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Sad news for film-based photography



 
 
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  #1  
Old September 21st 04, 05:59 AM
Ronald Shu
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Sad news for film-based photography

Aavo Koort, the president of Channel City Camera Club sent a message to
all members about the future of film-based photography. It is a very
interesting article, pretty sad though. Please read on. Your
feedback/input are welcome.

-----------------------
A member of Delaware Photography Society sent the following to me. He
obtained it from a
friend who recently retired from Kodak. I have been unable to verify the
news presented in
the article. So read it with that in mind. While the article reflects
the current advances in
digital photography it is somewhat sad to all of us who have used film
for these many years.
September 2004 Channel City Camera Club Page 2
From a retired Kodak worker
About the only thing Kodak has done relevant to historic photographs
lately is buy a controlling
interest in Applied Science Fiction, which is a software company that
makes a program to restore
lost and faded color by digital processing of scans. This product is
somewhat helpful for people
who don’t want to learn Photoshop, it is automatic and requires no
skill. It does a decent job of
turning a photo that has turned red or green back into some resemblance
of natural color.
It is very sad to report on what Kodak is not doing anymore now, they
have dismantled their
R&D department for chemical photography and announced they will not be
making any new
products for film based photography. According to an analysis published
in the Wall Street
Journal, they plan to continue manufacturing existing film and chemical
based products only as
long as demand supports each individual product and then discontinue it.
They see no future in
chemical based photographs.
All Kodak and Agfa products made for professional photo conservators and
historic photo
technicians are already discontinued. No manufacturer in the world makes
any copy film
anymore. The next item Kodak is expected to discontinue is the only
archival color film made,
which is Kodachrome. Even archival photographic paper is being discontinued.
Probably the most upsetting thing is that Kodak made the only archival
CD, and that is now
discontinued. Shortly after the announcement, all the existing stocks of
the Kodak Gold CD in
the world were snapped up, mostly by the British Museum and the Library
of Congress. So now
there is no option of archival storage on CD anymore. Nobody seriously
expects the second
choice CD, which is Kodak silver & gold CD, to last more than 25 years,
and most other CDs are
expected to last 8 years or so now. Virtually all the discussion on
archivist and conservator lists
now centers on mothballed hard drives, with annual testing of the BLER
rate, and replacement
of the drive every five years or so.
I have had experience with regional Kodak salesmen who talk up their
products, but really don’t
know what they are talking about. One rep claimed that Kodak’s RC paper
had been improved
and was now archival, when I phoned Eastman and spoke with an engineer
he said that their RC
paper has a life expectancy of 75 years before the resin breaks down,
which is hardly archival
considering the salesman is proposing to use it as a replacement for
products with life
expectancies four times that or greater.
You would think that smaller factories would step in to fill the void,
and a few are, however the
quality control is not good enough and I am faced with throwing away
much of it. These
factories just don’t have the abilities in quality control that major
manufacturers enjoy.
Sorry to be so harsh, but Kodak does not smell any money in traditional
photography anymore. It
is virtually a general consensus of the industry that traditional
photography as we know it today
will be gone within five years, and all film based work will become an
“alternative process” like
Platinum printing is considered today. What this means for people
interested in archival
photographs is that professional labs who do the work will disappear,
and only small specialized
operations will be able to do any of it, depending on material
availability. For all those with
September 2004 Channel City Camera Club Page 3
copying projects, negative printing projects, etc., now is the time to
act. With the steadily
reducing demand, costs for chemical based products are skyrocketing. In
five years, black &
white chemical photo services may cost double or triple what it does now.
  #2  
Old September 21st 04, 03:19 PM
Böwzér
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

This is total BS...

"Ronald Shu" wrote in message
...
Aavo Koort, the president of Channel City Camera Club sent a message to
all members about the future of film-based photography. It is a very
interesting article, pretty sad though. Please read on. Your
feedback/input are welcome.

