Film Lover's Lament

I was shooting at the art museum with my Yashica-Mat 124G Sunday and it
caught the eye of a professional photographer. She shoots mostly digital
professionally but still loves film and uses it for personal projects, using
her TLRs and 4x5 view cameras. We both agreed that having a negative,
rather than a digital file, gives one a feeling of security.

I just saw this article from 03-02-06 today. Are any of you doing the
"panic buying" of film cameras that's going on in Japan, as mentioned in the
article? I'm considering picking up a couple of P&S models from Adorama
while I can still get them, including a Olympus Stylus Epic. The photo mags
have almost no ads for film Point & Shoot cameras. I'm worried about the
availibility of film in a few years, but I hope it's a needless worry.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article...065452,00.html

The Times March 02, 2006


Film camera is killed off by millions of pixels
By Ben Hoyle and Leo Lewis



FROM Henri Cartier-Bresson's reportage to Mario Testino's
portraits, the camera and film captured the images that defined the 20th
century.
But they may soon be available only as expensive collectors'
items, driven out of production by the digital revolution. Within the past
few weeks two giants of the industry, Konica Minolta and Fuji Photo Film,
have announced their withdrawal from the traditional film and camera
business, triggering a frenzy of last-minute buying in Japan.



In Britain, Dixons stopped selling 35mm cameras last August.
Jessops, the leading specialist retailer of photographic equipment, has
committed itself to stocking 35mm cameras for the foreseeable future but
digital cameras outsell them nine to one.

Digital cameras now cost from less than £100, are cheaper to run
because they don't require film, and offer flexibility of shooting styles
and effects that traditional photography cannot match. Sales in Britain are
expected to reach £963 million in 2009, according to Mintel, up from £215
million in 2001.

The traditional leading camera brands are having to evolve or
die. Struggling with losses of nearly half a billion pounds, Konica, the
company that made Japan's first colour film, will close its camera and film
operations by March, and is laying off nearly 4,000 workers.

Fuji Photo Film is cutting 5,000 jobs and has begun a gradual
retreat from the business that made its name. Nikon has reduced its film
camera output to a single model while Canon, the world's largest maker of
digital cameras, is believed to have prepared its withdrawal strategy from
the 35mm market. Kodak is trying to reinvent itself as a digital company.

As a result photography stores in Japan have reported "panic
buying" of film cameras by enthusiasts worried that the machines will
disappear altogether. Cameras which, four weeks ago, were being sold for
around £800, have now soared in value to £1,500. A similar boom may be about
to hit the British camera market.

Alex Falk, the owner of Mr Cad, the largest independent camera
store, has been stockpiling 35mm cameras. "In the past few months there has
been a huge increase in the number of people coming back to film. Digital
cameras are made from glue and plastic so when they break you can't fix
them. A three-year-old digital camera is worth about three and six but you
can sell a Nikon Rangefinder from the 1950s for £3,000."

For many photographers the feel of a film camera is more
important than its resale value. Chris Gatcum, of Amateur Photographer
magazine, said: "There's a real romanticism to film that digital doesn't
have and a lot of our readers are up in arms because they think this is the
end of film. It's not - it's just the end of film camera production." Among
the professionals, news and sport photographers have used digital cameras
for years, but others remain wedded to film. Brian Aris, a photographer who
took the Beckhams' wedding photographs and the Queen's 70th birthday
portrait, said that portraiture was likely to prove the last refuge of film
photography. He uses film for 90 per cent of his work but is preparing to
move more into digital: "We've all got to embrace it."

David Bailey, arguably Britain's best-known photographer since
the 1960s, agreed: "Digital is great for photography as a whole and for the
amateur the advantages are enormous because you can stick your photos
straight on to your computer and you don't have to mess around with
chemicals to get your images. But there's still a place for film and I use
it 80 per cent of the time."


