[Leica] Reality Check re: Digital vs Film vs Cost

[locke at straylight.ca (Greg Locke)]

A friend of mine who runs a lab here (and has a mint CL kit) sold his C-41
processor and printer last year.

Digital had something to do with it but it had more to do with not being
about to compete with Wal-Mart and Dominion super markets who do a decent
job of C-41 for better than half the price of a dedicated photo lab.

My wife is the perfect market research example. She shoots her pix of the
kids and dogs, plugs the camera into the computer, uploads the files to the
Wal-Mart website and goes and picks them up after supper .... For 20 cents
each ...thank you very much.  The pictures are great, they are cheap and she
doesn't have to make more than one trip for them.
Does it get any easier then that?

My friend still runs an E-6 machine (one of only two in the city) that is
viable.

The vast majority of his work is now as a digital service bureau.

It seems to be coming down to either you serve the masses or you serve the
pros and the medium is dictating that.

Digital replaced colour neg in my work but there is still chrome for the
"important" jobs.

Again, film is being left to the pros and artists and C-41 and digital is
the realm of the masses (and mass media) and the "new hobbyists" ...just as
photography became with the coming of the Brownie.

In a small isolated market like we have here, things happen fast, they are
noticeable and the reasons can be pretty apparent.

Greg Locke
St. John's, Newfoundland

      --- SOUND SYMPOSIUM XII --
International Festival of New Music and Art 
Daily photo coverage at 
http://blog.greglocke.com
July 8 - 18, 2004
St. John's, Newfoundland 

> 
> On Wed, 2004-07-14 at 07:36, B. D. Colen wrote:
> >  But what happens when the 35 mm operation itself is no 
> longer worth 
> > their time and investment? I'm not suggesting that that point will 
> > come today or tomorrow, but I certainly wouldn't be 
> surprised to see 
> > the number of film choices decline sharply over the next 
> five years. 
> > And then what?
> > B. D.
> 
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