Film Photography News 12.2.2024 Kodak Price Updates, New Film Cameras and Insane Film Deals

[@metalfingersfilm]

do not buy the film never die camera. it's an alibaba remake priced up

[@christianchapels]

That they call themselves "Film Never Die" instead of "Film Never Dies" is the first red flag, without that 's' it just gives off knock off vibes 🚩

[@gojira99]

Removing the competition while raising prices. Classic monopoly.

[@RompingBronco]

I would argue that the companies that are likely to be jeopardized by the changed aren’t in competition with Kodak, while Kodak is the primary supplier of color film in my view they are doing a good job of maintaining cost consistency and supply. The price raising is pretty consistent with their year to year operations but I do think it’s something to keep in mind and I appreciate your comment!

[@Grand-Master-Azrael]

As I understood the reason is they want to keep supplies since theyre like renovating/ mainating all the machines, that means they wont make any film for a while, so that way they can keep stock for themself, I think its reasonable

[@Alexius1Komnenos]

Who is doing that exactly?

[@jedrann8557]

The FND Nana camera is just a re-badged $40 Harman EZ35, all they’ve done is put a metal face plate over it and put a huge mark up on it. Don’t be fooled by them, they’re just in it to take advantage on newbie film shooters who aren’t familiar with cameras or the industry.

[@paolociccone]

Using film makes perfect sense today. Witness your channel and many others. Don't let the naysayers convince you otherwise. It's important to have alternatives and to have a way of expressing your artistry however YOU feel is right. Film is a crucial part of many people's photography and without it, for example, we could not experience medium format or large format photography. Keep up the good work.

[@GaryIrving-x5o]

Digital is for fun 🎉 Film is forever 🌿

[@betenoirproductions6062]

One hour later and... it's gone. No more Film Supply Club deal.

[@SteveMillerhuntingforfood]

I'm one of those who has been buying bulk Vision 3, TriX, XX and AeroColor from Kodak. I called the sales rep at Kodak and it is confirmed they do not want to sell film for bulk purposes anymore. They want their film used for legit movie applications. There will be a form that needs to be filled out to justify your use of the film is for movie projects.

[@JHurrenPhotography]

It's great to see you stepping up to do the news. Keep it going! 😁

[@Beakphoto]

Since Nico stopped doing the film photography news on his channel in the spring I was feeling that void, glad someone stepped up. And speaking of news: a few weeks back during a live stream Bellamy (JCH) made a passing comment about management changes at Film Ferrania and some mis-management of funds or something (vague but intriguing). Do you know anything more about this or the current status of the project overall? I was one of the original Kickstarter backers way back in 2014. Got my P30 alpha hold over shipment (beautiful film but the alpha was scratchy as all get out).

[@samgregg]

I think its important to clarify, alaris was bought by private equity, not Eastman Kodak. Its a bit of a pain to have to specify each time whether its Eastman or Alaris, but I think its important.

[@DaarkCloud]

I picked the worst time to get into 35mm. I bought as much Instax as I possibly could afford to, but now I'm like oh god

[@andrewbarnum5040]

Just a suggestion but online stores such as dirt cheap film try to sell for less to help film shooters on a budget to keep shooting film, even when prices go up.

[@mynameisnotcory]

I found b/w instax film at my local cvs (in louisiana) for 4.99 a pack, bought it out and shot about 90 photos in a week 😆

[@TucsonAnalogWorkshop]

You didn't pick the worst time to get into film. Things can always get worse. If you have a particular film you like, find the lowest price and buy ten rolls. This will take away a lot of worry. Think about it like sacrificing just 1 dinner for 2 at a nice restaurant. Not bad for something infinitely more lasting.

[@arricammarques1955]

Stock piled Kodak Gold & Fuji-film during the 'Plandemic'. It was worth the investment for 35mm & 120mm film.

[@youremybuddy5120]

The KF01 flash is super interesting, love their retro approach, reminds me of the contax flash.

[@luisvazquez6381]

Kodak should just sell the film themselves

[@jw48335]

Interesting - I'll end up shooting a lot more Tri-X, since this will drop it below Ilford. I'm loaded with enough CN film in both 135 & 120 to last till 2030, but running low on B&W. Ektar I don't think is all that much more expensive vs. Gold, with a $2 per roll premium. Thanks for the ProImage - I've not shot it.

