bruce_garrett Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 Today Kodak UK announced the closure of its film production plant in Nottingham, England with the loss of 600 jobs. Kodak cited "...a drastic reduction in demand for traditional film based products." 98% of all new cameras now sold in the UK are digital. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fino Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 > 98% of all new cameras now sold in the UK are digital. Where do you see this statistic? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob_shop Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 It certainly doesn't include disposable cameras... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim_cronin Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 This is on top of Ilford in the UK shedding 330 jobs in August. I'm afraid that I believe Kodak may be 'letting' film die rather than trying to promote it.<p> In the UK we are seeing an increase in the availability of film from China, Hungary and other countries. They have been making film for a long time and, even with the cost of transport to the UK, they sell for half the price of the Kodak equivalent.<p> I'm cynical by nature, but I believe that film should be MUCH cheaper than the price it's currently sold at. It's no wonder that people are swapping to digital point-and-shoots in droves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruce_garrett Posted October 5, 2004 Author Share Posted October 5, 2004 > 98% of all new cameras now sold in the UK are digital. This statistic was quoted by BBC TV News in a report on the Kodak closure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emre Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 <blockquote>...They have been making film for a long time and, even with the cost of transport to the UK, they sell for half the price of the Kodak equivalent. I'm cynical by nature, but I believe that film should be MUCH cheaper than the price it's currently sold at...</blockquote> When E100VS--Kodak's answer to Provia/Velvia--came out recently, it sold for $8 a roll--in 35mm! Now it sells for...the same amount! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim_cronin Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 "When E100VS--Kodak's answer to Provia/Velvia--came out recently, it sold for $8 a roll--in 35mm! Now it sells for...the same amount!" <p> Try living in the UK...a normal Kodak colour print film can cost you that much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob_shop Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 If you buy it in some rip-off merchant's... (no names. JESSOPS JESSOPS JESSOPS) Long live 7dayshop... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobatkins Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 Please try to cite references for any new items posted here. <p> In this case see <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3716016.stm">http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3716016.stm</a> <p> I don't belive the 98% statistic. Someone, somewhere got their facts confused. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim_cronin Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 Personally I'm saddened by these redundancies. Perhaps we should vote with our wallets and support those other companies that will continue to manufacture film.<p> <a href="http://www.acecam.com/cr3index.html" target="_blank">Here is a list of manufacturers.</a> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruce_garrett Posted October 5, 2004 Author Share Posted October 5, 2004 Just to clarify matters: The 600 redundancies announced by Kodak UK today includes staff cutbacks at other Kodak facilities in the UK along with their plant closure in Nottingham. The quote of "98% of all new cameras now sold in the UK are digital" was made by the BBC reporter on the Kodak story and not by the Kodak spokesman. Sorry for any confusion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert_johnson15 Posted October 5, 2004 Share Posted October 5, 2004 Here is the URL for the official Kodak Press Release: http://www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier.jhtml?pq-path=2709&pq-locale=en_US&gpcid=0900688a8027cfd2 I appears the French plant is the only one left that makes the Kodachrome 40 8mm movie film. Wonder what other film "deaths" they are trying to "slide by the consumer" by announcing generic plant closings? Couldn't be Technical Pan, they already slathered that one with Kodak Bar-B-Que sauce. Robert Johnson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard_milner2 Posted October 6, 2004 Share Posted October 6, 2004 Most people don't buy film or digital because of the cost. The mains reasons for mass market digital cameras are; 1. They're new and exciting. 2. You can see the picture straight away. 3. Lots of people have home computers and can emails their pics around and so on. I've started seeing people using their phone cameras more. I don't believe there is much of a market for digital compact cameras in the long term. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_swinehart Posted October 11, 2004 Share Posted October 11, 2004 Yeah...bet Kodak's making a TON of money on that 8mm Kodachrome...at least 2x what they make on 110 film. Some film just doesn't need to be manufactured anymore...really...it's true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim_cronin Posted October 11, 2004 Share Posted October 11, 2004 There was plenty of 110 film on sale in a supermarket in Bracknell (UK) last time I went in. My local high street film processor still accepts 110.<p>Pentax 110 SLR's are quite popular with collectors, so don't wish it away too soon!<p> Negatives and prints over 100 years old still exist. Will there be many of today's JPEG's around in 2104? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terry_scott Posted November 10, 2004 Share Posted November 10, 2004 Slightly off-topic, but in response to the comment on Pentax 110: If anyone is looking for this camera plus accessories, Graham Photography in Market Harborough, Leicestershire (UK), has a couple of them right now. He also has some accessories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christopher_hutchins1 Posted March 31, 2005 Share Posted March 31, 2005 The Kodak UK plant has been replaced by Grunwick (a Bonusprint venture). Also, you do know that very few camera manufacturers make any profit in the UK? The majority actually make a loss in the UK but they need the market presence. The only reason Canon sell cameras here is because everybody knows they make cameras but they really make their money on photocopiers. Even Jessops only make 0.005% profit. http://www.advfn.com/quote_Jessops_LSE_JSP.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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