Kodak plans a new FILM camera

[david b]

I can't believe it either.

The details are here.

As stated:
"The planned KV100 is, at the moment, at the development stages and once released will be aimed at educational institutes who specialise in traditional photography."

Cool.

 

[Ian Grant]

I wish the Kodak members would raise their hands and admit they work for Kodak.

We need Kodak, Kodak need our support.

Anything Kodak does to support film photography needs our support.

Ian

 

[arigram]

Ha and its not 1st of April yet...
I wish I had the money to buy the film cameras I want (about four)
but I am pleasantly surprised.
I liked this quote:

Initial predictions of the death of film have been somewhat premature, according to Joel Proegler, general manager of Film Capture at Eastman Kodak who told us: 'Kodak has focused on the digital message for the past four years. As we come out of that transition, one thing is very clear: film is a very profitable part of the business'.

 

[David Brown]

Beat me to it, Ari! That quote made me go :rolleyes:

 

[Removed Account]

Two NEW film cameras announced by major players... somebody pinch me...

 

[Chuck_P]

I wish the Kodak members would raise their hands and admit they work for Kodak.

Yes, wouldn't that be nice. I've always felt there were Kodak "lurkers" here at APUG.

 

[PHOTOTONE]

Vivitar already markets a 35mm SLR, with Pentax K mount, which is sourced from Cosina. My interpretation of this is Kodak is going to Brand this camera also as a Kodak. The Pentax Match Needle SLR "K" mount style cameras are still very popular with schools that teach analog photography, and used Pentax brand cameras are getting scarce in good condition at cheap prices. It would seem, that if this is true, Kodak would not really have any engineering involved in this, rather just a joint marketing agreement. This is a good thing, as Kodak has more marketing "clout" than Vivitar does, and has the opportunity to get this camera into mass market stores (if it wishes) such as WalMart, since it already has a presence there.

 

[PhilipRingler]

It is threads like this make make me sooooo happy that I found APUG!!!! My worldwide film family! We are like a bunch of silver particles that "stick together"

 

[BradS]

I wish the Kodak members would raise their hands and admit they work for Kodak.

We need Kodak, Kodak need our support.

Anything Kodak does to support film photography needs our support.

Ian

Yes, wouldn't that be nice. I've always felt there were Kodak "lurkers" here at APUG.

I have worked for major corporations my whole career (in the US of A.) and I can tell you emphatically that they, Kodak workers who may lurk here, CANNOT post information regarding the corporation. They are strictly forbidden form doing so by the corporation. That's just the way it is. Accept it. Your support for Kodak and its product should not be contingent upon a Kodak employee posting here. They have excellent customer service by phone - call them!

 

[DBP]

I hope that Kodak, unlike most of the companies that sell the Cosina built basic SLR (e.g. Nikon as the FM10), will have enough sense to put a fast 50mm lens on it and not that execrable 35-70 zoom. With most of the camera makers getting out of the film business, someone needs to market to the entry level or casual user who may not be comfortable buying used. It would also seem to be a good idea for them to market a few cheap and simple point and shoot models, like the Stylus Epic.

 

[Paul Howell]

I use to see the Vivitair 3800 with either the 35mm to 70mm zoom or a F2 50mm. I think the Vivitar also took a winder. With the film Rebel off the market I hope Kodak looks into a basic auto focus.

 

[Vonder]

Kodak support is top-notch

I have worked for major corporations my whole career (in the US of A.) and I can tell you emphatically that they, Kodak workers who may lurk here, CANNOT post information regarding the corporation. They are strictly forbidden form doing so by the corporation. That's just the way it is. Accept it. Your support for Kodak and its product should not be contingent upon a Kodak employee posting here. They have excellent customer service by phone - call them!

Agreed. I have heard this too, and my experience has been that Kodak is one of the few companies that seems to care. Not in film, mind you, as Fuji has also been first-rate on any inquiry I've sent their way, (and I bet Ilford is the same) but in general the idea of good customer service is foreign to a lot of companies.

Buy what you need. Buy a little extra when you hear good news from folks who make film. Film is fun. Please don't stop fun.

 

[gr82bart]

I have worked for major corporations my whole career (in the US of A.) and I can tell you emphatically that they, Kodak workers who may lurk here, CANNOT post information regarding the corporation. They are strictly forbidden form doing so by the corporation. That's just the way it is. Accept it. Your support for Kodak and its product should not be contingent upon a Kodak employee posting here. They have excellent customer service by phone - call them!

