more about the future of film?

[Tom Nutter]

...might be more telling than some of that other news out there:

http://magazine.creativecow.net/arti...ading-to-black

[BrianShaw]

good news or bad? I don't want to read it if I'll be getting depressed.

[Tom Nutter]

Well, to sum it up...manufacturers are no longer making motion picture film cameras...not even to special orders, as they had been in recent years. Within 3-5 years, the motion picture industry is expected to be at least 85% digital.

"It's up to Kodak and Fuji to decide when film stops being profitable."

[BrianShaw]

Bummer. I heard that a few days ago. I'm not sure if it is true but two things has kept film available to folks like us: movie industry and US government needs. I'm not surprised that neither seems to have needs any more. Sad isn't it? Now I'm depressed. Thanks my friend.

[Tom Nutter]

My proposed new slogan: "Shooting film prevents E-waste!" Let's see if that works.

[Dr.Pain-MD]

Even if the two film giants decide to stop film production, I have faith that a smaller company will take over and continue making all kinds of film for our niche market. At the very least, I don't see black and white film going away.

[Sean]

I still think that where there is a niche market someone will step in. The biggest problem is how to scale down film and paper production from the massive machinery and runs required. I have been saying for years the technology behind ink jet coatings will be the way to go. Ink jets are now coating thin film solar panels with perfect uniformity, they are even layer by layer printing out human organs. These capabilities should mean that film and paper formulas could be laid down on materials with perfect uniformity. Films and papers could be made to order in very small runs. It seems the same ink jet spray tech that can coat solar could be adapted to lay down emulsion. I hope someone experiments with this in the near future.

[polyglot]

I think Kodak will go, merely because their manufacturing scale (overheads) is too large for the leftover market. However, Ilford shows it can be done profitably on a small scale and Fuji is doing OK without US-gov or motion picture business (yay for selling shitloads of RA4 paper) so if Kodak stops, there will be a huge boost in business for both Fuji and Ilford. Kodak isn't averse to subcontracting out manufacturing either - all the Kodak RA4 chems I bought recently were made by someone else in China and I see no reason for them to stop if Kodak gets out of the market, since all the digital printing is still happening on RA4.

Things will change but there will still be film. There's still paint and brushes, right? There are enough cameras to last out my lifetime at least.

Can we have a bit less of the doom and gloom around here?

[tomalophicon]

This is getting boring.

[Tom Nutter]

The funny thing for me is...I now own more film cameras and related stuff now than when I did ten years ago after "Going Digital." It is what it is for sure...no sense losing sleep.
Besides...for less than 10% of the cost of new in many cases, you can get some really cool gear to play with, and have nothing much to worry about financially at least, if and when when the rollers do stop.