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Kodak Infrared *NOT DISCONTINUED*!

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nighthawkjw

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After hearing the news posted Saturday on Silverprint's site, I have been very concerned about the possibility of Kodak discontinuing the infrared films. Being suspicious of that information, I decided best to not consider the opera over until the fat lady sings!

I just spoke with a representative at Kodak who informed me that she had no such information pertaining to US production & distribution. She mentioned that the UK and other international regions may have had discontinued distribution.

My hopes are that the UK and other EU photographers are able to get as much Kodak film as they want. The more people purchasing infrared films, the more Kodak will see a demand and continue the production. Personally, I needed to order film, so am just getting more than I really needed or can afford right now.

So, if all this little scare did was create a bubble in Kodak's numbers for the month of April, then Happy Easter, Kodak!

By the way, I am really glad that this group exists, and plan to post my bio and gallery soon.

Cheers!
James C. Williams
 
nighthawkjw;452919 So said:
Thanks for the verified info. I did order 5 rolls from calumet today. So I did my part to give Kodak a boost. I love the look of HIE, and digital simply is no replacement. I will try to support Kodak's film emulsion as long as it's available.
Click to expand...
 
It's always great news when we learn that any film is *NOT DISCONTINUED!*, thanks for checking this out.

Can I digress a bit here and ask what are the commecial applications of IR film? I've seen examples of it as used in "art" photography - but figure that it's production is justified by commercial demand.

I'm simply curious, who are big users of IR film?
 
Aerial and possibly survey/landscape architecture comes to mind.
 
It used to be military reconaissance and gov't forestry. It can differentiate between live (light) and dead (dark) vegetation. They've gone digi for the most part, although I know at least one USFS group struggling to keep Kodak's products available.
 
If I'm not mistaken, IR also cuts through haze, making it superior for survey work.
 
Color IR has similar uses in medical photography - it is used at times to diagnose healthy vs dead tissue, among other things. This is one reason why the Johns Hopkins Hospital photo lab was one of the last holdouts for processing E-4 chemistry (the old EIR was the last transparency film to still require E-4). They used to make their lab available to the general public to try and sustain the volume needed to keep a reliable processing line going.
 
copake_ham said:
It's always great news when we learn that any film is *NOT DISCONTINUED!*, thanks for checking this out.

Can I digress a bit here and ask what are the commecial applications of IR film? I've seen examples of it as used in "art" photography - but figure that it's production is justified by commercial demand.

I'm simply curious, who are big users of IR film?
Click to expand...

The Kodak IR publication - lists many uses including law enforcement; detecting altered documents, forgery detection and antique/art work inspection. These inspection meothods use both transmitted and refected IR

Mike
 
Terence said:
It used to be military reconaissance and gov't forestry. It can differentiate between live (light) and dead (dark) vegetation. They've gone digi for the most part, although I know at least one USFS group struggling to keep Kodak's products available.
Click to expand...

Not just the USFS. The Michigan DNR Forest Management Division, where I work, has used 70mm color IR film in a pair of Rollei 6003's for over ten years. Unforunately Kodak has seen fit to discontinue the 70mm version of CIR, but they still make it in the 9" X 9". format. While digi CIR is pretty good, it can't hold a candle to a 9" X 9" color infrared contact print.

Jim Bielecki
 
nighthawkjw said:
After hearing the news posted Saturday on Silverprint's site, I have been very concerned about the possibility of Kodak discontinuing the infrared films. Being suspicious of that information, I decided best to not consider the opera over until the fat lady sings!

I just spoke with a representative at Kodak who informed me that she had no such information pertaining to US production & distribution. She mentioned that the UK and other international regions may have had discontinued distribution.

My hopes are that the UK and other EU photographers are able to get as much Kodak film as they want. The more people purchasing infrared films, the more Kodak will see a demand and continue the production. Personally, I needed to order film, so am just getting more than I really needed or can afford right now.

So, if all this little scare did was create a bubble in Kodak's numbers for the month of April, then Happy Easter, Kodak!

By the way, I am really glad that this group exists, and plan to post my bio and gallery soon.

Cheers!
James C. Williams
Click to expand...

Not so fast. In my experience reps are kept on a pretty short leash regarding the discontinuance of products.

Agfa USA reps made similar pronouncements in 2004 when APX was discontinued in 120. They broadcast a message that "we have no knowledge of its discontinuance but Agfa reserves the right to change its product availability from one country to another". And they continued to do so for six months after Leverkusen cut their last rolls...

I would talk to your rep again in a few weeks time and still be prepared to make that purchase if HIE is of interest.

It may well be that Kodak DOES intend to continue producing HIE, but I think it makes a good deal of sense to wait for more information. Silverprint has a pretty good record of being on the ball...

In the meantime I would call Freestyle and other specialized retailers carrying the film to see if they have heard anything.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
We have two threads running on this item with diametrically different stories. Depending on which you read you are happy or sad. Can the moderators at least combine the thread. This may help us get to the bottom of where the truth lies more quickly.

Whose mole is further up the Kodak hierachy, I wonder?

In the U.K we have a tradition of pantomime in which the audience is encouraged to shout the opposite to whatever the villain is saying as in : Oh yes he is and the reply "Oh no he isn't."

This was meant to be fun for the kids. I could never see the enjoyment in it myself not even as a kid nor in real life situations generating similar uncertainty.

pentaxuser
 
Yes, I think the threads should be combined.

After making my previous post, I spoke with a retailer in the Boston area and they informed me that HIE is being phased out a la what SilverPrint has already reported.

My source isn't a mole at Kodak - just somebody working a film sales counter in a good-sized photographic supply store. They aren't particularly significant in the analog world but they were big enough to be given fair warning when AgfaPhoto USA went belly-up in 2005.

I'll have the opportunity to speak to more reps from this retailer at the "Photographica" show this weekend in Wakefield, MA.

I really do hope that information I've been given is wrong.
 
Reps, camera stores ...

Anyone* wanna just call Kodak directly? :confused:


*I would volunteer, but I don't use IR.
 
The flip side of stocking up

nighthawkjw said:
So, if all this little scare did was create a bubble in Kodak's numbers for the month of April, then Happy Easter, Kodak!

Cheers!
James C. Williams
Click to expand...

The other side of that is, that the following months will see an extended slump in sales from those who stocked up not doing their normal reordering on normal schedule thinking the danger is over.
Kodak will see that slump and make the big corperate decision that doesn't get reversed and infrared will be gone for real.
 
aldevo said:
Perhaps you didn't pay them enough:tongue:

If you scroll to the bottom of the publication, you'll see it was last updated in December, 2002 - which is when HIE was discontinued in sheet film sizes.
Click to expand...

Consultant in Kodak said:
"Kodak U.S.A. person" says no plans to end 35mm. May end distribution to U.K.. Appears that Silverprint's notice came from a distributer, not Kodak. That link above is several years old, but still valid.
Click to expand...

Regards, Art.
 
Well, I'm starting to stockpile HIE, regardless. I've got too many things to do with it while it's still around to be stuck with the whims of Kodak......
 
Time to close this thread

As the weight of evidence is clearly that both films are indeed due to go, perhaps this thread could be closed off and the original one maintained.
 
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