Kodak Ends Black & White Paper Production

[MrBern]

Its sad & a bit depressing to see the products go & know the industry is changing in a way that makes some of us feel like dinosaurs. But at least there are alternatives for B&W paper. After all Ilford is still around & I believe Forte uses more silver in their film & paper than Kodak.

I wasnt too happy when Kodachrome25 slidefilm died. Theres still K64 for a littl while longer, but its gotten a bit harder to have developed.
When I started seeing Inkjet prints in Galleries & museums, I knew times were changing not for the better. Tho I cant say I didnt enjoy the expediency of scanning negatives instead of making lots of monotonous test prints.
Maybe the SpeedGraphic newsmen were upset about leicas & nikons takign over. Or maybe thats how Daguerrotype photogs felt about the early paper negative cameras.
Its all changing, try not to let it get ya down.

 

[MrBern]

nikon

anyone notice today that Nikon is pretty much giving up on FILM cameras & lenses?

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/12/technology/12nikon.html

"Nikon made its first film camera in 1948, as Japan rose from the ashes of defeat in World War II."

 

[photobyalan]

Sad as it may be, it's hardly a surprise. If a product isn't selling in sufficient numbers to make it profitable to manufacture, then it would be irresponsible for a company to continue to produce it. I think that in 50 years or so, film use will be at a level comparable to what Daguerrotype use is today. You'll still be able to find photographers using it, but it will be way, way out of the mainstream.

 

[cneil]

Nikon Plans to Stop Making Most Cameras That Use Film

Nikon Plans to Stop Making Most Cameras That Use Film


This is an ?¢‚Ǩ?ìUN-Clear?¢‚Ǩ? Press Release.
Like when Kodak announced it would stop making film camera for sale in the US.
People thought Kodak would stop making ALL Cameras, that Film would not be available?¢‚Ǩ¬¶.
Kodak Film Cameras had stopped selling in the U.S. a few years before; this was just making what was, official.
Kodak one-time use cameras continue in production and to sell well.

There has not been a new Nikon Point and Shot camera in 3 years, I think like Olympus and Kodak what this specific announcement is about is the end of Nikon Point and Shot film Cameras.
I also see a reduction in Film SLR Camera Models As Digital takes over more ground.

These announcements really hurt us little Camera Stores, because people get these ideas it is all gone. I will be calling My Nikon Rep. Monday Morning for clarification, and I will probably spend the next 6 weeks explaining it to my customers.

Nikon need to continue with a couple of SLR Film Cameras so that its Digital SLR?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s will continue to sell.
Many of my customers want both. And the ability to use their same lenses on film bodies as well as Digital.

For example, Dentist. Many have a Nikon or Yashica SLR, which they have used, in their office for 20 years or more.
They want a Digital Camera; shoot most of the pictures of their patients Teeth in Digital. But they still need slides some times.
(Most of the Dentist Buy a camera for work, then borrow it to use at home and on vacation)

Now the Old lens do not work on the Digital Cameras, so there buy a Nikon D70s Digital SLR and a Nikon N80 Film SLR..

Photography students is an other place. They buy a film SLR camera for class and since they have a investment in lenses, when they are ready to buy a Digital SLR, they buy the one witch is compatible to the film camera they have.

There for, if there is no Nikon Film SLR, the student will buy Canon, if they buy Canon film, they will buy Canon Digital.

We currently sell about 70% Digital cameras to 30% film.

 

[airfrogusmc]

I've printed thousands of silver gelatin prints over the years. Had shows in galleries of my work both B&W and color. There is NOTHING in the digital world that can match a beautifully printed silver gelatin print. The reason is silver. It reflects light in a way that ink can't.

I have a couple of friends that work in large format and are coating there own platinum papers. There was an interesting article in HOW magazine which contained interviews with a couple of major ad agencies in New York and the both said they prefer film over digital images. Just like audiophiles prefer turntables and tube amps a few that are truly interested in quality will keep film and paper alive.

There has also been some debate on how long the images stored on a hard drive will last. I read some could start having problems after only a few years and CDs only 2 years. An archival processed negative and print should last 100 years or more without any change.

 

[Robert Conway]

Yeah, times are changing.

AGFA is dead as a doorknob. I will miss APX100 dearly. Thank heaven Rodinal clones are available from several different sources and just a few days ago I read somewhere that someone has picked up production of Agfa branded Rodinal. The loss of AFGA Classic Fiber paper is a disaster. It was just about the best paper out there and I am down to my last 100 sheets...

