What if Kodak fades away?

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kknox

kknox
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If Kodak fades away, and we no longer have its film to buy. Is this a sign the end is near end for film? I know there are other manufactures, Fuji, Ilford, Afga, etc. Do you think we have a few years of good selection of film left, or is film just going to be a small cottage industry catering to small group of us film shooters? If the big players get out of the film business, how will we feed our rangefinders, SLR's & our Rollei's?
 
film might stay strong with just a couple of major manufactures...prices will likely rise and it might become an online product so no running down to the local shop to pick up a few rolls.

hard to say...some people think i still shoot film because the rd1 looks like an 'old' camera and the reactions i get sometimes are usually those of great surprise.
no one i know who asks me about buying a new camera ever asks about film cameras...
 
The remaining manufacturers will breathe a sigh of relief that these buffoons have finally finished muddying the waters of a survivable niche market with their complete lack of vision and false promises.

And it will be a better world for the average film user ... I'm sure!
 
If we are limited to buying online at $10.00 a roll for B&W, we still can shoot film then. I hope we have that option in 20yrs.
 
kknox said:
If Kodak fades away, and we no longer have its film to buy. Is this a sign the end is near end for film? I know there are other manufactures, Fuji, Ilford, Afga, etc. Do you think we have a few years of good selection of film left, or is film just going to be a small cottage industry catering to small group of us film shooters? If the big players get out of the film business, how will we feed our rangefinders, SLR's & our Rollei's?
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Not again. Sometimes I think that if a roll was purchased for every online thread started about the demise of film, there would be enough sales to save Kodak, three times over. I'm sure that's not the case but, damn, it feels like it sometimes.

Fifteen rolls of Acros and a few rolls of tri-X arrived in the mail today. I'm looking forward to experiencing tri-X for the first time. How much film have you exposed today? As you can no doubt gather, I'm quite over these types of discussions. If film matters to you, (I assume it does, from your comments) then, stop talking about its demise. Just use it. As much as you can...
Regards,
Brett
 
Seriously, I'm not worried. Well, not about the survival of film generally, although maybe about the survival of particular films. I think b&w will continue to be produced. It's a niche market that can be served by a number of small producers. The survival prospects for color film are dicier. At the end of the day, when film came along, did oil paints disappear? No, you can still buy them today, but maybe not in the quantity or variety of once upon a time.
 
If Kodak goes, Fuji will become stronger and last longer. If Fuji goes, Ifford and boutique manufacturers will ... you get the idea.
 
The only thing I would dislike about Fuji's demise is the fact that their developers seem to be cheaper than Ilford's. I shoot Ilford film and print on Ilford paper but can't bring myself so pay Ilford's outrageous developer prices (and if you need an example look at Ilfotec HC)
 
I've been nervous about incandescent opal glass enlarger bulbs. I bought a few extra PH211s, even though they're readily available, being made in U.S., Japan, China and EU, among other places no doubt. And I've been hoarding my little stash of PX625 hg cells. This is beginning to feel like stocking up for analog survivalism. How much echt Rodinal do *you* have squirreled away? :)
 
I think it's funny that everyone keeps saying ''there's still Ilford''. Last time I checked Ilford didn't make any color neg film.

For me film photography means Kodak Portra. If Kodak goes under I might just pack it in, sell all my film gear and scanner and invest in a digital mf solution.
 
I really hope kodak doesn't go down - I really like all the new kodak films like the potra's and the T-Max's.

And what will photography be without tri-x!
 
gavinlg said:
I really hope kodak doesn't go down - I really like all the new kodak films like the potra's and the T-Max's.

And what will photography be without tri-x!
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I'm sure you'll be finding out before too long!

Maybe it'll be a like a waldorf salad without the waldorfs?

:D
 
I find Fuji Pro 160s every bit as good as portra. If Kodak's sales go Fuji's way, I won't be very unhappy, neither woukd Fuji obviously ;)
 
I am more worried about HC-110 than the Kodak films ... That developer is already hard to get in Japan and whenever I can get some I stock up. However, I can`t stock up more film, no more space in the freezer ... :bang:
 
Shoot even more Ilford an Rollei film.
Hope it would force Fuji to take the filmbusiness more serious: re-introduce Neopan 400 and take colorfilm more serious.

There will always be demand for film ass there will always be suppliers!
 
Common sense should tell us that film will survive into the future as a niche product with or without Kodak ... and I truly believe it will.

Jamming our freezers full of what's available currently due to irrational paranoia is counter productive to this scenario IMO. Manufacturers need to see a steady demand to instil confidence in contnuing to offer the product to us at a reasonable price.

Steady consumption and not this over reactive hoarding mentality is what will save film!
 
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