[@RompingBronco]

I’ve really enjoyed Pro Image as of late so I hope you dig it too! I was surprised to see how narrow the gap between Hp5 and Tri-X is but it’s been a while since I’ve bought either

[@jw48335]

@RompingBronco I'm also seriously considering a 400' roll of Double-X. I've shot it in the past and you get 72 rolls, which works out to $4.60 apiece. It's extremely difficult to distinguish the results from xx vs xxx. My film fridge is lead lined, so it'll keep for a decade or more. With the pending inflation insanity tariff stupidity, I expect prices to go up up up.

[@dewydddrieux1393]

Would bulk rolls still be purchasable for individual consumers? My life depends on it lol

[@hubert-mol]

But what if I prefer ecn2 repacked films? I don't want to shoot with Kodak Gold, sorry

[@bartoszpajak2285]

Being someone who shoots 50-70 rolls a year (35 & 120) and is already struggling to justify the cost for himself I’m afraid that Kodak might have finally convinced me to get the Nikon Zf.

[@ironmonkey1512]

I love mine with voigtlander 40mm 1.2, magic

[@tdatsdla]

One thing to note, Chinese businesses (like Lucky Film) run on the Lunar Calendar. I'm still not optimistic about Lucky Film Color coming out any time soon, but their promise "at the end of 2024" would actually be the end of January/start of February. So maybe?? But still probably not

[@lelandfitz1762]

Fully agree on the FilmNeverDie Nana. They really talked a lot how big it's gonna be. In the beginning of 2024 I thought it would be a third to the Rollei35AF and the Pentax17. After seeing posts on Reddit this camera is just a AliExpress cheap Chinese camera with a metal front. In the beginning they said they want to make a fully metal body, akin to a Contax. My personal opinon is now: They just want to cash in on the market craze yet do not deliver outside of a metal front plate.

[@ssshohag1513]

wow, it's an awesome video. keep it up

[@aengusmacnaughton1375]

Is Kodak Alaris the actual parent company for the film production done in Rochester, NY?

[@RompingBronco]

To my knowledge Eastman Kodak operates film production and Alaris has the rights to selling the film, I may make a follow up video explaining this for my own benefit too!

[@andrewbarnum5040]

Not exactly. Alaris owns the names of the film while Eastman owns the formula for the film. They are 2 separate companies which operate as one simply because Eastman is under contract by Alaris to make film for them and only them, for the retail market. Eastman produces their own film for Hollywood which is completely separate from Alaris. When Alaris went up for sale, Eastman allowed the general public to buy Ektachrome aka 5294 at $520 a can. They were making tons of money on this till Alaris got bought by a private equity firm and closed that little side business Eastman had. They not only stopped the sale of 5294 but also all motion picture film to anyone outside Hollywood. When the dust settles from motion picture film being cut off, it's going to be interesting to see who is still selling it. Cinestill, Flic Film and the FPP all buy their film directly from Kodak. Other companies might also but those are the ones I am aware of. The separation and joint venture of Eastman and Alaris is confusing and misunderstood by many.

[@andrewwatts970]

I was under the impression that Alarisset prices for certain films (Kodak Gold, pro 400) something else. But Eastman set prices for professional films and Cine films. Something like that

[@TucsonAnalogWorkshop]

Alaris is a distributor who has the exclusive rights to sell Kodak STILL film only. Alaris was created in order to pay off a debt to the UK Kodak employee's pension plan. A private equity firm has now acquired that debt. The important thing to remember is that there are many, many filmmakers outside of Hollywood--independents, students, advertising agencies, music producers, and more. There are filmmakers who buy anywhere from 1 single roll of Super 8 for a wedding, to thousands of rolls of 35mm for a feature film. I am one of those independents and have been ordering 8mm, 16mm and occasionally 35mm direct from Eastman Kodak since the 1990s. You generally place your order over the phone and talk to a live person. Kodak does not want companies re-selling motion picture film as still film (except Cinestill). I don't think a photographer who wants a 400' roll of 35mm for personal use should have a problem acquiring that film, as long as they are smart enough to prepare a plausible story about their movie production when/if asked.

