8mm Forum: The death of the Photograpic Industry?

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Posted by Kevin Faulkner (Member # 6) on October 05, 2004, 05:01 PM:

The death of the Photograpic Industry as we know it or just one huge reshuffle?
It was only a few weeks a go that I heard that my old employer Ilford Films in the UK had gone into recivership and then today the news broke that Kodak are shutting their Nottinghamshire factory with the loss of 300 jobs and a further 300 at Harrow London.
The Annesley factory manufactures mainly photgraphic film but fortunately I dont think any super 8 stock is made there.
Its a sad time for the Photographic industry as we know it, I dont think the film manufacturers realised how quickly the Digital formats would catch on.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3716016.stm

Think I will stock up on super 8 film stock in case it gets more difficult to get hold of. It will keep well in a fridge for years to come.

Kev. [Frown]

Posted by Mark Todd (Member # 96) on October 05, 2004, 05:13 PM:

Yes it has seemed to suddenly take a rush forward with even the once mainly photo companies going full tilt digital themselves.
We were given a small video/photo 4 mega pixel camera, the video is a little rudimentary but the whole thing is only about4x3 inches and about an inch wide and the photos are great and you can do Black and white sepia etc and its so versatile and handy.
I love film but once you have tried digital it really is amazing and so cheap.
I saw a comparrison of a film photo and a digital one blown up to the size of a building and the digital won by a good margin, that was with top of the range stuff both formats.

Also digital video images now are really almost at film in some ways, in versatility they are of course past it and no loosing film on multiple takes, just wipe and do again.
It has to come that film will be very small scale but it obviously has a place in all of our hearts.
Also I supose digital is a lot more enviromentally sound as well, mainly from the chemical side of things.
Don`t worry there will always be enough real film around, even in china say to satisfy the super 8 new bits and bobs if they are bought.
Big shift though eh Kev.

Posted by Kevin Faulkner (Member # 6) on October 05, 2004, 05:25 PM:

Yes it is a big shift. Now with new Cinemas also going down the digital route I wonder how long silver based film technology will survive for. Ilford had stopped most of it's research on silver based imageing because they said that film technology had probably been pushed as far as it could go given the chemicals and technology etc on hand today.
Lets hope Kodak Pathe France continue to roll out super 8 for us for some years to come. I think if they decide to pull the plug on anything it will probably be the Kodachrome type films first. Is this why they have been releasing new Colour neg stocks in Super 8 as its being produced in larger format for the motion picture industry and can therefore be slit into various gauges?
A sad time but yes I'm sure it will survive in some shape or other.

Kev.

Posted by Mark Todd (Member # 96) on October 05, 2004, 05:46 PM:

Does anyone have much information on film in china cine wise.
I believe they still have a just over 8mm gauge.
Its a hard to find things on line in english but I did at one time find a site selling it out from china.
I wonder if derann tried them at all when agfa went.
Mind you agfa not bothering with 8 was a good thing sound wise if nothing else.
Its a bit of a hard cookie but I think digital has probaly passed film now on balance, in some spheres theres still a fall in image like cinema images, however, in my local multiplex they rarely get the image sharp and regular accross the screen so digital may result in a better image there as its more forgiving if a little off.
For instance if a video projector is offline pointing at the screen the image is more in focus right across than a cine image would be for some reason.
But amid all of this change theres still going to be a ragged band of real film die hards.
I`ve given up trying to give up film and the faddling etc but digital really can open up a whole new world and a chap with a modest digital video cmaera and a modest computer can now do things to an amazing level it would have taken ages and many people to do in the past and loads of cash and to a very professional level.
Last year an old chap who used to do super 8 showed me just what he can do on his computer on digital and it was stunning and so easy and versatile I just couldn`t believe it.
best Mark.

Posted by Ian John (Member # 26) on October 05, 2004, 08:18 PM:

Hi All,

I too, think it is sad that 35mm film manufacture is being cut down, but, press photographers of regional newspaper still use 35mm film in cameras that have a digital viewfinder screen.

I too, own a digital still camera, and, ok, its quick, instant photography, without the mess of a darkroom afterwards, but with digital, there are no negatives. In 70 years time, the generation of that day will not be able to do what I did only last week. I found some old negatives of distant family from years ago on 120 film and prossessed black and white prints from those sepia type negs,and they were real archive pictures.

Not everyone has, or are interested in having a computer, but many are interested in family photography, and I know that if those people bought a digital camera, they could get their pictures printed by one of those digital printers in Asda where you just pop the camera card into the machine and sellect what pictures you would like to print, but, at the end of the day, there are no negatives for future family members in generations to come for them to get images and prints of their past family members.

My doctor sent me to hospital for an xray a month ago, and the radiographer told me that in a few weeks time, all their xray equipment in the hospital would have been totally converted to digital, which would mean that my doctor would be able to look at my xray instantly, becuase the hospital would download it to my doctors computer. So,if this is what hospitals throughout Britain are in the throws of doing, then Kodak, or whoever manufactures the xray film will also be looking at closure some time in the future

Ian.

Posted by David Roberts (Member # 197) on October 06, 2004, 01:53 PM:

My concern about availability of K40 is that,once Kodak pull the plug,their obligation to process will only extend to the sell by date of the last production. So even if we stock our fridges up,it will be to no avail!

Posted by Mark Todd (Member # 96) on October 06, 2004, 01:59 PM:

I think if not too worried by cost you will always find a spot to process, there is a good place in germany i believe and reasonable too, I should think they will carry on.
Maybe it will have to be in 16mm instead of 8 as that should still be ongoing for years.
Pricey yes, but have you seen the qaulity of kodak done well on 16mm, its astonishing, almost jumps out at you and knocks 8mm dead really.
Of course its 3 times the price but what can you get for £30 these days and something as timeless as that etc.
Best Mark.
Ps also don`t panic look at 9,5 still being split and put into cassettes etc thanks to serious personal effort, super 8 will be around for a good while if you want it.

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