Film photography makes a stunning comeback

[AgX]

From that article:

"Sales of photographic film have been steadily rising over the last few years."

Seemingly the author of that article is better informed than the industry...

 

[Luminousoctaves]

I agree that a source/reference to that statement would have been appropriate. Do you have contradictory source?

 

[Poisson Du Jour]

I agree that a source/reference to that statement would have been appropriate. Do you have contradictory source?

Yes it would have been. We are none the wiser if the author asked Fujiflm about its oft-repeated "declining demand"..., one of the reasons it trots out when the time comes to cull one or more emulsions.

 

[Luminousoctaves]

Perhaps one could argue that Kodak and Fuji, with their large scale production facilities, have a harder time adjusting to the new type of market.

 

[AgX]

A look a the published figures of the manufacturers should be sufficient.

There are indeed niches in the market where there is a rise in the consumer market, other sectors have a decline. The overall trend is downwards.
Even Ilford could not speak of a significant rise based on their figures.

What indeed can be seen at some places is the rising interest by some people. This is faced by a larger group leaving the analogue field.
Interesting will be the point when the latter group has shrunk so much that that newcomers would dominate. But still that would mean productionwise a very low level.

Keep in mind that many of as Apuggers have not seen anyone else with a film camera for years. But likely not talk about it...
Whereas at some places there is a local analogue scene. A situation likely to be perceived by the media at those places and reported...

 

[Luminousoctaves]

But is it reasonable to compare the dying commercial / professional market of film with todays rising artistic and DIY analog scene? It's like comparing the music industry's CD sales 20 years ago with todays resurrection of the vinyl LP. No one would say the vinyl is dying, even though the sales are ridiculously low compared to past sales.

I would go as far to say that the old market and the new market of analog photography are two completely separate things.

 

[AgX]

Another aspect is the longevity of interest at newcomers. On personal level and as a group.

That one indeed can live and grow on a niche market for a long time has proven the Lomograpphic Society.

 

[Darko Pozar]

I always love following the APUG's thread "How often do you spot a film shooter". Compare the amount of film shooters one sees in say NYC to how many people take images on their phones...

 

[Mick Fagan]

From that article:

"Sales of photographic film have been steadily rising over the last few years."

Seemingly the author of that article is better informed than the industry...

Some time ago this year I remember reading about this in our local newspaper.

This is an extract: A recent online survey by black and white film specialist Ilford found 35 per cent of its customers worldwide were under 30 years and most were self-taught. A spokesman for Ilford's Australian distributor, C.R. Kennedy, says about 72,000 rolls of black and white film were sold in Australia last year, up from 50,000 rolls the year before.

Here you can read the entire article, dated 1-03-2016:

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/film-photography-makes-a-comeback-20160225-gn3edc.html

The way I see it, it is an approximate 44% increase, year on year comparison.

Mick.

 

[Luminousoctaves]

Compare the amount of film shooters one sees in say NYC to how many people take images on their phones...

Is that really a fair comparison? I think that people who shoot film cameras have a different purpose and onset (mostly) than people using their iPhones camera.

 

[AgX]

Some time ago this year I remember reading about this in our local newspaper.

This is an extract: A recent online survey by black and white film specialist Ilford found 35 per cent of its customers worldwide were under 30 years and most were self-taught. A spokesman for Ilford's Australian distributor, C.R. Kennedy, says about 72,000 rolls of black and white film were sold in Australia last year, up from 50,000 rolls the year before.

As I indicated, there are local hotspots of interest, but they are not reflected in total revenue as at first sight one might believe.
That there are so many young people among their customers corresponds with what I said above.

Keep in mind that Harman has to speak with two tongues: they have to deliver facts, but also put any positive thing, as gaining new users of their products, in the best light.


A issue of this whole market discussion is that part of the new interest is not visible to us:
we do not see it on street, on exhibitions, in academies, not in our photo shop around the corner.

Film partly is bought via the net, exposed, developed, scanned, put on the net...

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Weak article. No facts, no numbers, just some stories which old babushkas telling each over on the bench in front of the house.

 

[John51]

There does seem to be more interest of late.

The family and I were at a music festival at the local park on Saturday. My dil met a group of friends so we were sat with them. I took some pics of a young couple and she asked to see the screen. On saying it was a film camera, the guy came over, quite exited to see the camera. After finished the roll and rewinding, an 11 yo lad had a great time using it, although it wasn't loaded. I'll bring an extra (loaded) camera for him next time we have a get together.

 

[derelict]

From that article:

"Sales of photographic film have been steadily rising over the last few years."

Seemingly the author of that article is better informed than the industry...

Industry exists to make money. If the outlay of funds required to make the film outweighs the amount they can make on it, they make cuts.

I shoot both film and digital. I normally carry both, my Olympus EM10 and my Pentax 35mm. They are compact and easy to use. I like using both. I end up editing both as well as I scan my own negatives.

