The sad fact that Eastman Kodak went into Chapter 11 bankrupty protection this year after years of furiously trying to innovate its way out of trouble in the digital camera market is yet another example of how a short period of complacency or hubris can doom even the most iconic of companies.
Still I have a soft spot for those old Kodak cameras and most of all for the cinematic film that allowed all those old family films and memories...
Sunday nights were never the same when my father finally stowed the old projector and the reign of the idiot box began... and digital cameras took our souls away.
Only discussing that today. Kodak was slow on its feet. Complacency, as you say - I wonder what Geo Eastman wouid have done...
The loss of those juicy colours in Kodachrome is a sad thing. Maybe someone will come up with a digital version - just hit the button and your image is rendered in Kodachrome!
Back in the '70's/'80's Kodak went into the high volume photocopying market. Their product was excellent but I believe they got into deepwater with the antitrust laws, over monopolising their aftersales parts and service. Probably cost them lots of dollars.
If only they had stayed with what they did best
it is a pity Kodak never manged to pull itself forward, the world looked so much more tactile in kodachrome
Amen to that We take SO many images these days, of almost everything, yet the soull seems to be lacking in many, especially where humans are involved as even the kids are 'media-aware' and know how to pose to look like the professionals...
Don't forget, Kodak also pushed the film industry into Ektachrome, a high-margin product for Kodak which has the unfortunate side-effect of fading incredibly fast when projected. So, old Kodak-based stuff hangs around forever, more recent stuff fades away. Kodak deserves a kicking for that.
Luckily, Fujifilm Eterna-RDS is here to save the day. Some studios even back up digital movies on to it.
Maybe someone will come up with a digital version - just hit the button and your image is rendered in Kodachrome!
There are several programmes or plug-ins for rendering your pictures and movies into different film stock styles.
As just one example: If you have an i-phone then you could try out 'Film Lab' which can simulate over 70 different stocks. Here is a link to their website:
(You need to go to page 11 of the samples pages to see the Kodak film stocks.)
Having spent may years at the Douglas Long Beach Plant, I've walked the halls of the buildings where some of those pictures (from RJM's link) were taken.
The buildings are long gone now, but the memories will live on.
Last edited by 11Fan; 29th Jul 2012 at 18:40.
Reason: a minor clarification
The buildings are long gone now, but the memories will live on.
The buildings may have gone, but the C-47 flies on. The last C-47 was delivered to RAAF 1945, and its last four C-47s were retired in 1998, still going strong with ARDU (a/c research and development unit - motto "We get there...eventually". The point was, they always got there. I believe the C-47 airframe has an unlimited life. There are still a couple flying commercially around here.
They had a great few products at the beginning but they didn't relate the Digital camera to the consumer market, only the Professional market until it was too late and others had got the jump on them.
We take SO many images these days, of almost everything, yet the soull seems to be lacking in many, especially where humans are involved as even the kids are 'media-aware' and know how to pose to look like the professionals...
