[shuttertalk]

It's sad when such an icon in the industry, and probably one of the main reasons photography is so popular today, is going out of business. Amidst a report that Kodak had engaged Jones Day, a law firm that dispenses advice on bankruptcies and restructuring, its stock lost almost half its value in trading last week. They claim that "Kodak is committed to meeting all of its obligations and has no intention of filing for bankruptcy" although I guess time will tell.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424...27950.html

As far as I can recall, they were late off the mark in their investment into digital technology, but were well recognised for their DCS digital SLR cameras. I'm not so sure about their consumer oriented Easyshare system though, not sure if people can recall, but these days they're far behind the industry leaders in terms of consumer mindshare.

It seems as a strategy to increase cashflow, they have also been trying to sell of their immense patent portfolio, which is reportedly worth up to 1.9 billion, although they are struggling to find buyers at the moment.

How does everyone feel about Kodak? Is it just a sad case of an industry giant failing to innovate?

[EnglishBob]

My first digital camera was a kodak DC210+ if I remember correctly back in 1998, was a great camera for the time, I have had two more kodaks since that were just bad, poor lens and very bad color capturing.

My first Film Camera was also a kodak, way back in 79 or 80.

I would like them to survive, but can't see it happening.

[matthew]

Three of my four favourite films – Ektar and Portra – are made by Kodak. I've been a little concerned recently, but I'm not sure if there's any point in stocking up since I want to be able to use colour film for a long, long time.

Fuji makes colour film, but they weren't my favourite when I was looking for something in medium format. Ilford makes several good B&W films, including the chromogenic XP2 that I use, and have the advantage of already going through bankruptcy a few years ago.

Of course, black and white film is much easier to deal with…

(Kodak's digital cameras are a little sad these days, but they make sone good sensors.)

[shuttertalk]

The exact name escapes me but when I was dabbling in film Kodak used to be my favourite brand. In fact I found a couple of boxes unopened Kodak slide film in my drawer the other day (circa 2002).

http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,...03,00.html

Time magazine article from 2009 - bit sad to hear:

Today, Steinle's Kansas store processes all of Kodak's Kodachrome film — if you drop a roll off at your local Wal-Mart, it will be developed at Dwayne's Photo — and though it is the only center left in the world, the company processes only a few hundred rolls a day.

[Kombisaurus]

It's certainly sad, but no surprise. :/ They've been dying a slow death since digital went "mainstream".
I know they have done a fair bit behind the scenes in developing technologies/sensors/etc, but after starting off OK in the early days of consumer digital (my first digicam was a 1 megapixel Kodak DC215) they just seemed to lose interest in innovating and followed up with one half-hearted effort after another.
It will be a great shame to lose such an icon, especially for people like Matthew who rely on their film products. But sadly they seem to have nobody to blame but themselves for their current position.

[Zig]

Oh dear. I'm reminded of oil supertankers that have to commit to a massive turn several hours before making it. Not merely an icon here but a main root and branch, to totally muss my metaphors. I used to love their Ektar 25...and flippin 'eck, I found Technical Pan to be the most scorchingly good emulsion I've ever used, practically grainless with Retinol...and I so needed Kodak's film stock in situations where Fuji's would just block out. I have a feeling that, as Ade says, this is sadly a case of cause and effect in terms of the choices Kodak have(or not) made over the past 10 years(+).

[Toad]

...hopefully not completely dead - they manufacture the sensor in the Leica M9...

[matthew]

I did buy ten rolls of Portra 400 film today – or about 60 shares worth.

This is an interesting graph of the recent stock price. It took a massive hit and traded huge volumes, but has mostly recovered now.
(Not that there's a huge link between stock price and financial reality, but recovery is better than it staying down.)

http://quote.morningstar.com/Stock/s.aspx?t=EK