UK J of P: "Kodak phases out digital, keeps film alive."

[Nicholas Kovats]

That's right. Focus on your core competencies, Kodak. A step in the right direction.

From the British Journal of Photography:
http://www.bjp-online.com/british-journ ... film-alive

"...will continue to invest in its film division."

[BAC]

That's awesome news, you just made my day!

[marc]

Now that they are focusing just on film, as they should be, maybe they will be willing to expand their line of Super 8 stocks rather than the usual practice of just substituting an existing stock for a new one. And if we are really lucky, maybe they will offer R8 stocks directly from them without having to go through a middle man.

[Will2]

Now maybe they will focus some marketing on film instead of having film support marketing for digital.

They can start with that great Super 8 movie blu-ray special feature that Paul (Cinelicious) shared with us. Build on that enthusiasm and make it easy for people to shoot, process & transfer. Kodak should have a deal where you buy the film on the website, shoot it, send it to them in a pre-paid mailer and it comes back to you processed and transferred to HD.

I don't want to hurt anyone's transfer business but if more people get into it I bet it would be more business for the higher-end transfer houses (maybe even Kodak contracts with you) once people understand better colorists are worth paying for.

[mr8mm]

Hey, I resent that middle man comment. Like the middle man is some sort of racketeer taking advantage of the poor guy using regular8. I have kept regular 8 alive for 20 years. I have fought tooth and nail with Kodak for every emulsion they offer. I have scrounged every corner of the world getting R8 spools and cans. Without the middle man those Bolex's selling for $100's on ebay would nothing more then bookends or paper weights. show a little respect. ---J.S.

[grainy]

But guys, "digital will replace film by the year 2000"!
ha ha ha! Thanks for posting!
re: "middleman", when materials can't simply be picked up at the drugstore anymore, ANYONE who makes it easier to get them is valuable, IMHO.
Kodak still has a long way to go if they actually want regular, non-pro consumers buying directly from them (which I think they do not)

[marc]

Hey, I resent that middle man comment. Like the middle man is some sort of racketeer taking advantage of the poor guy using regular8. I have kept regular 8 alive for 20 years. I have fought tooth and nail with Kodak for every emulsion they offer. I have scrounged every corner of the world getting R8 spools and cans. Without the middle man those Bolex's selling for $100's on ebay would nothing more then bookends or paper weights. show a little respect. ---J.S.

My apologies. May the middle man (john Schwind) continue to operate. I was referring to those other middle that men get it from you so we have to pay more than what we would have if we got it direclty from you. Like Chambless used to do, or these other video production houses that charge 25- 30 % more. For the newbie of regular 8, they keep the lie alive that Kodak does not actually make it and therefore don't know what their best options are. If everyone the best possible price from people like you, there might be more people interested in regular 8mm. I remember that Chambless used to tell people that he had an in house engineer perf the film for him but he was getting it from you.

[beamascope]

I have no problem with the middle man. If not for him there would be no Dbl 8 for us. Kodak bailed on 8mm years ago so why let them have it back.

[BAC]

Hey, I resent that middle man comment. Like the middle man is some sort of racketeer taking advantage of the poor guy using regular8. I have kept regular 8 alive for 20 years. I have fought tooth and nail with Kodak for every emulsion they offer. I have scrounged every corner of the world getting R8 spools and cans. Without the middle man those Bolex's selling for $100's on ebay would nothing more then bookends or paper weights. show a little respect. ---J.S.

Your my hero John, keep regular 8 alive! Do you have a reliable source for spools and cans? I always have the lab send them back after I get my film processed, is that who you get them from? I could send you some if it will help. For some reason I have a lot more spools than cans.

[marc]

I have no problem with the middle man. If not for him there would be no Dbl 8 for us. Kodak bailed on 8mm years ago so why let them have it back.

I really don't like the middleman's middleman. They give newbies the impression that R8 is naturally 25-30% higher than John's prices. How is that going to encourage young filmmakers to use R8?

[reflex]

Kodak offloaded its digital camera manufacturing business to Flextronics in China back in 2006, so this isn't really anything new. They retained a high-level design team and a sales arm. It's a bit of a pity, because their little solid state point-and-shoot video cameras were quite good. However, the iPhone and high end Android handsets have really taken a chunk out of that market. It's definitely not where I'd be looking for future growth.

As far as middlemen go, one has to make an important distinction. There are some companies that insert themselves into a supply chain and add absolutely no value. I don't feel any guilt about avoiding them.

There are others who are value added specialists. You do business with them because they provide a product or service that you simply can't get elsewhere. Like mr8mm. Those companies should be supported at all costs.

[David M. Leugers]

To be accurate, John was not a "middleman" in R-8mm film sales. He was an entrepreneur in the best sense. He literally saved R-8mm. Kodak as the manufacturer was not selling R-8mm film, to anybody until John took it upon himself to become the provider of R-8mm film to those who still wanted to shoot it. I still do, thanks John!

[wahiba]

Kodak recently announced a nice little pocket HD camcorder with that rarity on basic cameras, a microphone socket. Quite fancied it for that feature alone, although it had a few other good features as well. Now it looks like it will not be available. I just hope they are not ditching other innovative ideas.

Win some lose some.