"This could be the year that film goes away for Kodak!" ... [quote: George Conboy]

[Roger Hicks]

Out of idle interest, there's still a coating line in Iran. I know nothing at all about Iranian payscales or environmental regulations, but it shows that there are more coating lines around than some people realize.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Keith]

Out of idle interest, there's still a coating line in Iran. I know nothing at all about Iranian payscales or environmental regulations, but it shows that there are more coating lines around than some people realize.

Cheers,

R.

Coating line ... hah!

Next thing you'll be telling me they have baby milk factories!

:angel:

 

[Roger Hicks]

Coating line ... hah!

Next thing you'll be telling me they have baby milk factories!

:angel:

Eh?

A factory rep told me at last photokina that they reckon they'll run it for another two or three years before knocking it on the head. He assured me that it was an actual coating line, not just a conversion plant. I've no reason to call him a liar.

Cheers,

R.

 

[bojanfurst]

Keith, Croatian heritage, eh? As a Croatian I could always tell - there is that Central European sensibility in your photos and cheekiness in comments 😉

As for Fotokemika (http://www.fotokemika.hr/), it is indeed in Croatia, a place where everybody has access to healthcare 😉 and the environmental laws are really not that bad. People working at Fotokemika, from what I hear, have decent jobs, which is not something many people in Croatia can say at the moment. Also the company is actually experimenting and innovating. I am heading back home sometime in April so will try shooting as much EFKE as I can. Can't wait to shoot some 25 ASA film in Mediterranean sunshine. Shooting handheld at 25 ASA is near impossible here in the North Atlantic. Also, if you ever find yourself in Croatia don't miss the town Fotokemika is located in - Samobor. It's very close to the capital, very picturesque and famous for its culinary delights. It also has a very cool carnival in February 🙂

As for Kodak, I think we'll have film for a while yet, but it might become very expensive.

Cheers

 

[GSNfan]

Whether its this year or next or five years from now, Kodak eventually will make an announcement about the future of its film business, and its not going to be good news.

 

[antiquark]

Film will never die!

 

[wlewisiii]

Time to unsub. This is just the same old happy cr*p kind of thread. At least when Bill M would whine that film was dead he could be interesting about it.

 

[antiquark]

Time to unsub. This is just the same old happy cr*p kind of thread. At least when Bill M would whine that film was dead he could be interesting about it.

My post of "film will never die" was somewhat facetious. Mainly because anything and everything has been said about the demise of film, arguments for and against it have been stated time and time again from both sides of the fence. The bickering has been going on ad nauseum, ad infinitum, and ad absurdum.

So, since I've argued about it in excruciating detail many times before, I'm more inclined these days to state my general opinion, minus the reasoning.

 

[robklurfield]

Kobayashi-san would be an interesting suitor, too.

 

[SimonSawSunlight]

I know it's all just rumors and assumptions by a guy I've never heard of and Kodak certainly isn't the entire film industry, but it sure makes me want to go and hoard enough tri-x for the rest of my life, I guess you can't be too sure! 😀

 

[Keith]

Speaking of Kodak's digital efforts ... I've had three of their point and shoots and not one made it past a year. My canon A620 on the other hand is going strong after fve years of abuse and use.

Perhaps they should stick with film!

 

[john_s]

When Kodak film is gone, how might Fuji act?

As far as I'm concerned, Fuji is finished already. (120 size Neopan 400)

 

[BillBingham2]

One of my best friends (who was A Kodak employee of the year) has detailed the demise and mismanagement in conversations over the years.

Kodak has been a horribly mismanaged company for over 30 years. Their problems started long before the advent of digital. They had one of the best positions to take advantage of the digital revolution, but squandered their lead because of lack of vision and long term outlook. Kodak's long-term downward slide will probably result in the demise of the company before this decade is through.

It's really interesting how many MBAs we turn out here in the states and how many really large companies are called "Poorly Managed". Kodak, USS, GM, the list sadly goes on and on. I agree that color will be digital and there will be B&W for many years. There still are issues with digital sensors but they are getting fewer and fewer every year.

B2 (;->

 

[Al Patterson]

When Kodak film is gone, how might Fuji act ?

"Ding, dong the witch is dead"?

Cha' ching!

Certainly, they would pick up the slack. Although, I'm sure Ilford wouldn't be crying either.

 

[Al Patterson]

It's really interesting how many MBAs we turn out here in the states and how many really large companies are called "Poorly Managed". Kodak, USS, GM, the list sadly goes on and on. I agree that color will be digital and there will be B&W for many years. There still are issues with digital sensors but they are getting fewer and fewer every year.

B2 (;->

They are poorly managed becuase they are run by MBAs. Before the proliferation of the MBA degree, America was the greatest economic power on the planet. The more MBAs we produce, the worse we become.

Please, fire all the MBAs, or outsource THEM first... Save America, fire an MBA...

(yes, there is SOME sarcasm here, but can you disprove this sarcastic rant???)

 

[Keith]

I'm not convinced that Fuji would be that interested. Their own film line seems less than committed for a definite future and that new digital point and shoot seems set to make them a heap of money.

Ilford would be pretty pleased though I'd imagine!

 

[rangefound]

Was reading on collodion wet plates and came across this: http://getsatisfaction.com/eastmanhouse/topics/how_and_why_to_distinquish_wet_and_dry_plates . Now you may ask what does that have to do with anything, read the last comment.

 

[Pickett Wilson]

Well, I'm not an MBA, but I'm still not convinced anyone stands to win if Kodak bails out of the film business. If I were an investor, or another company like Fuji who has also seen film sales go into the toilet quarter after quarter, I wouldn't see any of this as a good thing. And if I was looking for a startup business, I sure wouldn't want to invest in an obviously dying technology.

I'm not convinced photographic film is actually a product that would be profitable on a truly small scale, much less have much of a future when you cannot walk into any store but a big camera store and buy a camera that uses it.

 

[Ade-oh]

...And if I was looking for a startup business, I sure wouldn't want to invest in an obviously dying technology.

A reasonable point, although film isn't actually a dying technology, but one in which the mass-market consumer application is dying. The issue for Kodak - and presumably Fuji as well - is managing the change so that they can still produce film in a potentially profitable way. Ilford and some of the other small European film manufacturers are attempting to do this, and they don't have the benefit of the movie business that Kodak have which guarantees a certain level of income.

 

[nzeeman]

Also the company is actually experimenting and innovating.

do you maybe have some info what do they innovating these days? maybe their own 400? that would be great!