- Joined
- Apr 19, 2010
- Messages
- 2,896
- Format
- Medium Format
It is with great sadness that I read this thread. The value of all my film equipment continues to fall, as the films vanish, and great former Yellow Box God continues to shrink. But a question crossed my mind...
Where is the source of all the film used for reconnaissance purposes by the US Military?! Have recon cameras gone digital, too?
As for the economics over time evolving, I'd like to offer these observations...
- When I was a freshman in college at a private university, I paid $1200 per year in tuition cost. My first job was at $12k per year, or 10 times what I paid in tuition during my freshman year.
- Today, that same university costs $38400 per year just for tuition; can you imagine anyone hoping for $384K per year in salary, let alone one year out of college?!
- Many years ago, we could expect 4% interest on a simple passbook savings account in the bank; our money would double in value at that rate every 18 years. About the rate of inflation.
- Now, we could expect 0.5% interest on a simple passbook savings account in the bank; our money would double in value at that rate every 144 years. But inflation is higher, at about 3.5-4%, so no point in putting any money in the back, inflation eats it up!
it would be nice if they did all these thing that are suggested
but their current pricing is kind of over the top!
100 sheets of 4x5 film ( tmy ) is nearly double what ilford charges
and close to triple what the eastern european films are.
i was going to buy some recently, but couldn't justify the cost
no matter how much i have shot this film in the last 20 years
(thousands of sheets and rolls &c ) ...
i wish kodak the best, but my at the prices they are charging
you need to be independently wealthy to buy+use it.
Agree. Despite my flagrantly over-reported pessimism, I'm truly concerned that price is building as the biggest downdraft on demand for Kodak product. Local pricing here in Toronto--thanks, apparently, to no steady wholesale supplier--is climbing and it's still cheaper to buy from B&H. Suck it up? For now, yeah. But sinking demand-->higher prices-->lower demand-->even higher prices. People loathed old Aristophanes hereabouts but he knew the economics no one really wanted to face.
PE... If one wishes to be a physicist, chemist or mathematician then they'd better be damned good at it and work for an American pharmaceutical company or anywhere outside the USA... like China... or India... or Brazil... or??
Agree. Despite my flagrantly over-reported pessimism, I'm truly concerned that price is building as the biggest downdraft on demand for Kodak product. Local pricing here in Toronto--thanks, apparently, to no steady wholesale supplier--is climbing and it's still cheaper to buy from B&H. Suck it up? For now, yeah. But sinking demand-->higher prices-->lower demand-->even higher prices. People loathed old Aristophanes hereabouts but he knew the economics no one really wanted to face.
It was very disappointing to see how Aristophanes was treated by some here. To an objective observer such as myself, I could clearly see he was no troll. The guy clearly knows what he is talking about regarding corporate economics. I never sensed he was happy about the seemingly unstoppable demise of film. He was just reading the cards as they continued to be dealt.
A cogent point, PE.
He had a point of view, and it was based at least in part on his background, but that didn't make his opinions right.
He misinterpreted data more than once.
He also stated that the film division was not making money, but it is. In fact, for the last several years it is the only manufacturing division at EK that has steadily returned a profit. Although it is also steadily decreasing mostly due to the decline in MP use which was thoroughly reported in another series of threads.
PE
All he did was state the obvious: when gravely wounded in all four limbs, it's cold comfort that to know you're bleeding less from your right arm. Exsanguination results regardless.
That is not what he did. He stated flatly that the film division was not profitable, when the financial reports stated otherwise.
Too bad his posts got scrubbed. We'll see where things stand later in the year. It's not a robust company, as we all know.
Many here resented--and rejected--his arguments that demand for film was in freefall and far from bottoming out. I'm not seeing data that contravene this.
Dan, thanks for framing that response so well. You're quite a bit younger than I and, therefore, still retain a patience when dealing with this relentless drumbeat which, unfortunately, tends to fade over the years....What are we photographers supposed to do with this information? Some of us are technical photographers, some are emotional ones, either way, it's pretty obvious that outside of framing our own pursuits of furthering the future of film, we are at the mercy of many forces of both economic and societal shifts...
So what are we supposed to do? If film is doomed at least in terms of Kodak product like some of the speculation may suggest, what the hell is a creative person who likes the option of film to do?
Any suggestions CGW? Because frankly the fact I try to inspire to people by telling them details about what I do daily to keep positive about the future of film being labled by you as an effing press release has more people than just me wondering what in the hell your aim is on this site...
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?