MPerson Posted November 30, 2008 Share #1 Posted November 30, 2008 Advertisement (gone after registration) The Christmas edition of Black & White Photography(UK) arrived yesterday and in the Agenda section are two little snippets. 1. Silverprint reckons Tri-X could be on the way out!!! They have bought a thousand rolls before the price starts edging up. Of course could be a clever marketing ploy. 2. Life magazine is coming back - online only. "As well as 3,000 new images of current events going upon the site each day, 10 million images from its archives will be searchable, and printable, for free (for non-commercial use). The new venture is being launched by Time Inc and Getty Images" Life Magazine Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted November 30, 2008 Posted November 30, 2008 Hi MPerson, Take a look here Goodbye Tri-X ? Hello Life Magazine. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
andybarton Posted November 30, 2008 Share #2 Posted November 30, 2008 Nothing on their website about it. I ordered 20 rolls from 7dayshop only this afternoon. Their stock is "plenty" Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don'tknowmuch Posted November 30, 2008 Share #3 Posted November 30, 2008 Not Tri-X??? Please tell me this isn't happening? Jim. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybarton Posted November 30, 2008 Share #4 Posted November 30, 2008 It's only a rumour. A bit like when Fuji stopped making Velvia 50. They sold container loads for people to put in the freezer. When that stock was being used up, miraculously, they started making it again. Kodak have just released a new colour print film, so there is some commitment there, and I would be amazed if they stopped making Tri-X. I think I read somewhere (probably here) that their film sales were up this year, and that they still make a lot of money out of it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Lord Posted November 30, 2008 Share #5 Posted November 30, 2008 Under the Tri x sale bit on the Silverprint site it says, "seems secure now".....reference to it being once rumoured to be dropped in favour of T max 400. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest wls.shanghai Posted November 30, 2008 Share #6 Posted November 30, 2008 .....simply PR ....the next - maybe - .... price increase wls Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
treeplanter Posted November 30, 2008 Share #7 Posted November 30, 2008 Advertisement (gone after registration) If any of you guys are into podcasts, I suggest subscribing (free) to "Inside Analog Photo Radio" on iTunes. Or just download the November 8th issue where they interview Kodak's Scott DiSabato. While most of the interview is about the new Kodak Ektar 100 color negative film, he also talks about Kodak's B&W films which, sales-wise, are holding their own (including Tri-x). 2008 November | Inside Analog Photo Radio & TV - Part 2 Jim B. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybarton Posted November 30, 2008 Share #8 Posted November 30, 2008 Just heard a rumour whisper (off forum) that the last rolls of Kodachrome have been made. I am trying to find out more. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
junglehs Posted November 30, 2008 Share #9 Posted November 30, 2008 Oh no - hopefully just a rumor. Anybody knows more? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
phc Posted December 1, 2008 Share #10 Posted December 1, 2008 I asked Kodak about Tri-X at Photokina. They pointed out that they only built a new factory for TX production a few years ago and that it's selling well. I fact the guy I spoke to said, even if Kodak cut right back on film, he'd put money on TX being the last film they make. Cheers, P. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted December 1, 2008 Share #11 Posted December 1, 2008 Just heard a rumour whisper (off forum) that the last rolls of Kodachrome have been made. I am trying to find out more. That is quite possibly true. I was told by Kodak on the 2006 Photokina that Kodachrome would be phased out "in two to three years". The lab facility was supposed to be in business for one year after. So I count on being able to have my last rolls developed up to Jan. 2010. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posto 6 Posted December 1, 2008 Share #12 Posted December 1, 2008 I sincerely hope that Kodak are not so foolish as to kill Kodachrome- if they do, I for one will never willingly buy any of their products again, preferring to give my custom to others (Fuji, Ilford, etc) who show more commitment to the market. Perhaps they should sell off their film division rather than letting it wither, as their heart has not been in film for some time. They should include all aspects of film (medical/x-ray, movies,etc) so as not to cannibalize the business- or if they so prefer, they can spin it off to shareholders! