PDN's article on the future of film

[Mainecoonmaniac]

This article is somewhat encouraging on the future of film.

http://www.pdnonline.com/features/Th...ilm-5631.shtml

[Ian Grant]

Thanks for posting that as it conforms what many have been saying for some time and flies in the face of one or two doom and gloom merchants on this website.

Ian

[CGW]

Thanks for posting that as it conforms what many have been saying for some time and flies in the face of one or two doom and gloom merchants on this website.

Ian

Hardly. The article fairly presents the issues and quotes insiders who pull no punches about the predicaments facing film photography. But it contains no news and isn't exactly bouyant.

[Thomas Bertilsson]

Hardly. The article fairly presents the issues and quotes insiders who pull no punches about the predicaments facing film photography. But it contains no news and isn't exactly bouyant.

Wow, your response time to these threads is very impressive.

[Pioneer]

Hardly. The article fairly presents the issues and quotes insiders who pull no punches about the predicaments facing film photography. But it contains no news and isn't exactly bouyant.

It is hard to change a pessimist's mind. Everyone knows that film does not enjoy the huge market share it used to but it is still nice to know that some companies continue to make money producing and selling it. I found the news regarding medium format and large format to be encouraging as I am beginning to find that I enjoy using those formats as well. At least I won't have to put those cameras behind glass cases immediately.

Now, just as I have started to pick on the pessimist, the other shoe drops. If discretionary spending continues to drop off, as some are predicting will continue to happen, I suspect that the true challenges for film producers may only be starting. Hmmm...time to begin learning how to make and develop my own emulsions.

[Moopheus]

This was an interesting bit:

"Lomography, a company that manufactures analogue cameras and film, says its worldwide sales doubled in 2011, when the company sold two million rolls of film."

Back in the day, that wouldn't have seemed very much, but in today's shrunken market for roll film, that's not too shabby, esp. since most of that is probably 120.

[CGW]

It is hard to change a pessimist's mind. Everyone knows that film does not enjoy the huge market share it used to but it is still nice to know that some companies continue to make money producing and selling it. I found the news regarding medium format and large format to be encouraging as I am beginning to find that I enjoy using those formats as well. At least I won't have to put those cameras behind glass cases immediately.

Now, just as I have started to pick on the pessimist, the other shoe drops. If discretionary spending continues to drop off, as some are predicting will continue to happen, I suspect that the true challenges for film producers may only be starting. Hmmm...time to begin learning how to make and develop my own emulsions.

Realism=pessimism for some around here. Fact is, the good news in the PDN article has to improve and continue to improve over 2-3 years for it to matter to the industry. It's the trend, not the episodic data, that will affect the price and availability of film. That's the take-home message repeated throughout the article--like it or not.

[redrockcoulee]

Maybe it is that I am not too fast on the uptake but the OP said that the article was somewhat encouraging and CGW replied "hardly". Does this mean that the article is in fact not encouraging at all? I would say that three years of sales increases by at least one company is even more than somewhat encouraging. What would it take to have somewhat encouraging in terms of film sales? Certainly if we are waiting to hear that film sales are at an all time high we will have a very long wait. Is anything less than that discouraging? Even knowing that film sales are not declining is good news and yet that at least some sales are on the increase has to be positive news regardless of how much one is looking for the bad news in regards to film.

[CGW]

Maybe it is that I am not too fast on the uptake but the OP said that the article was somewhat encouraging and CGW replied "hardly". Does this mean that the article is in fact not encouraging at all? I would say that three years of sales increases by at least one company is even more than somewhat encouraging. What would it take to have somewhat encouraging in terms of film sales? Certainly if we are waiting to hear that film sales are at an all time high we will have a very long wait. Is anything less than that discouraging? Even knowing that film sales are not declining is good news and yet that at least some sales are on the increase has to be positive news regardless of how much one is looking for the bad news in regards to film.

You might reread the article section "The Kodak Conundrum" to get a sense of what concerns me. I'm still looking for reports of Kodak's volume of film sales, not the dollar value which can go up on declining sales if unit prices rise, which they have been. It's all about demand and that's what's troubling Scott DiSabato, the Kodak rep quoted extensively in the article. I'm not looking for bad news but I'm just not seeing as much good news as some here axiomatically do whenever these reports surface. Mud wrestle all you like.

[segedi]

CGW - your tone, in this and other posts, taints your input. I don't entirely disagree with your opinion, but if you want to it to have any real weight on this forum, perhaps a different delivery style would benefit both you and the group.