Finally!

An APUGer who understands. Where have you been all this time? I often feel like a lone voice in a sea of corporate operational ignorance. And before anyone points out Simon from Ilford to me. Don't bother. There's a difference being an 'owner' of a private ~$100M (my guess) company and an employee of a ~$7B public one.

Anyway, way to go Kodak.

Regards, Art.
PS No one wants to see the obvious that there have been no other employees from Fuji or Ilford or Agfa or whatever posting here. I bet they lurk too, but we APUGers always want to call out the lurking Kodak employees as a sign of non-support ... seesh.

 

[Uhner]

This caught me by surprise. Good news indeed.

 

[3Dfan]

With the film Rebel off the market I hope Kodak looks into a basic auto focus.

As of last week, my local Wally World has a film rebel on display but no DSLRs.

 

[Alex Bishop-Thorpe]

The film rebel got me into photography - when you look around when you start out, you want a new camera, not a sea of second hand cameras you don't understand. This is quite a positive move, and should rope in a fair few new film users.

 

[jmcclure]

I sure enjoy my film based Rebel so if they are droped it will be a loss to many of us. I had not seen anything about Canon removing the film Rebels from their line up until this thread. They do still show 4 models using 35MM film on their web site.

 

[ajuk]

Looks like nothing special though, just cheap OEM stuff, I want a new film compact from Olympus, I want an MJU III!

 

[Photo Engineer]

Finally!

An APUGer who understands. Where have you been all this time? I often feel like a lone voice in a sea of corporate operational ignorance. And before anyone points out Simon from Ilford to me. Don't bother. There's a difference being an 'owner' of a private ~$100M (my guess) company and an employee of a ~$7B public one.

Anyway, way to go Kodak.

Regards, Art.
PS No one wants to see the obvious that there have been no other employees from Fuji or Ilford or Agfa or whatever posting here. I bet they lurk too, but we APUGers always want to call out the lurking Kodak employees as a sign of non-support ... seesh.

Art;

I am not only in full agreement, but I have posted much the same elsewhere on APUG.

But, I would like to add that this should not preclude a designated Kodak top exceutive or assistant from being here to publicly take information from APUG and respond with a company answer, like a hot line on APUG. There are many ways that they could handle this if they wished.

The problem is that due to market changes, and heavy secrecy in the film mfg. area, it is difficult to set something like this up without having accidental disclosure of critical marketing or scientific plans or methods.

PE

 

[DODDATO]

Now if Kodak would just make a good fiber based black and white paper again we would be a set to continue working in the darkroom for years to come. I miss my old friend Fine Art fiber paper.

 

[copake_ham]

Very nice news to hear.

Thank you, Mr. Eastman!

 

[pauliej]

From the thread title, I thought Kodak was really going to make a camera, but it seems they are just pasting a Kodak sticker on top of the Vivitar name. I dont understand what Kodak thinks they can bring to 35mm that Vivitar (and others) are not already providing. Well, hopefully Vivitar will continue to be a serious camera & lens producer with more offerings in the future. And if they brand some of them Kodak, well ok for them I guess.

Paul

 

[copake_ham]

From the thread title, I thought Kodak was really going to make a camera, but it seems they are just pasting a Kodak sticker on top of the Vivitar name. I dont understand what Kodak thinks they can bring to 35mm that Vivitar (and others) are not already providing. Well, hopefully Vivitar will continue to be a serious camera & lens producer with more offerings in the future. And if they brand some of them Kodak, well ok for them I guess.

Paul

Paul,

Actually, Kodak hasn't made a film camera for many, many years. Nor have any other US companies.

The importance of this "branding" announcement is that it signals that Kodak remains committed to film photography.

Regards,
George

 

[Steve Roberts]

Back in the the 1970s, when Vivitar only made lenses and accessories, I recall an advertising campaign by Vivitar which relied heavily on irony.
A picture showed a nondescript SLR with "Vivitar" inscribed on the front of the pentaprism in the usual way. the caption was: "The only thing we DON'T make."

Now it seems that they're one of the last that DO!

Steve

 

[Alex Bishop-Thorpe]

It was my understanding that Vivitar never made anything personally, but contracted or rebadged products from other manufacturers.
The information I've found on the V3000 mentioned in the article say it was made in china in the 1990's - does anyone have any insight into Vivitar's current position as a manufacturer?