[Leica] The Future of Film

[jonathan at openhealth.org (Jonathan Borden)]

  Marc James Small wrote:

> Kodak is getting out of the B&W paper business;  the ending of its  
> B&W film
> and chemistry offerings is only a matter of time.

The only Kodak paper I've recently used is Azo -- I buy all my  
photochemicals through either http://www.photoformulary.com or http:// 
www.artcraftchemicals.com (probably my first choice recently) or  
http://www.bostick-sullivan.com -- except for the occasional B&H  
order concurrent with an order of film.

>
> Many have commented on the reality that other companies will  
> continue to
> fill this market, perhaps for the long haul.  The problem with this  
> is that
> Kodak dominated the US market so thoroughly that AGFA and Ilford  
> were often
> hard to find in camera stores, though Fuzzy had bullied its way  
> into the
> door of many of these shops over the past ten years.
>
> Given the explosion of digital in recent years, most local camera  
> stores
> have gone over to the Dark Side.  And, with Kodak out of the  
> picture, they
> are not going to fill the gap with Ilford, Agfa, Berger, or Forte  
> products:
>  they are just going to reduce their film offerings to consumer color
> films.  They have seen the light and will simply concentrate on  
> digital
> cameras and accessories.

Thankfully the internet is a digital solution to an otherwise digital  
problem... that is to say I order specialty items over the internet  
including special papers, films, chemicals and carbon inkjet inks for  
that matter.

>
> Within five years, only those living in a megalopolis will enjoy the
> existence of a local store stocking any analog film materials.  For  
> the
> rest of us, it will be suppliers from some large city, ordered over  
> the
> Internet and delivered by mail.

Actually the suppliers might be in some relatively out of the way  
like Montana or New Mexico or Canada (:-)) for that matter. The  
internet is particularly good for both customers and suppliers NOT in  
large cities.

>
> I miss the days when I could get a large variety of developers and
> chemicals and films and papers at a photo store two blocks from my  
> office.
> Now, it is all digital, and as Kodak recedes from the analog  
> market, so
> shall they.
>
> (And I have had nothing but snarls and problems with B&H:  they  
> fouled up
> three orders in a row a decade back, and I swore that I would never  
> again
> do business with them.  But, now, I probably will have no  
> choice ... and I
> will hate myself for going back to drink from a polluted well.)

This is basically capitalism at work. There is a relatively free flow  
of suppliers entering and exiting the market. You might need to pay $$ 
$$$ for great service, otherwise a few snafu's for much lower prices  
etc. If you find you are paying $$$$$ prices for bad service you are  
free to find a better supplier.

FWIW B&H often hits a sweet spot with me concerning speed of  
delivery, selection, reasonably low prices and reliability. I've had  
nothing but excellent experiences with them over the years (this is  
primarily where I order 35mm film).

Jonathan