When film is no longer available.

eclarke · Apr 8, 2012

There are about 195 other countries then the USA, can't take the sheep herd behavior of Americans and extrapolatenit to the rest of the globe. There's enough demand to cause Jobo to start making processors again...

Old-N-Feeble · Apr 8, 2012

Those of us who want to shoot color may be SOL soon. Hopefully not TOO soon. :confused:

eddie · Apr 8, 2012

I think black and white film will still be available long after everyone here isn't.

cliveh · Apr 8, 2012

eddie said:
I think black and white film will still be available long after everyone here isn't.

I hope you are right.

kb3lms · Apr 8, 2012

...but at what date in the future will I not be able to buy 35mm or 120 film in colour or black & white? Any guesses?

When gasoline powered cars and coal-fired power plants and all those other nasty things go away, I would start to get worried.

Photo-gear · Apr 8, 2012

Very honestly, I don't see myself shooting the day there will be no film available, unless I find a way to make my own ones. I did try digital for some time but I don't connect to it.

walbergb · Apr 8, 2012

CGW said:
Let's start a pool! I'll volunteer to hold the money.

Naw. You'll just waste it on film

walbergb · Apr 8, 2012

kevs said:
21st of December 2012. Nibiru is coming... :-D

A half-hour later in Newfoundland You might have to be Canadian to appreciate that one

Photo Engineer · Apr 8, 2012

Learn to make your own.

You just missed a workshop on this very topic!

Sorry.

PE

Leigh B · Apr 8, 2012

Film will still be available when none of us are able to use it.

Vacuum tubes are still in production. They've not been used in new designs in over 50 years.

As long as there's demand, there will be supply.

It's incumbent upon us as consumers to drive the quality. If we insist on buying the cheapest stuff available, five or ten years hence that's all that will be available.

- Leigh

Tom Stanworth · Apr 8, 2012

A very long time. The market has been stable for some time I believe. Heck, even colleges are using more film these days. It is not a consideration for me.

BetterSense · Apr 8, 2012

I just spent $160 on an amount of film that I could easily shoot up in one good session. Given that, I think it's more likely that film will become too expensive for my budget, than it will that film disappears. Which is a good thing, actually--better than disappearing entirely .

Photo-gear · Apr 9, 2012

There might be a future in the 100' rolls which are offered by international suppliers, as the tendancy shows it. While most little retailers went for digital gears, some film suppliers have become the reference (B&H, Freestyle, Maco, etc.).

removed account4 · Apr 9, 2012

not sure when film won't be available,
it really doesn't matter much to me. there are
easy ways to achieve an image on paper or glass
that don't require modern film.

i probably shouldn't say this, but i am kind of looking forward
to when film is scarce, so photographers will gain
the respect they lost in the 1880s, when photography was democratized...
but it won't happen anytime soon ...

zsas · Apr 9, 2012

phelger said:
I compare photography with horseriding. Once everybody used horses to get from A to B. Then came the automobile and horses disappeared from streets and roads. Once everybody used film to shoot family, events and tourism. Then came digimaging and film disappeared from family, tourist etc life.
But there are stiil - and will always be - those who want to ride a horse, and the same is - and will always be - true for silver-based film and paper.
Maybe the choice of products will shrink but as with horses, the lower quality items will go leaving the better (and pricier) articles available.
No reason to panic, folks!
Peter

Ding, ding, ding, winner here....

Nothing to see here, time to move on...

Wade D · Apr 9, 2012

I doubt that film will disappear before most of us are too old to shoot it. If it does I will make my own. In the 70's I experimented with making glass plates from an 1890's formula. The photographs turned out fine with the look of the era in which the formula was made. Not high tech but a decent image.

C.poulton · Apr 9, 2012

I worry more about film cameras - when will the manufacture of film cameras stop and before any one says that there are millions of used film cameras available (which is true), what about the skilled craftsmen to service and repair those film cameras? Apart from Leica and Cosina (Zeiss) who now manufactures film bodies in any volume. (Lomography?)

Christian

dreamingartemis · Apr 9, 2012

Less talk , more shooting. We are not immortals ourselves, even we must go one day. If we are to go then let us leave behind lots of developed negs or slides then XD

Steve Smith · Apr 9, 2012

BrianShaw said:
30 July 2032

At about 2:37 in the afternoon.

C.poulton said:
what about the skilled craftsmen to service and repair those film cameras?

They are just machines designed and built by humans. Whilst there are intelligent people around (sometimes a rarity in itself) someone will be able to look at it, figure out why it doesn't work and repair it - even if it means making parts.

It might not be financially viable but it will always be possible.

Steve.

Steve Smith · Apr 9, 2012

Leigh B said:
Vacuum tubes are still in production. They've not been used in new designs in over 50 years.

Well, I have designed stuff using them in the last five years.

eclarke said:
There are about 195 other countries then the USA, can't take the sheep herd behavior of Americans and extrapolatenit to the rest of the globe.

I was surprised to learn that the US is just 4.5% of the world's population.

Steve.

Aron · Apr 9, 2012

Maybe because I haven't finished my breakfast yet, but I just can't understand why the evil needs to constantly creep in APUG. I sincerely hope this thread will not turn into one of the far too many here about the death of the photo-industry.

There are those pessimistic ones that spend their time thinking about the end of our art or thinking with "discolourating nostalgia" how much better the materials were when they poured more silver in it back in the old days, while the rest of us just make a print during the same time in the darkroom.

Danielle · Apr 9, 2012

That will be a really dark time if film disappears. I don't care how good digital is or will be by that time, if we don't have a choice anymore that will be just plain sad.

Ok, on a positive note, that WONT happen, so we can just chill out.

Old-N-Feeble · Apr 9, 2012

In the USA, isn't the incandescent light bulb about to be phased out? I'm not sure if/how this correlates to photo film and chemistry but a lot can happen with the stroke of a pen.

DesertNate · Apr 9, 2012

I would think first it would become a boutique only product. This morning, I saw rolls of 35mm Fuji 200 film at the gas station. Ten years after that stops happening, we'll see it available as a special-order product that Wal-Mart doesn't carry, and costs more, but it'll be available for at least 30 years after that in color, and probably 50 more in black and white.
Think about it- if everyone stopped production, somebody would decide they could make money that way, and set their own price. Heck, if it was completely unavailable, I'd even consider investing in some equipment for making 35mm. It sounds like a viable market.

PeteZ8 · Apr 9, 2012

phelger said:
I compare photography with horseriding. Once everybody used horses to get from A to B. Then came the automobile and horses disappeared from streets and roads. Once everybody used film to shoot family, events and tourism. Then came digimaging and film disappeared from family, tourist etc life.
But there are stiil - and will always be - those who want to ride a horse, and the same is - and will always be - true for silver-based film and paper.
Maybe the choice of products will shrink but as with horses, the lower quality items will go leaving the better (and pricier) articles available.
No reason to panic, folks!
Peter

Horses are much easier to make than film

When film is no longer available.

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