Kodak Infrared Film to be discontinued - May 07

[dsullivan]

From Silverprint's news section:

Silverprint News

"It had only to be a matter of time before Kodak cleared the infra-red films out of the inventory, and the cut off date for obtaining supplies is set as the end of May '07. Both black and white HIE and the false-colour Ektachrome Infra-red are to be discontinued."

Before I'm decried as a doom-and-gloom Kodak hater it goes on to mention there are plans on pricing and ordering for stockpiling, this is intended as a "last chance to buy" heads up.

Regards

David.

Apologies, this should have been posted in Product Availability, any mod want to move this?

 

[AgX]

The `Kodak Aerochrome III 1443´ and `Kodak Aerochrome III NP SO-734´ is still in offer as indicated on Kodak’s website.

There is only the discontinuity list of May o6 where the above films are not listed, which should mean they still will be available. (The latter is not on offer at the appointed German dealer though.)

The issue is if there would be enough small format byer to have a dealer cut it in those sizes.

 

[reellis67]

You cannot rely on Kodak's web site for accurate information. I would trust the Silverprint statement much, much more than I would Kodak's own website.

- Randy

 

[Martin Reed]

This was information we at Silverprint were given by Photologic, who are our principle Kodak supplier. Kodak's distribution in the UK for the past few months has been through a set of newly appointed wholesalers; dealers now have no contact with Kodak directly unless they try to shout through the letterbox.

We cannot be 100% sure of this discontinuation (at one time Tri-X sheet film was announced to be dropped, but the boost in sales this produced made the planners re-consider!) but it would not be surprising at this state of the game, when digital infra-red sensing must have taken most of the industrial usage. Maybe other APUG people with Kodak contacts could delve a little?

 

[wirehead]

yah, we've already established that Kodak doesn't feel the need to update their website and tell us what's been discontinued.

 

[gr82bart]

And the hate continues .... Seems like every week there's an APUGer posting something negative about Kodak.

Regards, Art.

 

[Roger Hicks]

And the hate continues .... Seems like every week there's an APUGer posting something negative about Kodak.

Regards, Art.

Hate?

What is your problem here?

This may or may not be accurate, as Martin himself says. But it's from a good source -- unlike some. It sometimes seems that unless someone praises Kodak to the skies -- if they even ask a question -- you accuse them of 'hating Kodak'.

R.

 

[braxus]

Funny as I was always wanting to try the B&W infrared from Kodak, but never got around to it. Its awfully expensive to buy. I guess a call to Kodak is in order to confirm this info, but I'll leave that up to the original poster.

 

[reellis67]

I don't hate Kodak either - I've been a loyal user of their color film for over 25 years, but their website does not reflect current product availability very well and my statement simply was intended to reflect that. It is much better to call them than to use their website for that sort of information - that all I was saying.

- Randy

 

[dsullivan]

And the hate continues .... Seems like every week there's an APUGer posting something negative about Kodak.

Regards, Art.

Yes, I have a yellow pentagram marked out with Kodak film and cast spells using potions mixed from photo chemicals to bring down the downfall of Kodak.

Or perhaps we're trying to avoid the "I went to order some HIE film the other day and have been told they don't stock it anymore, anyone know what's going on?" posts.

Feel free to ignore the posts, ignore me, don't complain in six months when you go looking but find no-one stocking the products in question and can't find a suitable equivalent.

 

[dsullivan]

Funny as I was always wanting to try the B&W infrared from Kodak, but never got around to it. Its awfully expensive to buy. I guess a call to Kodak is in order to confirm this info, but I'll leave that up to the original poster.

I'm not planning to, I've not used the Kodak infrared films since they're quite heavy on the pocket, I was just passing on Silverprint's news item since anyone who needs and uses it may be interested.

David.

 

[RoBBo]

I thought the Color IR was discontinued a long time ago, anyone know where I can get a hold of a couple rolls for the time being, haven't ever seen it available before...
EDIT: Nevermind, thanks Google.
How had I not come across this stuff before?

 

[Alex Bishop-Thorpe]

I was intending to buy a few rolls of EIR but the price turned me off for a long time - I'll consult my local source, see if they have any in stock. Seems like a good time to grab a half a dozen rolls to shove in the freezer before it's too late.

The allegations of Kodak-hating are getting a little silly too, there's a big difference between posting valid information like this and vowing you're switching to Fuji or Ilford products every time something happens in the industry.

 

[AgX]

Why don’t take both first postings serious and either go and fill the freezer with size 135 films or lean back, knowing that at least some 5inch rolls of color stuff are around?

 

[AgX]

Must be 9,5 inch of course.

 

[FrankB]

The allegations of Kodak-hating are getting a little silly too, there's a big difference between posting valid information like this and vowing you're switching to Fuji or Ilford products every time something happens in the industry.

Agreed. I can see no Kodak-bashing in this thread, and the knee-jerk accusations of it are getting very old.

Thanks to the OP and Silverprint for the heads-up. I'm not a big HIE user but I would miss it if it were to disappear.

 

[BWKate]

That news has greatly saddened me as I am a big Kodak Hie user. I knew it would happen just not this soon. I am going to buy whatever stock my local supplier has and order a box of 20 rolls as that's all I can afford in bulk.

Has anyone tried any of the alternatives? I heard Ilford is making their version SFX again?

 

[Terence]

SFX is my favorite film, but is nowhere near as sensitive.

The Efke 820c that Freestyle just started carrying is closer when used with an 87 filter, but it has a antihalation layer. It will give black water and white leaves, but is more akin to the old Konica than the Kodak.

 

[Tom Kershaw]

I've only ever used a couple rolls of SFX 200, but this discussion has reminded me to take another look at IR photography sometime. In Charlie Waite's book 'In my minds eye' - I recall he used the Konica product, an effect that really appealed to me, the infrared representation depicted, but not "shouting out" at the viewer.

Tom.

 

[Brian Miller]

I have used the Maco, Konica, Ilford, and Kodak products.

The problem with photographing with IR is that not all plants reflect IR equally. The Kodak IR will give the best response, causing evergreens and deciduous trees to appear equally. The Maco, Konica, and Ilford products will produce a variety of intensities, depending on the species being photographed.

I have one photograph which shows a variety of evergreens, with responses ranging from white to black. At the time I made the photograph, all of the trees had the same amount of green. So, your results will vary.

When Kodak discontinued 4x5 HIE, I stocked up. Time to stock up again.

 

[DrPablo]

Why hasn't Fuji ever filled this niche? Both for monochrome and false color IR film?

 

[Roger Hicks]

Why hasn't Fuji ever filled this niche? Both for monochrome and false color IR film?

Market too small?

Cheers,

R.

 

[AgX]

There once was a Soviet two-layer false-color film for aerial survey.

 

[AgX]

False color IR.
(Here in Germany `false color´ in relation with film is related to IR.)

 

[Brian Miller]

Why hasn't Fuji ever filled this niche?

There are already IR products on the market. There is Ilford SFX 200 and Maco/Rollei IR. Ilford only recently brought back their emulsion for a once-a-year film run, so the market is so minuscule that I can't imagine Fuji investing in the development. Also, for people to favor Fuji over Ilford or Maco would mean that the film would have to perform as well as Kodak's product. Kodak HIE is/was phenomenal for its sensitivity, so I imagine that reproducing it is not easy.