Very encouraging market news from Ilford

aperture64 said:
One can only hope that Kodak would have the same survey results.
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I'm not sure how the new Kodak/Aleris thing is working out, but the old Kodak seemed the kind of company to not care for surveys, or to even listen to their customers.

Actually, by the way that they marketed their film products, the old Kodak didn't even know who their customers were. Their film products were divided into "consumer" and "professional," whereas the majority of film users these days are neither, but more like enthusiasts.

Ilford seems to understand this in a way Kodak never has. Place a visit to APUG and you'll see a dedicated Ilford sub-forum, manned by Mr. Simon Galley of Ilford, who will freely answer your questions. I don't recall Kodak ever doing such a thing, because they were stuck in the mid-20th century paradigm that professionals look down their noses at amateurs. As a lot, we're neither - or both, really, being enthusiasts.

~Joe
 
aperture64 said:
One can only hope that Kodak would have the same survey results.
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They've reported increasing sales for their professional films (color and BW).
But still decreasing sales for their amateur color negative films and single use cams.

For me the most important news from the Ilford survey is the increasing demand for film from the young photographers, from the so-called "digital natives".
I am hearing that more often now from different sources in the industry, also from distributors.
 
Good news here. As a long term (35+ years) film user, I am always a strong advocate of film photography. I am also in the small group of photographers who never felt the need to go digital, apart from smart phone snaps, (and very few of them). I am glad that a whole new crop of photographers are seeing the best of both media. Long may this trend continue !
 
... if you can't get a positive response from your own marketing dept then you're well and truly buggered ...
 
Took just ONE freaking post before a positive article on film turned into the usual doomfest on this forum. I'm meeting a lot of younger people excited about film these days, as opposed to the grey old men who prefer to spend their time grumbling online.
 
mani said:
Took just ONE freaking post before a positive article on film turned into the usual doomfest on this forum. I'm meeting a lot of younger people excited about film these days, as opposed to the grey old men who prefer to spend their time grumbling online.
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Hi,

I guess the youngsters don't know about the internet and forums and so on...

Regards, David
 
Skiff said:
They've reported increasing sales for their professional films (color and BW).
But still decreasing sales for their amateur color negative films and single use cams.

For me the most important news from the Ilford survey is the increasing demand for film from the young photographers, from the so-called "digital natives".
I am hearing that more often now from different sources in the industry, also from distributors.
Click to expand...
I'd guess that's down to smart phone cams...
 
Roger Hicks said:
Quite. One can also have one's suspicions.

Cheers,

R.
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You are all wrong Roger. If you took time to listen to sites like the Film Photography Podcast, Flickr & Facebook groups you would see there is a growing popularity in film users & they are not using Lomo/Holga cameras either. Many are buying or using their dad's old SLR. Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Oly, & Minoltas are popular among our youth.

The guys over at the FPP are selling fresh batches of film from Kodak. Michael just posted on Instagram a shipment of fresh Kodak film they just received a few days ago. These guys even sell 110 film & have a 110 film holder to scan the film.

Perhaps if you wouldn't be so negative you might could do some research & write a positive article for Shutterbug or other magazine on the resurgence of film.
 
Just as I finally figured out how to get my Chromecast to display my pictures, film shooting, printing and craftsmanship comes back into vogue.

Now if I had only kept all the darkroom gear from a recent move!:bang:
 
gb hill said:
You are all wrong Roger. If you took time to listen to sites like the Film Photography Podcast, Flickr & Facebook groups you would see there is a growing popularity in film users & they are not using Lomo/Holga cameras either. Many are buying or using their dad's old SLR. Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Oly, & Minoltas are popular among our youth.

The guys over at the FPP are selling fresh batches of film from Kodak. Michael just posted on Instagram a shipment of fresh Kodak film they just received a few days ago. These guys even sell 110 film & have a 110 film holder to scan the film.

Perhaps if you wouldn't be so negative you might could do some research & write a positive article for Shutterbug or other magazine on the resurgence of film.
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Highlight 1: What? I was referring to Kodak's ability to frame, let alone run, a meaningful survey. And then to their ability to interpret the results.

Highlight 2: "so negative". Really? No. I'm utterly in favour of film. What gave you the impression I'm not?

Cheers,

R.
 
I liked using film when my life had lots of room in it for darkroom time. I loved spending hours in both b&w and color darkrooms. But no longer... no time with family and other interests. Digital came along at just the right time for me... just when I needed more time for other pursuits. This is just to say that I appreciate all the aspects of film photography. However...

In reading the Ilford article, I wonder why it takes a survey to conclude that film use is on the upswing. Don't sales figures tell you that more accurately? Anyone can respond to the survey saying they love using film. But do they? And how much, and for how long?

And another 'itchy' feeling I got when reading the article - Does the 'retro' rational for using film have staying power? I wonder.

I'll be happy if film manufacturing does make a comeback. And who knows... maybe when the kid goes off to college, I'll have time to rebuild the darkroom. But if I was a betting man, I'd bet that the collision of digital and retro is not going to result in a robust film future.
 
I enjoy using film. I enjoy working with digital. I would be disappointed if film disappeared. I kind of doubt that will happen.

But if I spent all my time cruising the web to all these film related sites everyday worrying about the continued existence of film then I would never have time to shoot any of my cameras.

So I want to thank all of you who do have the time for keeping me up to date here on RFF. :)
 
Roger Hicks said:
Highlight 1: What? I was referring to Kodak's ability to frame, let alone run, a meaningful survey. And then to their ability to interpret the results.

Highlight 2: "so negative". Really? No. I'm utterly in favour of film. What gave you the impression I'm not?

Cheers,

R.
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You didn't make that very clear in your post on what you were referring about. My apologies. & about the negative attitude, you come across as negative at times. I would like to see some good film related articles from you. your articles in Shutterbug were always an upbeat. :)
 
gb hill said:
You didn't make that very clear in your post on what you were referring about. My apologies. & about the negative attitude, you come across as negative at times. I would like to see some good film related articles from you. your articles in Shutterbug were always an upbeat. :)
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So would I!

Write to Shutterbug and tell 'em!

Cheers,

R.
 
JoeV said:
I'm not sure how the new Kodak/Aleris thing is working out, but the old Kodak seemed the kind of company to not care for surveys, or to even listen to their customers.

Actually, by the way that they marketed their film products, the old Kodak didn't even know who their customers were. Their film products were divided into "consumer" and "professional," whereas the majority of film users these days are neither, but more like enthusiasts.

Ilford seems to understand this in a way Kodak never has. Place a visit to APUG and you'll see a dedicated Ilford sub-forum, manned by Mr. Simon Galley of Ilford, who will freely answer your questions. I don't recall Kodak ever doing such a thing, because they were stuck in the mid-20th century paradigm that professionals look down their noses at amateurs. As a lot, we're neither - or both, really, being enthusiasts.


~Joe
Click to expand...

I suppose you never heard of 800 242 2424. You could get all the help you ever wanted. Maybe still can.
 
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