Visit our pictures galleries online

LIGHT FANTASTIC

1826 Nicéphore Niépce creates the first photograph using a
pewter plate and a substance called bitumen of Judea. It is a view of his
outhouses in Chalons sur Soane

1855 The physicist James Clerk Maxwell exhibits an early colour
photograph of a tartan ribbon to the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

1888 First Kodak camera goes on sale. An improved model with
film instead of paper is introduced in 1889. The cameras had to be sent back
to the factory for processing, but they could take 100 pictures.

1900 The Brownie camera goes on sale, an inexpensive box camera
that made snapshots possible, and remained popular until the 1960s.

1963 Instant colour film; Polaroid is introduced

1981 Sony markets the Mavica as a filmless camera - the first
incarnation of the digital camera

"Summer Wind" wrote:

I was shooting at the art museum with my Yashica-Mat 124G Sunday and it
caught the eye of a professional photographer. She shoots mostly digital
professionally but still loves film and uses it for personal projects, using
her TLRs and 4x5 view cameras. We both agreed that having a negative,
rather than a digital file, gives one a feeling of security.

I just saw this article from 03-02-06 today. Are any of you doing the
"panic buying" of film cameras that's going on in Japan, as mentioned in the
article? I'm considering picking up a couple of P&S models from Adorama
while I can still get them, including a Olympus Stylus Epic. The photo mags
have almost no ads for film Point & Shoot cameras. I'm worried about the
availibility of film in a few years, but I hope it's a needless worry.


It is a needless worry, as long as you are prepared to make the small
extra effort needed to buy film from a smaller number of stockists.

For example, you might find that your local supermarket no longer
sells film and that you need to buy it from a photo store or by mail
order. Prices will rise. But there will be a market for film for the
foreseeable future.

Personally, I hope there will continue to be enough of a market for
the film manufacturers to invest in developing new emulsions. Some of
the more recent new introductions have been particularly good.

I especially like Elite Color (color neg) and BW400CN (b/w neg) from
Kodak and Natura 1600 (high speed color neg) and Fortia 50 (slide)
from FujiFilm, and would like to see more.

"Tony Polson" wrote in message
...
[SNIP]

Personally, I hope there will continue to be enough of a market for
the film manufacturers to invest in developing new emulsions. Some of
the more recent new introductions have been particularly good.

I especially like Elite Color (color neg) and BW400CN (b/w neg) from
Kodak and Natura 1600 (high speed color neg) and Fortia 50 (slide)
from FujiFilm, and would like to see more.


Does this mean that you've found a reliable source for Fortia in the UK
Tony?


Peter

"Bandicoot" wrote:

"Tony Polson" wrote in message
.. .
[SNIP]

Personally, I hope there will continue to be enough of a market for
the film manufacturers to invest in developing new emulsions. Some of
the more recent new introductions have been particularly good.

I especially like Elite Color (color neg) and BW400CN (b/w neg) from
Kodak and Natura 1600 (high speed color neg) and Fortia 50 (slide)
from FujiFilm, and would like to see more.


Does this mean that you've found a reliable source for Fortia in the UK
Tony?


Alas, no. I get mine from a friend in Japan.

Have you tried it?

Summer Wind wrote:
I was shooting at the art museum with my Yashica-Mat 124G Sunday and it
caught the eye of a professional photographer. She shoots mostly digital
professionally but still loves film and uses it for personal projects, using
her TLRs and 4x5 view cameras. We both agreed that having a negative,
rather than a digital file, gives one a feeling of security.

I just saw this article from 03-02-06 today. Are any of you doing the
"panic buying" of film cameras that's going on in Japan, as mentioned in the
article? I'm considering picking up a couple of P&S models from Adorama
while I can still get them, including a Olympus Stylus Epic. The photo mags
have almost no ads for film Point & Shoot cameras. I'm worried about the
availibility of film in a few years, but I hope it's a needless worry.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article...065452,00.html

. . . . . . . .

I think the situation in Japan is something that would be hard to apply
to the rest of the world. Trends in Japan are often not the same as in
other areas. You might find EBAY film camera sales are quite healthy,
though they seem to come in waves of gear . . . so stuff is easier to
find that others.