From what I understand Kodak's b/w paper wasn't a huge hit with master printers, who seem to prefer Ilford and the now dead AGFA papers, but it was a big seller with schools etc. Frankly I would rather see Kodak dump their papers and chemicals and instead concentrate on supporting their films. If they discontinue Tri-X 400, I may have to shoot myself. (Give me Tri-X or give me death!)

Ilford recently had a close call, but was rescued by a group of film lovers. They are now concentrating on streamlining the company, while continuing to produce top notch products. Their films are second to none and I plan on supporting them by shifting my purchases in their direction. With the exception of Tri-X, I am now a Ilford man. I think they may become the keepers of the flame, and considering how good their films are, that may not be a bad thing...

FUJI film seems to be rolling along. Very nice films, right up there with what Kodak and Ilford produce.

Then there are the small companies like ADOX, EFKE, BERGGER etc.
These are small Eastern European companies, making films based on German formulas from the WWII era. EFKE25 is really quite impressive and the last ultra-fine-grained film in production. You can get these films and papers here:

http://www.jandcphoto.com/
www.frugalphotographer.com

They stock many sizes, including 127, minox and large format.

Chemicals aren't a problem You can easily mix everything you need from scratch.

Personally I don't plan on giving up on film. I shoot Leica and Rolleiflex; both of which will have to be pried from my cold, dead hands.

It's not that I am digital-phobic. Quite the opposite. I earn my living with digital imaging, but I have several reasons why I prefer film.

I already spend most of my day in front of a computer and the last thing I want to do in my spare time, is spend MORE time in front of a computer.

I find digital images clinical. To me nothing beats the look of a Summicron-DR and a roll of Tri-X. ;-)

So far, nothing digital looks as good as a well executed silver fiber print. I recently saw some prints of Salgado's work and it was brilliant.

I enjoy the challenge of shooting with an all manual camera and a handheld meter. It takes a lot of practice and experience to be able to shoot photojournalistic type of work on the run, with little or no automation. A great many of today's photographers would be dead in the water, if their batteries failed. But it's great fun. Just you and your wits, your camera, meter, and a roll of film, against the big wide world. It's a very satisfying feeling, when you really nail a shot.

But that right there may be the problem. No one wants to put in the effort to learn these skills anymore. I took me about two years of continuous shooting to build the skills necessary to be able to shoot quickly and nail shots in this manner. But now it's second nature. Most of my friends think I'm nuts and instead, plink away with their digital wonders. But then again they don't know what a small armhole is, either.

I think that color film will go the way of the Dodo, as the masses turn to digital to record birthdays etc,

Black and white will probably outlast all of us in one form or another, kept alive by motley group of diehard Leica, Nikon, Rollei and large format shooters.

 

[MrBern]

minolta packs it in

Looks like Minolta is signing off as well

http://konicaminolta.com/releases/2006/0119_03_01.html

 

[Katt in Hat]

I can not thank you enough for the link to Dismuke!

Posted elsewhere here is WFUV-FM, The Big Broadcast. You probably know of it.:drum:

 

[Shademaker]

we shouldn't be worried that black and white photography has died because of this, it's alive and well, just being done differently

That is right and if folks still worked with chemicals and paper it would not be dissapearing. It is a choice. I have had my own B&W darkroom and my own color darkroom as well but by far prefer my Digital darkroom to the chemicals and, well, darkness. These days I use Convert to B&W Pro, a plugin that works in Photoshop CS2. B&W is still an artform, it is not as cumbersome as it was with chemicals. There are some archival methods and materials for digital printing if you choose to spend the money on them.

 

[MrBern]

Kodak to raise film prices

Kodak to raise film prices, citing materials costs

http://today.reuters.com/news/artic...0Z_01_WEN4650_RTRIDST_0_INDUSTRY-KODAK-DC.XML

Mon Apr 17, 2006 12:00pm ET
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Eastman Kodak Co. on Monday said it plans to increase prices for its consumer, professional and movie films, citing the rising cost of raw materials such as silver.

Price increases for consumer and professional films will range from 3 percent to 17 percent, while increases on selected motion picture films will range from 3 percent to 5 percent.

"Over the past year, Kodak has been absorbing unrelenting increases in the costs of raw materials used to manufacture film, including silver and petrochemicals," the company said in a statement. "These pressures have reached a point where they can no longer be offset by Kodak's ongoing productivity programs."


© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.

 

[John in Covina]

Gone and forgotten!

I think that concern over the durability of digital photography paper is moot; the negative, or master copy, is infinately reproducable with exact fidelity.

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There will come a time when the computer processes, software and hardware will become obsolete and the opportunity to transfer those digital images will be lost.