I am a little different when it comes to digital though. The problem with pure digital shooters is they take photos of EVERYTHING because hey, its only memory card space. I shoot RAW so each photo is about 16MB in size. I carry around 1GB cards as they limit the amount I can shoot. That is roughly 2 rolls of 36 exposure film. I had a 32GB card when I started shooting digital. It was fun to be able to take photos of everything. Then, when looking at them on a computer, most of them were garbage. Knowing I only have two rolls worth of digital "film" and maybe a roll or two of actual film to use at car shows, etc... forces me to slow down.

 

[michr]

I wouldn't put it so bleak. I run into significantly more young people in the streets with film cameras than I did seven, eight years ago. This must mean something. Certainly some films are disappearing, limiting one's options. But manufacturers must cater to the demands of today's photographers, not what was popular decades ago.

I'm not trying to paint a bleak picture, but I believe it's accurate to say that since rolls of film sold went down so precipitously over the last twenty years, any talk of a return to film or a "stunning comeback" in this case has to be backed up with some big numbers. Dropping 1000% and sales rising 5% above their lowest point doesn't mean much of anything. I don't think these small declines or increases in the sales of film make for much of a story. The industries and individuals that demanded large quantities of film stock, e.g. the movie industry, are gone excepting a small number of holdouts. That's the story. Whether the industry can survive on what remains is an open question at this point.

 

[Bob Carnie]

I think we should be happy that younger photographers are showing interest in film and paper. I doubt we will see film come back like the ( good old days ) millions of crappy images back then just like now.
The industry as a whole is adapting and changing, I am now manufacturing projects, to keep my facility alive, not every day a gallery or museum show comes in. We do still see silver and pt pd shows
but remember the competition (inkjet) has pretty much dominated the market place. We took the stance of joining digital, and today we are now introducing wet film and wet prints to the younger photographers who still will shoot digital but crave for a silver or pt pd print.

I would never thought in 2003 that I would see the turnaround for my skills as a wet printer, I attribute the interest in wet prints to the Art Photographers, not the commercial photographers. But it is funny that now , a lot of my client base is the very same commercial photographers that jumped ship to all digital , are now back wanting the kinds of prints that we do.

How many people remember the husband wife team that made pre coated pt pd paper?, I think they were 30 years ahead of their time, and my 2 cents predicts that , pre coated alt paper and kits for developing out are coming back. We see the interest in the instant film and print market, reminds me when Polaroid transfers were all the rage. There will always be a strong group of people that want a more
hands on approach to their work.
Like others here I think Stunning Comeback is overstating what is actually going on, niche players will always be around to support this Forums members interest in film and paper. We just have to be
prepared to see the micro brewers come into daily life.

 

[Wallendo]

At this stage, any increase is a good thing.

 

[dwross]

... We just have to be
prepared to see the micro brewers come into daily life.

and a "+1"

 

[Bob Carnie]

and a "+1"

Your one of the leaders in this , I am on a different path, but same direction. These are exciting times for those with dedication and love of photography.

 

[Andre Noble]

Dont believe the hype. No new 35mm, MF film camera being developed or even made by the major camera manufacturers of the past tells the truth.

 

[Andre Noble]

I'm in freestyle quite often here in Los Angeles

Me too. Always in Freestyle here in Los Angeles. The B&W silver paper section getting smaller and smaller each passing year.
Gaudy, dull, depressing ink jet prints always on display now in their backroom gallery.

 

[Ai Print]

Just had coffee with a friend and we were talking shop, I had my Rollieflex sitting on the table and it caught the attention of a late 30-something legal assistant. Long story short, we got to talking to her and I asked her to read the article and then when she was done, I asked her, "Given the facts of the article, did you find this info stunning?"

She said yes....she thought film was gone according to her father.

Perspective folks, that might be all it takes to, for once, avoid the constant negative reactions to these otherwise very helpful articles that I would welcome more of, even if the metrics are a bit "enthusiastic".

 

[dwross]

Your one of the leaders in this , I am on a different path, but same direction. These are exciting times for those with dedication and love of photography.

I count your contributions as inexpressibly valuable to the evolution of photography. It's always been about moving ahead with the technology (and the times) and at the same time preserving the best parts of the history. Exciting times, indeed. Sometimes it takes your breath away. I am absolutely mystified by negativity about the future of photography.

 

[Ai Print]

I am absolutely mystified by negativity about the future of photography.

It is profoundly odd, indeed.

 

[mjs]

Photography in general is emerging from the biggest upheaval in the field since the invention of the Kodak brought photography to anyone with $1 to play with. When digital technology burst suddenly on the scene everyone held their breath -- what changes would the new technology make to imaging? It took two decades to figure that out and in the meantime investors weren't investing in new production facilities to make products. Kodak and Fuji were stuck with huge production lines to satisfy the massive requirements of the old world, and not only didn't know what size their factories should be but no access to capital to build them. Now that things are beginning to settle out and it is apparent that film photography is not going to die away, and that the suppliers have some idea of what sort of market and how large that market may be, new investments can (and will) be made. Film will never grow to rival the size it was a decade or two ago, but there is still a market, it appears to be stable, and now people have some idea how to invest and make money. If there's money to be made there will be someone investing to make it.