[@robert_may]

I've been shooting a lot of Kodak Gold in 120 this past year, and it kinda made Portra a bit redundant for a lot of usecases in that format, as it performs well enough for significantly less money. If they raise the price I'll just end up shooting less of it, I guess 🤷 Harman Phoenix in 120 isn't at the same level yet but it's not going to be that long before they catch up, considering their current progress, and I'm looking forward to the competition it brings in prices. Currently it's a more situational-use film, but when it's closer in terms of quality I'll likely just shoot whichever is cheapest at the time 🤔

[@Cunning_Jester]

Is this going to affect cinestill too?

[@michaelsherck5099]

In the old days Kodak was known for monopolistic behavior and only "reformed" when Congress started investigating. They would quickly license their film to a couple of third parties until the heat was off and then go back to being Kodak. This is just more of the same.

[@carlmcneill1139]

I think casual shooters that don't use film a lot perinatal wasn't the cheap gold 200 or 120. More serious shooters that are trying to be more creative probably shoot portra instead of gold. They're already paying more because they want that look that portra gives you. It's considered a premium film. I've only shot one roll since I've started shooting film again and I haven't developed it yet. For b&w I prefer Tmax as of right now. I haven't tried tri-x yet but I wasn't to. I shot a roll of fp4 at 400 ISO and pushed film for the first time. I was impressed how good the grain was considering I pushed it 2 stops. I like it too. I do plan to get more and shoot it at normal ISO settings. I also developed it with hc-110. It was my first time using it as well.

[@DJJS7]

Fuji love ❤

[@Joshua_Ott]

Does this mean that Cinestill film is going away 😢

[@hanssvenssn2516]

So if there’s another price increase in 2025, I’ll really be at my limit. I’ll shoot through my stored film and then stop shooting analog for a while-except for jobs where it’s paid for. It will hurt badly but i can’t justify the prices for anymore.

[@elk3407]

Good news, Lucky should be coming out with their color film soon which is going to undercut everyone price-wise Bad news, Lucky is Chinese so Trump's tariffs might make that $5.6 price point higher.

[@aengusmacnaughton1375]

Is there any legal/contractual reason that Kodak hasn't been selling their cinema film (minus remjet) directly as still photo film?????

[@RompingBronco]

Not to my knowledge but with their existing business model it doesn’t really make as much sense for them to sell it like that versus selling it as their motion picture line, but maybe if the market shifts they’ll change direction? We’ll see!

[@andrewbarnum5040]

They should but they don't sell it to anyone without the Remjet, not even Cinestill. Cinestill buys the film from Kodak and ships it to somewhere in the UK to remove the Remjet and then Cinestill cuts it down and does their own packaging.

[@josht1152]

​@@andrewbarnum5040they do business very closely with cinestill, and cinestill also operates directly out of their factory in Rochester as well as the UK. My guess is they have contracts in place with cinestill in efforts to kill the respooling industry which greatly impacts cinestill's profit margin. I also know cinestill has a huge hand in manufacturing the new Kodak chemicals

[@TucsonAnalogWorkshop]

Kodak does not want companies re-selling motion picture film as still film (except Cinestill). I think they have every right to police their product. I have been both a filmmaker and still photographer for 30+ years. Always order my film directly from Eastman. Best thing is to place your order over the phone and talk to a live person. I don't think a photographer who wants a 400' roll of 35mm for personal use should have a problem acquiring that film, as long as they are smart enough to prepare a plausible story about their movie production when/if asked. (Of course it will have remjet, as mentioned above).

[@aengusmacnaughton1375]

@@TucsonAnalogWorkshop -- Thank you for the info -- has Kodak (Alaris/Eastman) taken any legal action against the (many) other companies reselling the motion picture film?

[@RickMahoney2013]

It’s all hearsay talk about the facts only.

[@czelendzerii3985]

The Nana camera is a straight up scam

[@mikebot1983]

ProImage 100 is SOLD OUT

[@javaman4584]

A film camera can cost a couple of hundred dollars, and lenses can be had for cheap. Yes, it's a pain to have to pay maybe $30 to purchase a roll of film and have it processed, but how many rolls will you realistically use in a year? A digital SLR can cost thousands of dollars, and each lens can cost from hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars. I think shooting film will end up being cheaper for most people even with the price increases.