-----------------------
A member of Delaware Photography Society sent the following to me. He
obtained it from a
friend who recently retired from Kodak. I have been unable to verify the
news presented in
the article. So read it with that in mind. While the article reflects the
current advances in
digital photography it is somewhat sad to all of us who have used film for
these many years.
September 2004 Channel City Camera Club Page 2
From a retired Kodak worker
About the only thing Kodak has done relevant to historic photographs
lately is buy a controlling
interest in Applied Science Fiction, which is a software company that
makes a program to restore
lost and faded color by digital processing of scans. This product is
somewhat helpful for people
who don’t want to learn Photoshop, it is automatic and requires no skill.
It does a decent job of
turning a photo that has turned red or green back into some resemblance of
natural color.
It is very sad to report on what Kodak is not doing anymore now, they have
dismantled their
R&D department for chemical photography and announced they will not be
making any new
products for film based photography. According to an analysis published in
the Wall Street
Journal, they plan to continue manufacturing existing film and chemical
based products only as
long as demand supports each individual product and then discontinue it.
They see no future in
chemical based photographs.
All Kodak and Agfa products made for professional photo conservators and
historic photo
technicians are already discontinued. No manufacturer in the world makes
any copy film
anymore. The next item Kodak is expected to discontinue is the only
archival color film made,
which is Kodachrome. Even archival photographic paper is being
discontinued.
Probably the most upsetting thing is that Kodak made the only archival CD,
and that is now
discontinued. Shortly after the announcement, all the existing stocks of
the Kodak Gold CD in
the world were snapped up, mostly by the British Museum and the Library of
Congress. So now
there is no option of archival storage on CD anymore. Nobody seriously
expects the second
choice CD, which is Kodak silver & gold CD, to last more than 25 years,
and most other CDs are
expected to last 8 years or so now. Virtually all the discussion on
archivist and conservator lists
now centers on mothballed hard drives, with annual testing of the BLER
rate, and replacement
of the drive every five years or so.
I have had experience with regional Kodak salesmen who talk up their
products, but really don’t
know what they are talking about. One rep claimed that Kodak’s RC paper
had been improved
and was now archival, when I phoned Eastman and spoke with an engineer he
said that their RC
paper has a life expectancy of 75 years before the resin breaks down,
which is hardly archival
considering the salesman is proposing to use it as a replacement for
products with life
expectancies four times that or greater.
You would think that smaller factories would step in to fill the void, and
a few are, however the
quality control is not good enough and I am faced with throwing away much
of it. These
factories just don’t have the abilities in quality control that major
manufacturers enjoy.
Sorry to be so harsh, but Kodak does not smell any money in traditional
photography anymore. It
is virtually a general consensus of the industry that traditional
photography as we know it today
will be gone within five years, and all film based work will become an
“alternative process” like
Platinum printing is considered today. What this means for people
interested in archival
photographs is that professional labs who do the work will disappear, and
only small specialized
operations will be able to do any of it, depending on material
availability. For all those with
September 2004 Channel City Camera Club Page 3
copying projects, negative printing projects, etc., now is the time to
act. With the steadily
reducing demand, costs for chemical based products are skyrocketing. In
five years, black &
white chemical photo services may cost double or triple what it does now.



  #3  
Old September 21st 04, 03:19 PM
Böwzér
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

This is total BS...

"Ronald Shu" wrote in message
...
Aavo Koort, the president of Channel City Camera Club sent a message to
all members about the future of film-based photography. It is a very
interesting article, pretty sad though. Please read on. Your
feedback/input are welcome.

-----------------------
A member of Delaware Photography Society sent the following to me. He
obtained it from a
friend who recently retired from Kodak. I have been unable to verify the
news presented in
the article. So read it with that in mind. While the article reflects the
current advances in
digital photography it is somewhat sad to all of us who have used film for
these many years.
September 2004 Channel City Camera Club Page 2
From a retired Kodak worker
About the only thing Kodak has done relevant to historic photographs
lately is buy a controlling
interest in Applied Science Fiction, which is a software company that
makes a program to restore
lost and faded color by digital processing of scans. This product is
somewhat helpful for people
who don’t want to learn Photoshop, it is automatic and requires no skill.
It does a decent job of
turning a photo that has turned red or green back into some resemblance of
natural color.
It is very sad to report on what Kodak is not doing anymore now, they have
dismantled their
R&D department for chemical photography and announced they will not be
making any new
products for film based photography. According to an analysis published in
the Wall Street
Journal, they plan to continue manufacturing existing film and chemical
based products only as
long as demand supports each individual product and then discontinue it.
They see no future in
chemical based photographs.
All Kodak and Agfa products made for professional photo conservators and
historic photo
technicians are already discontinued. No manufacturer in the world makes
any copy film
anymore. The next item Kodak is expected to discontinue is the only
archival color film made,
which is Kodachrome. Even archival photographic paper is being
discontinued.
Probably the most upsetting thing is that Kodak made the only archival CD,
and that is now
discontinued. Shortly after the announcement, all the existing stocks of
the Kodak Gold CD in
the world were snapped up, mostly by the British Museum and the Library of
Congress. So now
there is no option of archival storage on CD anymore. Nobody seriously
expects the second
choice CD, which is Kodak silver & gold CD, to last more than 25 years,
and most other CDs are
expected to last 8 years or so now. Virtually all the discussion on
archivist and conservator lists
now centers on mothballed hard drives, with annual testing of the BLER
rate, and replacement
of the drive every five years or so.
I have had experience with regional Kodak salesmen who talk up their
products, but really don’t
know what they are talking about. One rep claimed that Kodak’s RC paper
had been improved
and was now archival, when I phoned Eastman and spoke with an engineer he
said that their RC
paper has a life expectancy of 75 years before the resin breaks down,
which is hardly archival
considering the salesman is proposing to use it as a replacement for
products with life
expectancies four times that or greater.
You would think that smaller factories would step in to fill the void, and
a few are, however the
quality control is not good enough and I am faced with throwing away much
of it. These
factories just don’t have the abilities in quality control that major
manufacturers enjoy.
Sorry to be so harsh, but Kodak does not smell any money in traditional
photography anymore. It
is virtually a general consensus of the industry that traditional
photography as we know it today
will be gone within five years, and all film based work will become an
“alternative process” like
Platinum printing is considered today. What this means for people
interested in archival
photographs is that professional labs who do the work will disappear, and
only small specialized
operations will be able to do any of it, depending on material
availability. For all those with
September 2004 Channel City Camera Club Page 3
copying projects, negative printing projects, etc., now is the time to
act. With the steadily
reducing demand, costs for chemical based products are skyrocketing. In
five years, black &
white chemical photo services may cost double or triple what it does now.



