The worst thing about the Kodak 10 sheet box fiasco is,
the new TMY & TX films are superb...
but if nobody buys it in the stupid size packages, Kodak's accountants will stop production.
David Silva
The worst thing about the Kodak 10 sheet box fiasco is,
the new TMY & TX films are superb...
but if nobody buys it in the stupid size packages, Kodak's accountants will stop production.
David Silva
I stopped in my local camera store today to order some 8x10 TXP.
What I found more shocking than the new packaging issues, was that the shop owner (I try to deal with shops where the owner os the guy on the floor too) told me he has to call around to the brokers, he no longer is permitted to deal with Kodak to place an order and is forced to rely on what this brokers have stocked in their fridges!!
One broker told him no more 5x7 or 8x10 film, not made anymore.
The other gave him a quote on 25 sheet boxes as well as 10 sheet and 50 sheet boxes.
$254.00 for 50 sheets.
$100.00 for 10 sheets
$134.00 for 25 sheets! (old stock I assume?)
I asked to check the dates and storage conditions of the 25 sht boxes, I guess if they are in date and cold stored, it is worth it to grab a few boxes now.
The idea that he is not permitted to deal with Kodak makes me want to start ordering HP 5!
Yes, Kodak is requiring small stores to go thru large distributors. However the BIG stores, such as B&H, Adorama, Unique Photo, etc., still can order direct, once a week, however no small store is "forced" to just take what the "brokers" have on their shelf, as the "brokers" such as Unique Photo can order once a week from Kodak, and they can order one box.
I don't think anyone that is serious about using the Kodak films are going to stop using them just because of a silly change in packaging quantity..even though we may gripe.Originally Posted by dsphotog
The issue I see is---who is going to buy the stuff? Amatures who love txp and tmy are a fragment of the market. Pros who shoot a lot of txp or tmy are likely even a smaller percentage. Without new photographers becoming addicted to the stuff, who will swell the ranks of those in the market for Kodak film?
If I were starting 8x10 today, would I buy highly touted (and deservedly so) TXP or TMY at $50 for ten sheets, or highly touted HP-5+ or FP-4+ at $90 for 25 sheets? Or Arista at $100 for 50 sheets?
Even if I fell for the Kodak hype, could a new guy appreciate the high ticket stuff after only shooting 10 sheets (with a high probability that several would be accidentally wasted?)
It wouldn't be Kodak.
Would I "grow up" to be a Kodak consumer? It's doubtful and if Ilford or Arista or Foma or Efke or one of the chinese films filled the bill for me, why would I change brands? Isn't "pick one film and stay with it year" kind of a mantra for new large format 'togs?
If I were coming to 8x10 from 4x5, I'd likely use the same film I use in the smaller format. Are there any 4x5 B&W shooters here that find 10 sheet boxes of film satisfying?
If Kodak would at least make an attempt to stay marginally competitive price-wise by at least not burdening the consumer with the expense of wasteful packaging I'd bet they'd sell more film and possibly lure new customers into the yellow camp.
Oh well...
I steal time at 1/125th of a second, so I don't consider my photography to be Fine Art as much as it is petty larceny.
Kodak has to charge enough to make back the engineering costs on the new improved films...in a dwindling market, hence the higher prices. If you don't want to use Kodak films, then by all means use what you wish. Kodak films are the finest b/w films on the market. So are their color negative films. Fuji makes the best color transparency films, according to many people. While I do use some Arista b/w film, and get good results from it for my personal work, for paying jobs, for me, it is Kodak all the way.
And, if you haven't noticed, Kodak is the ONLY company that has engineered new improved b/w films in the last few years. Ilford hasn't, even though Ilford films are first rate they are not now "state of the art" like Kodaks new films are. All the newer films introduced by vendors such as Macco/Roelli, Adox and such are actually existing industrial films that have been repurposed for pictorial photography. No new engineering required...just cutting and packaging. Oh, perhaps a new developer is paired to give different results with these Industrial films.
Here's one who did.
-Pat
If you quit using a particular film just because there was a change in packaging that didn't suit your fancy, then you really weren't committed to that film, were you?
I haven't quit using txp or tmy, but I use a lot less of it. And I use it for specific applications where txp and tmy really shine. Spending top dollar on film dosen't bother me nearly as much as wasting my film money on packaging. That Kodak is so dense that it can't grasp the situation is wierd. 10 sheet boxes for trying out a new film is fine. If they kept the 50 or the 25 sheet boxes in the inventory to service customers who are committed to txp and tmy that would be great. Forcing 10 sheet boxes on guys who shoot a lot of Kodak film is flat out insulting to the customers they should be courting.
I steal time at 1/125th of a second, so I don't consider my photography to be Fine Art as much as it is petty larceny.
As a long time Kodak fan, a third generation Kodak shooter, the theory may be OK, but the reality is, if Kodak offers only 10 sheet boxes, at 10 dollars a sheet, I would suggest we all buy shares in Ilford real quick!
Everyone is willing to pay a little more for Kodak, but if Kodak thinks, for one second, that brand loyalty can carry them through any and every stupid move the marketing and MBA group make, they are sadly mistaken.
Kodak is in a very fragile spot, and so are we the consumer. If Kodak has any dreams of long term viability in the film production business, they may want to listen to the consumer first and the MBA crowd second!
Just a humble fotogs opinion.
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