[@bartoszpajak2285]

Well, I used 65 rolls in 2024 and I think 40 rolls per year is the annual minimum for me. It’s getting pretty steep….

[@RompingBronco]

Honestly not a bad thing to consider, I’ll have to do some math and make a breakdown of costs, could be a great video!

[@javaman4584]

@@RompingBronco It would. You can get into digital cheaply by buying used and using manual focus lenses, which is what I did. On the film side, a lot depends on the condition you're willing to tolerate. I bought a couple of lenses to fill in gaps in my collection, but I always end up buying pristine copies from Japanese dealers so I pay more.

[@bartoszpajak2285]

@@RompingBronco In Europe, a roll of Portra 400 costs, including development, 28-30 US$ already! That means you can buy a Nikon D750 (which I have owned since 2017; it's a great camera) in pristine condition for around 20 rolls of Portra or 27 rolls of Ultra Max (when scanning on your own that is, otherwise it's even less!).

[@hanssvenssn2516]

​@@bartoszpajak2285Exactly! If Portra prices go up again, it’s gonna be completely nuts. Still shooting my D750 also btw. ;)

[@reformedfilmlab]

👋

[@RompingBronco]

Looking forward to getting my film from you guys!

[@RazgrizIV]

Omg...

[@b6983832]

You should consider not editing your videos so much. It is not nice to watch a footage, which bumps in every two seconds because of too extensive cutting and pasting. Try to speak at least 20 seconds without cuts.

[@seanimal_rex]

It’s convenient to blame Kodak’s nefarious desire to be profitable for shutting down the hand-rubbed motion picture film cottage industry. It wasn’t at all brought on by a certain film store’s very public airing of entitled grievances, all of which were predicated on buying bulk rolls on the side, marking them up after processing (for a profit) and cutting Kodak’s sole consumer film distributor out of the loop. The film community has a toxic obsession with making Kodak and CineStill out to be some evil empire. Everything on earth gets more expensive with every passing second, yet many in our community take it as a personal affront if film prices go up at all lol. It’s exhausting.

[@RompingBronco]

While I can see where you’re coming from that wasn’t my attempt to vilify Kodak just acknowledge that the market is shifting, I do feel like Cinestill’s prices for what they offer has always been egregious and companies like Flic Film have been transparent about the product they offer and their attempts to keep it as low as they can for the consumer, hence why I suggest them or Reflx lab. Kodak price increases are common this type of year as mentioned in the video and their decision to be more selective of who they sell their product to is up to them but in that same hand it’s worth talking about the effects that will have on the industry. I appreciate the comment though and for the alternative perspective!

[@josht1152]

​@@seanimal_rexcinestill doesn't buy minimum quantities of remjet free film. They operate directly out of the Kodak factory. Their product is most definitely less expensive per roll to create than buying motion picture film from Kodak at consumer price and paying someone an hourly wage to wash and respool it (usually by hand) for a consumer market. Don't forget the cost of buying canisters and cassettes at retail prices as well as the cost of branding. That's not to say Cinestill is a terrible brand, but their markup is considerable. By no stretch of the imagination is offering the same product for half the price and still turning a considerable profit a nefarious deed. Trying to run out all other competition however is. Cinestill threatening lawsuits on the term 800T (which is a technical spec therefore not available for trademark) was a thinly veiled attempt to create a monopoly. Reflx lab, Atlanta film lab, and flic film also offer products that Cinestill doesn't offer and probably never will. If cinestill went out of business the film community would not suffer one bit

[@armenianzombie]

no, the cinestill guys are dicks, and always have been dicks, who fundamentally view their average customer as stupid. They deserve to be vilified.

[@TucsonAnalogWorkshop]

@@seanimal_rex I agree Cinestill prices are egregious. Let's not forget Cinestill sold a very inferior film with spots and scratches for several years before they got their act together. Their success is largely undeserved. And the "risk" on their part is nil compared to manufacturing film from scratch. If Kodak's profits are threatened too much by the presence of Cinestill (and others), then there's no color film period and none of this will matter. Filmmakers aren't cannibalizing sales of other films when they buy motion picture film. Cinestill is.