  #4  
Old September 21st 04, 05:10 PM
Phil Stripling
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Ronald Shu writes:

SNIP
A member of Delaware Photography Society sent the following to me. He
obtained it from a
friend who recently retired from Kodak. I have been unable to verify the
news presented in
the article.


My aromatherapist heard from her masseuse that a client of the masseuse had
a personal trainer for a producer for 60 Minutes who said this was
completely unverifiable nonsense and to look for it on Fox News any minute
now.

--
Philip Stripling | email to the replyto address is presumed
Legal Assistance on the Web | spam and read later. email to philip@
http://www.PhilipStripling.com/ | my domain is read daily.
  #5  
Old September 21st 04, 05:10 PM
Phil Stripling
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Ronald Shu writes:

SNIP
A member of Delaware Photography Society sent the following to me. He
obtained it from a
friend who recently retired from Kodak. I have been unable to verify the
news presented in
the article.


My aromatherapist heard from her masseuse that a client of the masseuse had
a personal trainer for a producer for 60 Minutes who said this was
completely unverifiable nonsense and to look for it on Fox News any minute
now.

--
Philip Stripling | email to the replyto address is presumed
Legal Assistance on the Web | spam and read later. email to philip@
http://www.PhilipStripling.com/ | my domain is read daily.
  #6  
Old September 21st 04, 05:10 PM
Phil Stripling
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Ronald Shu writes:

SNIP
A member of Delaware Photography Society sent the following to me. He
obtained it from a
friend who recently retired from Kodak. I have been unable to verify the
news presented in
the article.


My aromatherapist heard from her masseuse that a client of the masseuse had
a personal trainer for a producer for 60 Minutes who said this was
completely unverifiable nonsense and to look for it on Fox News any minute
now.

--
Philip Stripling | email to the replyto address is presumed
Legal Assistance on the Web | spam and read later. email to philip@
http://www.PhilipStripling.com/ | my domain is read daily.
  #7  
Old September 21st 04, 05:19 PM
Alan Browne
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Phil Stripling wrote:

I have been unable to verify the
news presented in
the article.



My aromatherapist heard from her masseuse that a client of the masseuse had
a personal trainer for a producer for 60 Minutes who said this was
completely unverifiable nonsense and to look for it on Fox News any minute
now.


Dan Rather will apologize for everyone shortly (while deflecting
responsibility).

--
-- rec.photo.equipment.35mm user resource:
-- http://www.aliasimages.com/rpe35mmur.htm
-- e-meil: there's no such thing as a FreeLunch.--
  #8  
Old September 21st 04, 05:19 PM
Alan Browne
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Phil Stripling wrote:

I have been unable to verify the
news presented in
the article.



My aromatherapist heard from her masseuse that a client of the masseuse had
a personal trainer for a producer for 60 Minutes who said this was
completely unverifiable nonsense and to look for it on Fox News any minute
now.


Dan Rather will apologize for everyone shortly (while deflecting
responsibility).

--
-- rec.photo.equipment.35mm user resource:
-- http://www.aliasimages.com/rpe35mmur.htm
-- e-meil: there's no such thing as a FreeLunch.--
  #9  
Old September 21st 04, 06:27 PM
Pete
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

On Tue, 21 Sep 2004 10:19:09 -0400, Böwzér wrote:

This is total BS...


It may be total BS, but don't forget the demise of Ilford recently.
  #10  
Old September 21st 04, 06:27 PM
Pete
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

On Tue, 21 Sep 2004 10:19:09 -0400, Böwzér wrote:

This is total BS...


It may be total BS, but don't forget the demise of Ilford recently.
 




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