A question about future generations

mhv said:

I don't think another half-baked and badly maintained list will be useful. Face it, we all know there won't be enough updates to this list, and it will forever stay in beta. Plus, the whole point of having a list of product is to buy them. Resellers and manufacturers have an incentive to sell. Ergo, the sum of their catalogs is the sum of what is available.

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Right. Besides, it's not so much of the production of whatever but the distribution line that stops always as a big surprise.

In case of Japan, now we don't officially get many Patterson and King products any more because the importer Asanuma Shoukai has stopped importing their goods. These products are still in the store catalogs. That plastic tank and a couple of plastic reels were so easy to use, and they were like a basic kit for the beginners, etc. If you take away such good products from the market, what are we going to be left with? Once again this is not a good sign for the 35mm and MF users.

Actually I was looking for one recently because I finally have enough time to develop film at home now for the first time in 4 years. But because of that, I couldn't get the Patterson kit, and I ended up with a similar product by LPL; it's AP originated in Spain, and it's an EC product, which by the way, when I read the package, I went, the "EC"? I haven't heard the term for a long time. But again, it's an imported product, too, so when are we going to lose it?

coriana6jp said:

While I agree with some of what you say, I travel enough and still find a great number of people using film cameras. There are alot more people using medium format that werent several years ago, probably this is due to the fact the cost of the gear is getting cheaper. All the pros I know in this area are using Medium or Large format film cameras. None of them are using digital, they say the dont feel the quality is there yet.

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Good to hear that, and I would like to hope so. But the "pros" I know (which I don't know too many pros in person) have never come back to the film. One person does magazine shoots in Tokyo, and the film is already a history for her. The other one I know in Nagoya says the pros use the digital cameras to sell the new products they are partly promoting, but their personal works are always shot with films, etc. But the amateurs who follow them are inclined to use the easier medium, which is not the film format... At least they tend to get rid of their darkrooms that they had for a long time, which is contrary to what you're saying. That means we have a variety and a diversity in this crowd, and it's a good thing.

And I agree that Fuji is okay, at least for now. I was sort of responding to the philosohical interpretation of whatever, but in reality, Fuji is still doing what they have always been doing.