Cutting ties with Pro 8mm

[reflex]

How much of your company resources do you devote to stuff that you no longer sell?

Something I noticed years ago is that 20% of customers give 80% of the business. Of the other customers, maybe 5% are expert tire kickers - they ask a hundred and one questions before making a small purchase. The trick for me has always been finding a way to keep the tire kickers from taking my time away from the (typically quiet) customers who keep me in businees.

They have no monopoly except on the two most natural negative film stocks for super8. V2 100t and 50d. This really confounds me and makes me wonder if there isn't an agreement of sorts between Kodak and Pro8? Could just be Kodak really dragging its feet and pure speculation, but it's odd.

Sales of S8 neg stocks are a tiny part of Kodak's overall business -- adding 50D or 100T will simply erode the sales of their other stocks, not increase sales volume. Therefore, there's no significant financial incentive to introduce them. In fact, there may well be additional overheads required to encourage labs to process them, and that consumers know about them.

[Alex]

Sales of S8 neg stocks are a tiny part of Kodak's overall business -- adding 50D or 100T will simply erode the sales of their other stocks, not increase sales volume. Therefore, there's no significant financial incentive to introduce them. In fact, there may well be additional overheads required to encourage labs to process them, and that consumers know about them.

Well, they'll always be tiny if they only release the high speed negative stocks. There are now three labs in the San Fernando Valley (part of Los Angeles) that can develop and do develop Super-8 negative stocks.

Without a lower end ASA negative stock, the negative stocks are not properly balanced. If Kodak released 50 ASA and 100 ASA, it would give filmmakers an excellent repertoire to choose from when shooting negative Super-8.

As it stands now, all three Super-8 labs rely on Pro-8mm and whatever "quality control standard" pro-8mm decides to go with on the lower ASA films.

It's a shame that Kodak is not meeting the increase in Super-8 labs head on with additional film stocks. Somehow these labs are supposed to proliferate and grow even as Kodak doesn't put out the lower ASA negative film stocks????

If there is even a chance that 50 ASA can match K-40 with the proper transfer, this is the time for Kodak to release 50 ASA and 100 ASA negative.

[MovieStuff]

I think the key here and in many other posts is that Phil is using cheap bargain short ends for a product that he is clearly representing as new.....

I know this to be true and factual, but, others need to probe as well to help substantiate that truth.

How long did you work there and how many cheap bargain short ends did you load into his carts?

I suggest that the next time somebody buys pro8mm film, they ask Phil where it came from, how it was stored, when was his machinery last maintained. It might also be wise to ask the same about his film processing procedures.

And what was his answer when you asked him these questions?

Roger

[downix]

My only experience with Pro8 was when I tried to purchase some loading reels from them. They wanted $40 in shipping for reels that were a few bucks. I said no thanks and bought mine instead from Kodak direct. I still intend to purchase a roll each of the 50D and 100T tho for testing. I have, however, seen the quality of their telecine, and it just isn't there. For that I plan on Spectra or Flying Spot. I'm doing my workprints at work tho, $120 for 1600 feet is a pretty sweet deal for a one-light. (my employee discount)

[Alex]

How much of your company resources do you devote to stuff that you no longer sell?

Something I noticed years ago is that 20% of customers give 80% of the business. Of the other customers, maybe 5% are expert tire kickers - they ask a hundred and one questions before making a small purchase. The trick for me has always been finding a way to keep the tire kickers from taking my time away from the (typically quiet) customers who keep me in businees.

This is in a nutshell one of the big complaints about Pro-8mm. The reason Pro-8mm can't distance themselves from the complaint is because they themselves are pirating and recycling old cameras to make a living, yet then they have disdain when others try to do the same thing with their old cameras by calling Pro-8mm for help.

To break out of this catch-22, Pro-8mm should actually make their own camera line. Assuming they've profited well over the years (and that is an assumption), they could probably afford to make their own camera line.

Once a distinction has been made between the old super-8 cameras and the new super-8 cameras, they could then "support" the old cameras and the new cameras rather than support their old stuff while dissing other peoples old stuff.

I think one thing that Pro-8mm is aware of and doesn't tolerate is that enough customers come through their door wouldn't think twice about scamming them, yet these same people will cry bloody murder if they haven't been treated with kid gloves.