Apparently new large format gear is selling well in some locations. I
think the film P&S market has really dropped, so many retailers probably
don't want them on their shelves.

Ciao!

Gordon Moat
A G Studio
http://www.allgstudio.com

Within the past few weeks two giants of the industry, Konica Minolta and
Fuji Photo Film,
have announced their withdrawal from the traditional film and camera
business, triggering a frenzy of last-minute buying in Japan.


Corporate Information
Statement from Fujifilm


Announcement Date: 08 March 2006

Fujifilm would like to respond to an article printed in The Times on 2nd
March 2006. The paper stated that: "Fujifilm have announced their withdrawal
from the traditional film and camera business." This statement in no way
represents the company's true position on traditional photography.

Fujifilm remains totally committed to the production, supply and marketing
of silver halide film, both in the consumer and professional sectors. Three
new films were launched in 2005 and there are already plans for another two
new films for early this year.

Fujifilm has no plans whatsoever to cease production of traditional film.

The company has also introduced two new 35mm film cameras, the Fujifilm
Clear Shot V ll, with manual film advance and manual flash, and Clear Shot M
ll, with Automatic Film Advance and Rewind and Automatic Flash. Both cameras
feature focus-free Fujinon lenses and Red-Eye Reduction and offer big,
bright viewfinders for easy photo composition.

For further information on Fujifilm film products, please visit
www.fujifilm.co.uk


Ends.

"Summer Wind" wrote in message
. com...
I was shooting at the art museum with my Yashica-Mat 124G Sunday and it
caught the eye of a professional photographer. She shoots mostly digital
professionally but still loves film and uses it for personal projects,
using
her TLRs and 4x5 view cameras. We both agreed that having a negative,
rather than a digital file, gives one a feeling of security.

I just saw this article from 03-02-06 today. Are any of you doing the
"panic buying" of film cameras that's going on in Japan, as mentioned in
the
article? I'm considering picking up a couple of P&S models from Adorama
while I can still get them, including a Olympus Stylus Epic. The photo
mags
have almost no ads for film Point & Shoot cameras. I'm worried about the
availibility of film in a few years, but I hope it's a needless worry.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article...065452,00.html

The Times March 02, 2006


Film camera is killed off by millions of pixels
By Ben Hoyle and Leo Lewis



FROM Henri Cartier-Bresson's reportage to Mario Testino's
portraits, the camera and film captured the images that defined the 20th
century.
But they may soon be available only as expensive collectors'
items, driven out of production by the digital revolution. Within the past
few weeks two giants of the industry, Konica Minolta and Fuji Photo Film,
have announced their withdrawal from the traditional film and camera
business, triggering a frenzy of last-minute buying in Japan.



In Britain, Dixons stopped selling 35mm cameras last August.
Jessops, the leading specialist retailer of photographic equipment, has
committed itself to stocking 35mm cameras for the foreseeable future but
digital cameras outsell them nine to one.

Digital cameras now cost from less than £100, are cheaper to
run
because they don't require film, and offer flexibility of shooting styles
and effects that traditional photography cannot match. Sales in Britain
are
expected to reach £963 million in 2009, according to Mintel, up from £215
million in 2001.

The traditional leading camera brands are having to evolve or
die. Struggling with losses of nearly half a billion pounds, Konica, the
company that made Japan's first colour film, will close its camera and
film
operations by March, and is laying off nearly 4,000 workers.

Fuji Photo Film is cutting 5,000 jobs and has begun a gradual
retreat from the business that made its name. Nikon has reduced its film
camera output to a single model while Canon, the world's largest maker of
digital cameras, is believed to have prepared its withdrawal strategy from
the 35mm market. Kodak is trying to reinvent itself as a digital company.

As a result photography stores in Japan have reported "panic
buying" of film cameras by enthusiasts worried that the machines will
disappear altogether. Cameras which, four weeks ago, were being sold for
around £800, have now soared in value to £1,500. A similar boom may be
about
to hit the British camera market.

