Some Good News.... Kodak sees resurgence of film

MattKing

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Donmck

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Steve-

Yeah ,I got it---you have a Sirius amount of old film in the freezer.

I'm not a film collector---but what I've got,which I haven't had in a long time, is a local photo store----so he gets all the business I can give him.
Regardless of all the tears spilled over the loss of VP,Tech Pan, Apx 25, etc.,etc.
imo ,B&W film is better now than it has ever been,-----------so I'll be shooting the film that you'll be squirreling away in a few years.

re: Kodaks' problems---(which are too numerous to mention)--imo,their biggest problem down the road is consumer digital.That's where I think they get their azz handed to them.
The one long shot is their lawsuit against Apple and RIM----maybe enough good comes of that to stop the bleeding for now.
 

Q.G.

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Sirius Steve,

There is this guy calling himself "Sirius Glass" posting all over APUG.
Could you draw up a psychological profile of him too?

 

MaximusM3

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Q.G. said:
See?
Click to expand...


My only problem with Mr. Glass is that I don't quite know when he's "Sirius" or when he's kidding. Either way, I enjoy his humor and he's a straight shooter (no pun intended because I don't know his photography) . Some like it, some don't. Ces't la vie!

In the meantime, let's quit the bitchin' and let's go shoot some film...just got my month supply of Tri-X a few minutes ago...
 

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moouers

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17 of 20? Holy God.

!
 

Ektagraphic

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That's awesome Maximus!!! I wish I had the time to shoot that in a month!
 

lxdude

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Donmck said:
The one long shot is their lawsuit against Apple and RIM----maybe enough good comes of that to stop the bleeding for now.
Click to expand...

Wait-what?
News to me!
 

Donmck

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Hoist with (their) own Petard


Kodak’s Steven J. Sasson to Receive National Medal of Technology and Innovation for Invention of Digital Camera

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Kodaks-Steven-J-Sasson-to-bw-2383576245.html?x=0&.v=1


Fitch cited concerns about the company's ability to make a successful transition to digital products for lowering its outlook on Kodak to negative from stable.


http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703440004575548183744041628.html?ru=yahoo&mod=yahoo_hs




The Worst Stocks for 2010: Eastman Kodak



http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2010/01/21/the-worst-stocks-for-2010-eastman-kodak.aspx
 
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Donmck

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PE

I'll go take a look--

This is looking worse than expected for Kodak going foward.
 

Photo Engineer

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My original thread was prompted by an interview on local TV news with a noted local economist.

But it is not really all bad. In many respects it is the economy.

PE
 

Ian Grant

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Photo Engineer said:
Donmck;

You should see my thread on two WSJ articles.

PE
Click to expand...

They should also see an email I had earlier today (tonight here in Turkey). Unfortunately it's private so I can't make public.

I can't say more but the company are recruiting with International posts and one post is for a Product Development manager, and it's ONLY for film cameras. So there IS something happening in the re-growth of film use again.

Ian
 

Photo Engineer

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Yes, if you compare film sales vs the expected drop due to the economy, film sales dropped and hurt all film companies but not as bad as it could have been. Others have said it and that is the topic of this thread. The bottom line is that what is going on is rather unexpected and hard to explain.

PE
 

Donmck

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Ian,

I think few people would be surprised if they tried to spin off the film sector.

Actually I think the film sector has a better chance of being profitable then the
consumer digital sector.
 

Photo Engineer

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The film sector has a large burden of environmental issues due to its past history regarding chemicals. It is my understanding that spinning this off would be a costly proposition due to the existing burden.

PE
 

michaelbsc

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Photo Engineer said:
The film sector has a large burden of environmental issues due to its past history regarding chemicals. It is my understanding that spinning this off would be a costly proposition due to the existing burden.

PE
Click to expand...

My first thought, tongue in cheek, was sell it to China. But the more I think about this, the better it sounds. Unlike Ilford, I don't believe anyone could scrape up enough capital for an employee buy out leaving it in place. And even if a dedicated management group could afford to buy it and operate in place, as Ron points out the regulatory aspects would be a deal breaker.

OTOH, southeast Asia is up and coming. I've had a buddy living in Bangkok for 15 years trying to get me to move there. India has the best chemical industry sector for Asia. China has the most aggressive attitude for manufacturing expansion, but Thailand a Vietnam are grabbing everything they can get their hands on for manufacturing.

If Kodak would move the plants it would take 10-12 years to get the operations back up to snuff from a quality and delivery perspective. But surviving vs. dying seems to be the choice.

MB
 

Donmck

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I got the feeling from the 2009 10K that they were "all good" with the EPA- but if you read the forward looking statements(You need at least a pint of Jim Beam for that) it seems that any change in environmental law could just about shut them down.
 

Donmck

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btw-

Congratulations to Mr. Sasson.I don't mean to take anything away from him.
That is a huge honor----Lifetime achievement type work.
Well done!
 

Photo Engineer

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Kodak is doing very well with the current EPA regulations. It is the impact from 100 years ago that still concern some individuals, at least that is my understanding. For nearly 50 years, they used Cadmium and Mercury. Now it is gone, but any residue may be of concern and if they sell it, then the existing problems must be corrected by someone.

And, Kodak tried to start up a plant in China. The demands were too low to support it, and my understanding is that the quality was too low for Kodak's standards.

PE
 

Moopheus

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Photo Engineer said:
And, Kodak tried to start up a plant in China. The demands were too low to support it, and my understanding is that the quality was too low for Kodak's standards.

PE
Click to expand...

Yes, if Chinese investors bought Kodak it would presumably be mainly for the brand name. You'd get yellow boxes that say "Kodak" but who knows what would be inside.
 

j-dogg

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What surprises me is Kodak produces pro-grade film, but their entire digital range is point-and-shoots
 
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