Kodak PAUSES Film Production

Last month Kodak STOPPED all film production. While this was a Carly headline at first, after looking more closely this may actually be good news for film photographers. Eastman Kodak paused their 35mm, 120 format, and medium format film production to allow for upgrades to the analogy film manufacturing. In this video we will talk about what that means and how long it’s likely to last.

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[hugeshows]

What he means by "bring light into the dark" is that certain repairs and upgrades require you to turn the lights on, so you have to stop making film or it's all ruined.

[coach_yo]

Hoping they bring us more affordable films again. Gold in 120 was so affordable now it’s going to stick with.

[cangooner]

When I first saw the headline on the announcement, my first thought was "Oh no...". Then after reading the reasons for the pause, that quickly changed to "Oh good!". No company - even one with some legendary blunders in its past - stops production entirely to refit their equipment if they don't believe it is a good long-term investment. 👍

[mikishootsonfilm]

This happened in November and production is now resumed as explained.

[georgesealy]

Strangely, the advent of mobile phone cameras is helping the film industry. More people are shooting photos, which gets them involved and makes them want to learn more. At some point, they learn about various film stocks and how they create different kinds of photos. I shoot mostly digital, but I also have two 35mm film cameras. It's fun to use them.

[PokhrajRoy.]

The public wants a comeback? Kodak said: “Oh, we’ll give you a comeback!”

[shanan]

I’m hoping for a Kodachrome-like E6 slide film.

[artistjoh]

All very positive. Let's hope Fuji takes notice and rebuilds their production facilities. Personally I never liked and used Fuji film, but I do think it is good for the industry to see more film production returning. The more factories, the more secure film photography's future will be, and the more choices we will have.

[masanthar]

Lets hope it is not corporate mumbo jumbo for exiting the market, at least comsumer market, or coming back with a premium pricing.

[PokhrajRoy.]

I do get slightly surprised when I hear some movies are shot on film. Also, call me random but I do feel that YouTube and independent cinema has kept film photography alive.

[oblivion_]

If they bring something like kodachrome, it will be great for film photography

[BillLovesFilm]

Beloved hobby indeed! A few years ago I started quietly building a stash of frozen film as a hedge against rising prices.

Manufacturing capacity to replenish film at retail as it sells out is a major driver of prices in the market, so i hope Kodak is adding output to meet demand growth. That will help keep prices stable. If current (high) prices and demand levels make Kodak profitable and able to invest in capacity then I feel good about the long term outlook. Especially with all the great YTers (like yourself) continuing to build enthusiasm for shooting film.

[SteveMillerhuntingforfood]

This is a two-edged sword.
Kodak has also recently said they will no longer sell ECN product to everyone. You must complete a document so they will verify the use of ECN will be a viable 'film project'. Kodak wants ECN used in film making, not respooled for shooting stills.

I'm heart broken. I have been buying ECN, TriX and XX film for the past 3+ years and bulk rolling into cartridges for personal use. Guess that is no more.

[slipknotserge]

Wasn’t Fuji also shutting down “temporarily?”

[shaynecosby]

They needa bring back ektachrome 160 T for cinema and still photography

[pdjdw]

He was quite literal.
Film is made in the dark. And you need light to work on the machines.

[stephengreenberg]

Great news from Kodak and although a lot more people are shooting film, I think a lot has to do with the movie industry. Lots of new movies and shows are being shot on film, for instance Amazon's show Fallout is shot on film.

To put in perspective how much film they might use, 1 hour of film is ~5, 400 feet, or the equivalent of ~1, 200 36exp 35mm rolls. Take into account that a conservative shooting ratio for most films is around 1:10(taking into account, errors, b-roll, vfx, test shows, etc), they might use 54, 000 ft or 12, 000 36exp rolls of film for each episode. The first season is 8 episodes long so ~ 432, 000 feet or 96, 000 rolls.

For a tight-90 movie, it would be pretty fair to expect somewhere around 100, 000 FT or ~22, 000 rolls of 36exp film. If you bought that much Kodak Gold, that would be nearly $200k, not including developing!

[paulhenry]

When Kodak introduced Vericolor, in 120 and 220 formats, in the mid-1970s, it was a professional game-changer, confirming the switch from monochrome to colour for most social photography. The competition from Fuji came later.

[rexhite]

The future of consumer film photography will likely be determined by whatever pension fund takes over Alaris. Maybe Eastman can take it over and become Kodak again. Consumer film photography is past its peak of 2023. If 2025 continues the drop of 2024 then I don't see how Alaris can use the consumer film boom to make itself attractive. I'm not optimistic that Alaris, Eastman, Fuji and whoever runs the German film coating lab can revive a decline. These companies did not create the consumer film growth starting in 2015, (I give Lomo credit for that), so they have been reacting to rather than driving this phenomenon. I'm not optimistic for continued consumer film use, let alone growth.

[Focal_Paradox]

If they keep producing film, I'll keep using it.