Alex Falk, the owner of Mr Cad, the largest independent camera
store, has been stockpiling 35mm cameras. "In the past few months there
has
been a huge increase in the number of people coming back to film. Digital
cameras are made from glue and plastic so when they break you can't fix
them. A three-year-old digital camera is worth about three and six but you
can sell a Nikon Rangefinder from the 1950s for £3,000."

For many photographers the feel of a film camera is more
important than its resale value. Chris Gatcum, of Amateur Photographer
magazine, said: "There's a real romanticism to film that digital doesn't
have and a lot of our readers are up in arms because they think this is
the
end of film. It's not - it's just the end of film camera production."
Among
the professionals, news and sport photographers have used digital cameras
for years, but others remain wedded to film. Brian Aris, a photographer
who
took the Beckhams' wedding photographs and the Queen's 70th birthday
portrait, said that portraiture was likely to prove the last refuge of
film
photography. He uses film for 90 per cent of his work but is preparing to
move more into digital: "We've all got to embrace it."

David Bailey, arguably Britain's best-known photographer since
the 1960s, agreed: "Digital is great for photography as a whole and for
the
amateur the advantages are enormous because you can stick your photos
straight on to your computer and you don't have to mess around with
chemicals to get your images. But there's still a place for film and I use
it 80 per cent of the time."


Visit our pictures galleries online

LIGHT FANTASTIC

1826 Nicéphore Niépce creates the first photograph using a
pewter plate and a substance called bitumen of Judea. It is a view of his
outhouses in Chalons sur Soane

1855 The physicist James Clerk Maxwell exhibits an early
colour
photograph of a tartan ribbon to the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

1888 First Kodak camera goes on sale. An improved model with
film instead of paper is introduced in 1889. The cameras had to be sent
back
to the factory for processing, but they could take 100 pictures.

1900 The Brownie camera goes on sale, an inexpensive box
camera
that made snapshots possible, and remained popular until the 1960s.

1963 Instant colour film; Polaroid is introduced

1981 Sony markets the Mavica as a filmless camera - the first
incarnation of the digital camera

If you like film, and your very nice TLR, simply use it and pay no attention
to all the GD doomsayers. Film is available today, and will be available
next year. If you love film, buy it and shoot it. That's the best way to
ensure it's survival.

However, if you WANT to obsess, feel free.

"Tony Polson" wrote in message
...
"Bandicoot" wrote:

"Tony Polson" wrote in message
.. .
[SNIP]

Personally, I hope there will continue to be enough of a market for
the film manufacturers to invest in developing new emulsions. Some of
the more recent new introductions have been particularly good.

I especially like Elite Color (color neg) and BW400CN (b/w neg) from
Kodak and Natura 1600 (high speed color neg) and Fortia 50 (slide)
from FujiFilm, and would like to see more.


Does this mean that you've found a reliable source for Fortia in the UK
Tony?


Alas, no. I get mine from a friend in Japan.

Have you tried it?


Alas no, I haven't. Was thinking it would be interesting to try it for
studio shots of flowers, where I can control the lighting contrast range and
revel in the exaggerated colour saturation...


Peter

Hellow Summer Wind. I Have honestly, 9 Nikon film bodies. Three of
which are range finders. The number of lenses and Nikon/compatable
strobes is just short of what someone of questional intellect might
acquire. I am seeking out more. Particular models of course.I do
embrace digital as the wave of the future. But film and it's quality
will be with us for quite some time. Maybe at a slighty premium price
but it will be worth it.Hurrah for Digital, Thank Goodness for emulsion.

"Kinon O'cann" Yes.it's.me.Bowser wrote in message
...
If you like film, and your very nice TLR, simply use it and pay no
attention to all the GD doomsayers. Film is available today, and will be
available next year. If you love film, buy it and shoot it. That's the
best way to ensure it's survival.

However, if you WANT to obsess, feel free.


I hope you are right that the film market will be driven by demand. While
demand played a part, I think the digital camera market has been driven more
by camera manufacturers, anxious to sell everyone a new camera. I'll
continue to do my bit by buying and using film.

SW