What will Kodak's final film be?

What will Kodak's final film be?

  • Portra

    Votes: 9 4.0%

  • Ektar

    Votes: 22 9.7%

  • E-Series (E100G, etc)

    Votes: 3 1.3%

  • ELITE Chrome

    Votes: 1 0.4%

  • T-MAX

    Votes: 19 8.4%

  • TRI-X

    Votes: 124 54.6%

  • BW400CN

    Votes: 5 2.2%

  • PLUS X

    Votes: 1 0.4%

  • A non-professional Kodak film

    Votes: 24 10.6%

  • Something that hasn't been invented yet.

    Votes: 19 8.4%
  • Total voters
    227
IF....Kodak scales back :eek:

I think it will have to be for the masses...

A non-pro film like Kodak MAX 800, that has a deep underexpose latitude.

EDIT:
I would prefer Plus-X and BW400CN. But the OP poll was not what I wanted, but what would Kodak do.
 
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colyn said:
Various makers.

I recently bought a roll of Kodak in date 828. I also bought a couple of rolls of Kodak in date 620.. These were not re-spooled films either.

Like you say Efke makes a few of the older formats. I've heard ??? Arista makes certain formats on special order. Don't know if it is true or not since I have not seen any..
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Kodak stopped making 828 in 1985. Quite an amazing expiration period, I'd say. They made 620 a bit longer, only stopping in 1995. So we're on a 15-year expiration there, hey?
 
bmattock said:
If we take a history lesson from Agfa Gevaert, they (presumably) could not find a buyer for AgfaPhoto, so they spun it off to be an independent company. It was widely speculated at the time that they spun it off to die, as it lacked the revenue stream necessary to survive; and indeed, it did not. The company went into receivership and the courts were unable to find a buyer for the company as a whole, and so it was liquidated for all remaining assets. Is there reason to suppose a third-party buyer would be found for Kodak's film division?
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But Agfa films never had the market share of Kodak or Fujifilm so the brand itself wasn't terribly attractive to potential buyers, not unlike the situation today with Saab, etc. I hope this won't happen of course as I mainly shoot b/w film from 135 to 4x5.
 
Rayt said:
But Agfa films never had the market share of Kodak or Fujifilm so the brand itself wasn't terribly attractive to potential buyers, not unlike the situation today with Saab, etc. I hope this won't happen of course as I mainly shoot b/w film from 135 to 4x5.
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OK, good point. Whom do you suppose might want to buy Kodak's film division if they sold it off?
 
pakeha said:
OK, good point. Whom do you suppose might want to buy Kodak's film division if they sold it off?

Shanghai
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That's interesting, but SMPIC Photosensitive Materials Company (Shanghai) is located in China, where labor and manufacturing costs are low. US factories would require US workers, which presumably would cost more money. As far as I know, SMPIC doesn't have a US presence, so they'd be building out a corporate infrastructure here in the US. And considering that they make B&W film already and presumably have suffered sales dips as all other film companies have, they probably have excess capacity. Not sure why they'd want to buy more capacity. However, it would give them access to Kodak's IP, which could be useful, and to whatever remaining color films Kodak sells by that time, which SMPIC doesn't currently make.

http://www.smpicgg.com/En/index.htm

Any particular reason you think that SMPIC would buy Kodak?
 
I suspect there won't be a single "last" Kodak film. They'll just shut down production. I question if it would make sense to bear the expense of maintaining film production capability just to crank out a limited amount of one or two brands.

I expect Kodak to stop making film whenever they determine that more money can be made by putting the money that pays for film production into paper instruments. That's when they will sell it off.
 
quote
Any particular reason you think that SMPIC would buy Kodak?

answer
Kodak's IP, which could be useful, and to whatever remaining color films Kodak sells by that time, which SMPIC doesn't currently make.


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Chinese Tri-X, huh

sure, why not, they make real fine washing machines, i am sure they can handle a tech as old as film:)
 
I'd bet the ingredients of a Twinkie are closer to the ingredients of Tri-X than we imagine:D

seriously though, some results i have seen from Shanghai gp3 are very good.
I`ve ordered some to try out. Just getting ready for the inevitable.;)
 
Further thought: 'Something that hasn't been invented yet' includes Tri-X, which has changed considerably and repeatedly since its introduction in about 1939. The first big change was when they started offering it in 35mm and roll film in about 1953; and there has been at least one major redesign (involving on-line hardening, with greatly increased resistance to reticulation) in the 21st century.

Marketing departments hate changing the names of films. XP2 Super should have been XP3, and Tri-X is at least Five-X by now. The Tri-X name showed it was faster, cleverer, etc., than Super-XX. Of course there were those who preferred Super-XX.

Cheers,

R.
 
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Having only just got home and spotted this thread I need to ask what is the story with TX 320? Discontinued when?
 
I find it difficult to understand how or why - what is basically the same thread - keeps reappearing with such monotonous regularity. Yes - a slightly different title, and initial viewpoint, but it always boils down to 'how long will it last' and 'rather than use digital - I'll kill myself'...et cetera..et-bloody-cetera! every week, and the same old band of stalwarts - trot out the same old lengthy speeches, with such certainty that I could almost quote them down at the pub!....anyway - Sunday morning rant over!....I feel a lot better, and shall go out in search of the decisive moment, now - film or digital?...mmm - better save the film if it's dieing!....Christ! - I'm doing it now! :bang:
Dave.
 
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