I think Polaroid is a lot harder to get right isn't it? And only one company ever made it.
I thought the late Agfa films were pretty good. Ultra 50 had Velvia like saturation in a neg film before Kodak and even Fuji were doing it (heck, I still haven't seen a neg film as saturated as that stuff) and Optima was pretty nice. I still have some frozen 4x5 Optima I'm going to try out.
Anyway, my first love is black and white. Sigh.
Ilford(or some derivative of Ilford Imaging Co.) makes color film, though its more of a "microfilm" than sheets or "standard" rollfilm
http://www.ilford.com/en/products/mi...phic/index.asp
-Dan
One way to look at it... If Kodak is going under, that means a relatively large increase in sales for Fuji, allowing them to stay in the market and possibly introduce new products. Same for Ilford.
Well, maybe. That was something I did think of, where the market might not support two players it might support one who could do more than either could competing against the other. And prices could be constrained somewhat by digital. To some degree I and many others will pay what we have to, but that is mainly true of hobbyists, and hobbyists have limits set by personal financial situation and dedication. I'm not a pro who MUST photograph. Raise the prices too high and I'll just spend the time and money on one of my many other hobbies.
But we're talking about Kodak as if they and their film are already gone. They aren't. Ilford was on the bring too and rescued. The best result for us would be if Kodak could spin off their analog photo business to a smaller, leaner company who could profitably service the remaining market. I guess we'll see.
This is absolutely true. The demise of Agfa shortly after the management buyout was big help for Ilford Harman. Kodak B&W films are a big competition for Ilford.
In respect of the lease of the Harman site - it's highly unlikely the lease of the Harman site would not be renewed when it expires - besides, it's almost certainly a protected lease under the Landlord & Tenant Act so the Landlord has to legally give the tenant first option to renew - I'm just guessing here, but knowing what I know about the commercial property market in the UK, that would be a typical situation.
Matt.
Maybe Freestyle will buy them out? Dirt cheap?
Here's the press release:
Press Release:
Fujifilm Professional has announced that Fujifilm Japan is to cease its manufacture of Quickload films in April 2010.
Fujifilm's Senior Product Manager for Professional Film, Russ Gunn, explained the move: "It is with great sadness that we have taken the decision to withdraw our Quickload range from the market. Unfortunately the volume of Quickload sales has dropped off to such an extent that they are simply not viable products."
Gunn continued: "We need to consolidate our range of professional films in order to support our remaining lines. We remain fully committed to the continued support of photographers who appreciate the quality and flexibility of real film but sadly this means slower selling films have had to be sacrificed to enable us to continue to produce and market our more popular formats."
Fujifilm has stocks of Quickload Pro 160S, Provia 100F, Velvia 100 and Velvia 50 in storage and, depending on demand, there should be sufficient quantities to last for another 12 months.
Fans of medium and large format photography will be cheered by the news that Fujifilm is to continue its production of sheet film. From early Summer 2010 Fujifilm's ranges of 5x4in and 10x8in films will be packed as 20 sheet boxes instead of the current 10 sheet packs.
The full range of Fujifilm Professional's film stock is available to buy online via the Fujilab website.
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