Film News: Kodak Ektachrome in 120 and sheet. What it means for film
Ho ho ho Meri Kurisumasu from Japan. In case you have been in a coma or otherwise disposed over the last day or so you cannot have escaped the news from Kodak. That is right, Kodak have listened and delivered, bringing back Ektachrome in 120 (not 120mm) and sheet format. This is a wonderful thing.
The funny thing about this press release though is that it originated in Japan. And yet it barely made the news here. In fact I didn’t hear about it until other sites picked it up and then Kodak got in touch.
The official press release can be seen here https://www.kodakalaris.co.jp/images/pressrelease_ppf20191210.pdf
It is in Japanese though, so you might need to navigate the choppy waters of google translate and its inability to understand past and present tense. There is an FAQ page in English though here https://imaging.kodakalaris.com/sites/prod/files/files/products/Ektachrome_120_FAQs_English.pdf
So, seeing as I am late to the party again, there doesn’t seem to be much point in telling you about the worldwide release of this film. You can read all about it here or here with far more detail and verve than I can write with.
Instead I get to gloat about how I will get in in Japan before anywhere else in the world. Which is awesome…..oh wait how much? This brings me to my next point. Kodak price rises and what this means for film photography.
Kodak and the future
The other recent news from Kodak was the price rises that they announced on Black Friday. There is not a great deal of detail as to how much they will be, but Kodak Alaris says they will be ‘significant’.You can read the full release here Click Here
It is not the easiest read and can come across as rather convoluted but what it essentially say is that in order to make sure that supply can meet demand there needs to be investment in infrastructure. And the only way that can be done is by raising prices.
So some people immediately started shouting about Kodak ripping people off, or pricing film out of the range of photographers etc. For sure this is a bitter pill to swallow, but without our medicine we could be in for a seizure. The film manufacturing side of the business has been steadily degrading for years, through lack of investment. This became apparent even for Fuji after the revelation that their new Acros II was being made in the UK.
Gone are the days of one massive manufacturing location, with every single stage of the process in one place. As film lines got cut and makers went out of business, essential parts of the process were either lost or repurposed. Leaving us in the state we are currently in with long waits for products and backorders. The industry desperately needs investment.
Quandary
This leaves the industry in a quandary. Manufacturers are notoriously protective of a market they have long considered to be dwindling. And as is the nature of a beast protecting its territory, they loath others encroaching on their territory. But since the infrastructure has been scattered they have found themselves with no choice but to work with one another to achieve their goals.
What Kodak is doing by raising their prices is signaling a change in the way film will be made and distributed in the future, in a way that can be sustainable for the industry. Sure it is going to hurt, but if we want to keep on shooting film then we will have to bite that bullet. This is an indicator that things are getting better, believe it or not (though I am sure some of the comments are going to ask me if I have bumped my head recently).
Going forward
We are in a pivotal point in the history of film photography. And if we make the investment we will be able to secure film for the coming generations of photographers. There are going to be people that do not agree with me on this and I am sure they will comment with gusto. But I stand by this. We must invest and Kodak’s actions are a step in the right direction.
Now all we need is a round table for all the film makers to sit in the same room and work out how they can help one another to make more film. Lol, like that would happen (I suggested it at Photokina and people looked at me like I was the village idiot).
What do you think? How will this affect you?
JCH
What you wrote makes a lot of sense to me.
Those of us who used film back when it was “king of the hill” know the differences between then and now, but we have to accept the bad with the good, and in this situation the good is far, far better !
If we have any strong reaction at all to this news it should be only one: Grateful !
Robert Shanebrook wrote a fascinating book called, “Making Kodak Film (expanded second edition). If you are a true film geek, it is a “must read.”
http://www.makingkodakfilm.com
My takeaway after reading it is that Kodak’s Building 38 is the life-center of half of the film industry. It cost $100 million to construct back in the day, and is likely irreplaceable now. Film production is unbelievably complex, and we are all naive in regard to cost factors. When you start understanding what it takes to have raw silver ingots come in one door, and freshly wrapped emulsion out the other, it is mind boggling. I would say making film is every bit as complex as making image sensors for digital cameras, and we are riding on the backs of over a hundred years of mastery of the art of film production. The price increases are more then justified, and we are lucky to have film at all. If the Building 38 dinosaur were ever to go offline, that might be the end of film as we know it. All hail Rochester! :)
As a film photographer, I have constantly bought kodak film, both reversal (when it was available) and negative film (Ektar, portra 160, 400 and 800).
The fact that kodak increases its prices is a very bad news for me. It as if I had been penalised for keeping up shooting with film.
It will not, however, deter me from using film but, with my limited budget, i will be shooting less.
I agree that film makers need to look to ways to co-operate (other industries, including those in competition, have done so as well) . It does seem that demand has increased more than expected & there has to be expansion. If it means price increases, so be it. One point of correction – according to a comment on Kosmo the new Fuji Acros is being manufactured in Japan but the final emulsion is done in England
So now slide film is producing for crazy hobbyists at high prices. Without technological support as a professional workflow. What is wrong with an e6 is a lack of quality development of it. Note that e6 process still dependant on fuji chemicals. Also while shooting slides one is missing printing process. Missing copy film. Missing even high-end scanners, so you can’t go digital with a slides. This is an agony.
