ?
Well, it is what it is.
Thanks for several excellent replies, the next ones will be in 2016?
Well, as Bluto might have remarked, "All those years in Journalism wasted."
JohnTF
Veteran
It was great when the snap shooter/ general photography market supported the niche of what some aspire to be fine and/or more serious photography, but, it was more than a bit interesting when I became more aware of the time capsule of materials from the former Eastern Bloc in the 90's.
I even thought some of the more interesting products might well find their way to the shores in the West, and indeed, some did.
A few years later, with the dismantling of ORWO, and NEOBROM, I saw some of the tipping points -- question is, which ones are 21st Century?
Will RA4 printing persist? If the base of this food chain collapses, it will become very expensive to produce prints.
That will affect all , not just film. You can't stockpile a disappearing process as easily as supplies you can freeze or mix from raw materials.
Reminds me of landmarks, when they are torn down, they rarely reappear.
Regards, John
I even thought some of the more interesting products might well find their way to the shores in the West, and indeed, some did.
A few years later, with the dismantling of ORWO, and NEOBROM, I saw some of the tipping points -- question is, which ones are 21st Century?
Will RA4 printing persist? If the base of this food chain collapses, it will become very expensive to produce prints.
That will affect all , not just film. You can't stockpile a disappearing process as easily as supplies you can freeze or mix from raw materials.
Reminds me of landmarks, when they are torn down, they rarely reappear.
Regards, John
Out to Lunch
Ventor
During the past 25 years I've lived and worked in countries without easy access to 35mm film processing. At 54, I am not worried about the availability of 35mm film, nor about ways and means to process it and having it printed and scanned. It'll all be possible, at a cost. The big question will be what you can afford.
JohnTF
Veteran
Thanks, this relates to my feelings about future potential to produce quality prints from any source at any feasible price.
j
ps-- when is a good time to market my spare lab balances for those with the formulas? ;-)
j
ps-- when is a good time to market my spare lab balances for those with the formulas? ;-)
What we are witness to today is an entire culture ensnared in the clutches of massive change.
Companies are dying, changing and even trying to reinvent themselves in order to survive. Film will not actually die, but what comes out the other end will be different.
It is the end of domination by monolithic companies producing goods on a huge scale. Massive production along with huge sales made the entire system possible. Now we are very quickly moving to a boutique model where I believe that companies will need to be agile enough to engage in a customized manufacturing model, similar to Ilford's annual sheet film sales. Pre-orders with much smaller customized production runs will become the order of the day.
Kodak will continue to make one or two films, perhaps TMAX and Portra. The others will be prepaid orders placed once every year or two. Ilford will be similar. The smaller companies will produce occasional custom batches of specialty emulsions like RPX25 or IR820.
And it goes without saying that the current pricing structures are probably unsustainable. Analog film supplies of all sorts will become more expensive. And Do-It-Yourselfers will flourish. Small companies like Photo Formulary will provide basic chemical and hardware supplies in support of the DIY market.
But don't worry. Since predicting the future is notoriously difficult, I am almost certainly wrong.
JohnTF
Veteran
It must have really worn out, some of the former Eastern Bloc guys had folks who actually could fix things, not just swap out parts.
Am out of touch with the Czech guys, they sold a lot of film I thought under the Brit label-- my former partner visited them, but don't know the sustainability --
I have a friend in Prague now, I did not think to ask her to carry back a roll or two, besides, have had bad experiences with security having to have a peek inside and ruining whole boxes of paper. They said they were going to open it in the dark-- Delta lied.
J
Am out of touch with the Czech guys, they sold a lot of film I thought under the Brit label-- my former partner visited them, but don't know the sustainability --
I have a friend in Prague now, I did not think to ask her to carry back a roll or two, besides, have had bad experiences with security having to have a peek inside and ruining whole boxes of paper. They said they were going to open it in the dark-- Delta lied.
J
charjohncarter
Veteran
I feel sorry for Rochester, lost future jobs, lost prosperity, lost tradition, I hope it isn't another Detroit. I didn't see one camera using film in the video, oh well, maybe I'm wrong about that.
JohnTF
Veteran
DougFord
on the good foot
That doco is more about a bunch of people watching a controled explosive demolition job than it is about Kodak or the demise of their film business.
And they are all there shooting it with their digicams which I find rather ironic!
I would of used a couple rolls of kodachrome to document the proceedings. Painting a word picture to describe the contents of the rolls to future generations would be part of the fun.