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stunsworth Posted December 1, 2008 Share #13 Posted December 1, 2008 I sincerely hope that Kodak are not so foolish as to kill Kodachrome If people aren't buying it what are they supposed to do? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted December 1, 2008 Share #14 Posted December 1, 2008 If people aren't buying it what are they supposed to do? Indeed, as photographers we only have ourselves to blame. Use it or lose it. Only thing is that people don't realise they miss something 'till its gone.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posto 6 Posted December 1, 2008 Share #15 Posted December 1, 2008 If people aren't buying it what are they supposed to do? Customers are buying it, but as film has lost the snapshot market (to digital, and, increasingly, PDAs) film is a stagnant sector from Kodak's point of view, and no longer seems included in their growth plans. Kodak seem to have decided that they will at all costs have to abandon film, rather than reviewing and developing their long-term strategy for this market. This defeatist outlook follows the unexpected (by them) market advances of digital which arose shortly after Kodak's lackluster attempts (they even called in the USTR to try to bring in sanctions against their competitors) at competing with Fuji, who in the 90's decimated their previously dominant photographic market share. Kodak seem to be a wounded, weak parody of their former selves for many reasons, but one should look particularly at the weak and mediocre management culture which was allowed to develop as a result of their (previously) dominant market share.Their weakness is NOT primarily a result of declining film revenues, but rather has far deeper causes. I suggest you look up the main analysts reports on them from the large (those that remain!) Investment Banks to see how glum their outlook appears. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stunsworth Posted December 1, 2008 Share #16 Posted December 1, 2008 Kodak seem to have decided that they will at all costs have to abandon film, rather than reviewing and developing their long-term strategy for this market. But haven't they just announced a new colour print film? And didn't they open a new Tri-X plant a couple of years ago? The fact is that people aren't buying Kodachrome - even taking the decline of film sales into account. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tgray Posted December 1, 2008 Share #17 Posted December 1, 2008 Customers are buying it, but as film has lost the snapshot market (to digital, and, increasingly, PDAs) film is a stagnant sector from Kodak's point of view, and no longer seems included in their growth plans. ... Kodak has, in the last two years, released Ektar 100, T-Max 400-2 and Portra 400-3. So they revamped a color film and a black and white film and released a new color film. That's ignoring the fact that they had just come out with Portra 160-2 and 400-2. I hadn't even gotten through all of my sample rolls of the version 2 when 3 came out. Heck, I even bought some Portra in the store during this same time period and it was version 1, so even though I had acquired all the film in a 1 year period, *new*, I ended up with 3 versions of the same film. The progress there is good. It is true that they've killed off some films in there. And I'm sure the reasons were that they were no long profitable. Not soon to be unprofitable, but currently. I'm very saddened by the loss of the HIE, but I'm sure people weren't buying enough of it... I think Kodachrome will go the way of the dodo when profits fall below costs. That might be soon, it might not. Go buy some. Kodak's biggest problem is that they were/are the biggest film manufacturer in the world. So they built big film making machines that probably operate at max profitability when operating 24/7. I hope Tri-X doesn't go away. I'm doing my small part. I just shot 4 rolls of it this weekend (along with 2 of P3200TMZ and a roll of Portra). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter_n Posted December 1, 2008 Share #18 Posted December 1, 2008 The new T-Max 400 is a terrific film, and Kodak are selling Tri-X to 3rd parties like Freestyle - even re-branding it for them. They are doing pretty well with B&W film. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posto 6 Posted December 1, 2008 Share #19 Posted December 1, 2008 And I shot 12 rolls of Kodachrome over the past 5 days- all amateur use. Hope that it does not get discarded by them, as it will be thoroughly missed. When was the last time they put any effort into marketing these brand? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
phc Posted December 1, 2008 Share #20 Posted December 1, 2008 So Kodachrome is dying - so move on! It's not surprising, it represents an ancient business model. It doesn't mean the end of Kodak as a film manufacturer. Indeed Kodak is doing us film users proud, I'd say. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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