Great article Bellamy and I agree completely!! I want my son to know the joys of film, like I did. I would and will pay the price to make that happen. I know how insane the process is and I can’t even imagine the cost. I want to hand my son a brick of Tri-X and an M6 on his 18th birthday and say: “Here’s to the rest of your life. Go change the world”.
P.S. That round table needs to happen. : )
agreed
Its hard to take the continual increases, especially with the state of the UK £ and VAT at 20%, film should be considered an art product these days and be VAT exempt but thats for another day
However if Kodak are investing I get their logic but I also expect to see a return on that investment by way of pricing falling as the production costs are paid back and the market becomes more sustainable.
More supply usually equates to less price so I am hoping this will also trickle down
:-)
“in 120 and sheet”… pun intended? :)
I am just glad I will be able to shoot 120 Ektachrome in my classic folding cameras!
My father was the only person in central Ohio who could process color transparency film after WWII. I grew up, literally, in an Ektachrome lab in our basement. Decades later near what everyone believed was the end of the film era I managed the family business. For years I thought my head was full of useless information. Actually it is because I understand the E6 process today has been reduced to less than 1/3 the number of baths as in the late 1980’s.
Long retired from such work I’m personally delighted to see the return of Ektachrome in medium and large formats. I loved shooting the film myself. I look forward to shooting again with my Horseman 6X7 camera!
Hi Micheal,
Can I ask what you think of the modern E6 home kits?
Hi, thanks for the message. Unfortunately i have not had any experience yet with E6 home kits but we’re planning to do a review of the Tetenal Colortec soon
No one likes price increases. This is the one instance where I think it’s justified. Film definitely has its niche now. I’m just really discovering it. Yeah, as a kid of course that’s all I knew. I wasn’t really into photography like that though. Now at 41 I’m developing my own film. I love it. I’m in the minority of what the state of the art is in photography now. Digital. There’s no going backwards. And as much as I love film, it’s only for the hobby. I’m not shooting a wedding or boudoir session on film. No sports photographer is going to shoot game 7 of the NBA Finals on film. So if we want to keep using film then we have to accept price increases.
On a completely unrelated note, Santa looks a lot like Colonel Sanders.
I don’t understand why Kodak, among others, don’t try to establish a user base via film subscriptions. They could produce more accurate pre-paid production runs. This would ensure that a certain amount of film would get to the users, as well as promote the users to shoot more. If I knew my, say, semi-monthly subscription of a certain type would enable me to shoot x number of rolls during that time, I would make an effort to to shoot that amount accordingly, or freeze the remainder. I thought there was a poll on this subject by Kodak Alaris a while back on one of the major photo sites…
With all due respect, I think this analysis is just an ill informed opinion. Read the statement by Alaris. They say:
Demand for film has exceeded all expectations
Their principal rival has reduced production/ Alaris has gained market share
Alaris’ single supplier has raised its prices
Take the above with what we already know about EK/Alaris:
EK filed bankruptcy at the low point of film demand and as part of its settlement handed over film marketing to Alaris, which was formed by bilked UK pensioners.
Prices remained stable despite radically lower production for long enough to cripple their principle rival (Fujifilm) and absorb a significant portion of its market share.
Against all odds and due to a committed film community advocating for film use demand spikes.
EK raises its prices to Alaris and Alaris passes the increase on to that same film community.
Film advocates say this is good for film users… in the long run.
This is nothing but run of the mill capitalism featuring a once global powerhouse using its remaining resources to re-establish its monopoly. By what twisted logic can anyone imagine eliminating one of two producers of color film will benefit film users… in the long run? If you understand even basic economic theory and want to see film production stabilize and persist, it’s probably not a smart move to go all in for a company that’s already filed bankruptcy once despite having essentially invented digital photography and left pensioners to absorb all the risk of downsizing in a shrinking market. The rational response to a price increase by Alaris is to buy Fujifilm products with gusto. Treating Alaris as if it’s a charitable cause is an epic miscalculation.
I was hoping that competition keeps the prize for slide film moderate. Today I saw that E100 120 exposed 6×6 will cost me about 1€ per photo. That is really a huge increase and I got the idea that these prizes will be the end of slide film. And I am still wondering whether this is necessary to keep the company alive or whether they want to have the same profit margin they have for cosmetics? Then I thought about how many hours I do spent outdoors to find enough motifs worth to conserve on film to finish one roll (12 exposures). It will take a few hours. One roll of 120 equals 2 to 3 beers in a pub and they will be gone within maybe two hours! This comparison makes me think that the price for the film, plus the money for development, is not that much in comparison. I will continue using slide film, but I probably will think longer, whether a picture is worth being taken. The numbers of exposed slide films will probably drop. At least a little bit.
People who actively promote film photography as a lifestyle (as opposed to people like me who just shoot the stuff because we like to) are constantly gassing about how it makes them “slow down” and “think more about each photo” and stuff like that.
Well, at 1€ per exposure, you’re REALLY going to slow down and think even more about each photo, right? So what’s the beef?
Personally, I’m all for Kodak charging enough for 120 Ektachrome to make it worthwhile to keep doing it. I’m looking forward to getting hold of some, and at US$14 per roll my subjects and I will feel like every roll is a special occasion.