“We’ll be in film as long as there’s a market for it.”

I heard this statement not once, but 4 times this year at PMA . And the people saying it were Agfa, Ilford, Fuji, and Kodak.

I met with reps from each of these companies while at PMA. Each one talked about their current film offerings, and their plans for the future (the ones they could share with me, anyway.) When I asked them if they were planning on staying with film for the foreseeable future, they each paused, looked me right in the eye, and said “yes.”

This I believe is the state of film today. The people who are in it, are in it forever. And on the industry side, the story appears to be the same. I believe the film community is consolidating, and I believe there is still enough interest in it to warrant a few industry surprises over the next few years. Here is a rundown of my interactions with the leading film manufacturers and companies making hardware for film users this year at PMA:

Agfa
Agfa may be perhaps the most misunderstood manufacturer in this group. Believed to be “dead,” they are very much still in the market of making film, and are still active in Europe. Their problem has come in finding distribution here in the U.S. They are still producing APS and positive film. Their story with black and white is that it is not currently being produced, but they are selling off their stockpile of black and white before looking at producing more. Despite these manufacturing and distribution issues, Agfa still pledges allegiance to selling film.

Ilford
In 2005, a year after filing for bankruptcy protection, Ilford split in two. It’s chrome and paper products stayed under the Ilford brand name. A group of Ilford’s managers bought its black and white film division and created a new company to continue producing Ilford’s black and white film line. I bumped into one of those managers as I poked around Ilford’s booth. His name is Howard Hopwood, and he was perhaps the most personable man I met at PMA this year. Taking the time to talk about Ilford film, the company’s split, and future plans for Iflord’s products, I never once felt I was being a nag. He explained to me that he and the other managers who bought Ilford film named the company Harman after Alfred Harman who founded the Ilford company in 1879. He told me the story of how hard Ilford is fighting to keep producing its film lines. With regards to their research and development budget, Hopwood joked “we spend our R&D money keeping them the same.” He explains that as materials required for producing film get harder to find, Ilford’s R&D budget goes into the search for materials required to keep films they already have. I laugh and tell him that it is very indicative of their commitment to the film product that they continue working so hard to keep it going. He says that Harman is still in the market of producing products for film, as evidenced by the release of the SFX200 line last summer. He remarks at the timing of the release of this IR-like film and its synchronicity with the demise of Kodak’s IR film at about the same time. Further, he further explains Ilford’s commitment to film by sharing with me their “Defend the Darkroom” project in England. Hopwood believes that the darkroom is being neglected in educational institutions and his “Defend the Darkroom” campaign is designed to restore and educate people on the use of the darkroom. He plans to continue holding classes on darkroom production and usage. I asked him if he considered bringing his Defend the Darkroom program across the pond to the States. He sighed and stated it would be difficult as Harman only has 4 employees working in this country. Still, I was impressed with this man’s passion for film photography and the darkroom and thanked him very much for his time in talking with me.

Fuji
The big news to come out of camp Fuji this year is the production of a pair of prototype hand built 6×7 folding rangefinder cameras. I walked up to a group of Fuji reps working at their booth and asked if they could comment on the rumor of a Fuji rangefinder being built. “It’s not a rumor!” one said amongst a group of smiles, leaning forward and pointing me toward a display box in the center of the walkway. I walked over and gazed in at what was indeed, a pair of folding 6×7 rangefinders. They were intriguing creatures, to say the least. One silver, one black. I took several photos of them and then wandered back to the group of workers. What can you tell me about them?” I asked. “Not much” was the answer. Fuji is being pretty tight-lipped, I was told. Still, I was lead to Christian Fridholm, their film guy, who told me what he knew. Fuji built these 2 prototypes to gauge public interest. And public interest, I was told, at the show was high. That was all he could tell me, it was all he knew.
We moved on to film, and Christian talked to me about Fuji’s line of films. He commented on the recency of Fuji’s films, with many of them having been revamped in the last several years, the Provia line he mentioned specifically. Of particular interest to him and I both however was the recent reintroduction of Velvia 50. Fuji had stopped making their Popular Velvia 50 line and had introduced their new Velvia 100 film, to complement their Velvia 100F. Now, the 50 was back. I looked at samples of Velvia 50, Velvia 100, and 100F side by side on a light table. “Why did they bring back the 50?” I asked. It turns out there was a bit of a story to it all. Just like Ilford’s troubles getting the necessary materials to make their black and white films, Fuji ran into chemistry problems with their Velvia 50. It wasn’t that the film was not popular, it was that for environmental reasons, they could no longer produce it. So out went the Velvia 50, and in came the new 100 Professional. However, though the 50 line went away, demand for Velvia 50 became so great that the head of Fuji film declared “I don’t know care how you do it, make the 50 again!” So the search began for a way to make the Velvia 50 again using all new materials. The result, he assured me, was identical to the old Velvia 50, but using new materials.
I asked about Fuji’s plans for film in the future. Any new changes or offerings? He couldn’t comment, but when I pressed him he guessed, based on his own sales figures, that if anything were to change, we might see the 100F line dropped. This is not official Fuji information, by the way, simply a thought on his part. He stated that the volume simply has not been there for the 100F. I asked him what he would like to see, and he tells me he would like to see their black and white offering, Acros receive the attention he thinks it deserves. I could tell he was passionate about this film from the tone of his voice. I ask again about the future of film at Fuji. He reassures me they are in it for good. “We are committed to the culture of photography” he says.

Kodak
I have become “friends” with Kodak’s film rep, Scott DiSabato. I say that knowing that Scott is a very outgoing guy and probably “friends” with all the press who come to meet with him at PMA every year. Still, I am introduced by him to the other Kodak reps as “the film resurrection guy” after a picture I took of him last year with a mysterious halo around his head. That picture I took, it turns out, has gotten around. A couple of the other reps smile and nod knowingly. I joke about a hint another rep dropped about a new Kodak film coming out this year. Neither of them is willing to comment any further however…
The big news from Kodak this PMA is the redesign of Tmax 400. It has been rebuilt to be the sharpest, finest grained 400 speed film in the world. Scott shows me pictures of the new Tmax 400 compared to its closest rival, a film that goes unnamed. The difference in sharpness, grain and detail is striking. Scott tells me that Kodak also went through the process of revamping its Tmax 100 line. They produced a new Tmax 100, and at the end of the day, chose not to release it. “Why would they do that?” I asked. Because they were listening to the customer, it turns out. See, after their work in revamping the 100 speed Tmax, the differences were subtle. Kodak might have gone ahead with the film release anyway, announcing the new and improved Tmax 100! But they didn’t. And the reason why, Scott tells me, is because photographers have built a culture around this film, people have developed a zone system around it, and Kodak, at the end of the day, decided to think about the photographers out there using their film and left well enough alone. At hearing this, I had to commend Kodak in their commitment not only to film, but the community of film photographers as well. I suddenly saw how connected Kodak was to their community, and more than a film release showed me how committed Kodak is to film.
Of additional note this year are the revamped 400 speed Portra films being introduced in quarter 1 (Portra 400 NC) and quarter 2 (Portra 400 VC.) Scott showed me examples of those films blown up nicely, with little sign of grain given their size. He says Kodak has been gleaning advancements made in its motion picture department and trickling that technology down into it’s still-frame films. The new Portras will be the first to show this influence. Of other note as well this year is the demise of Kodak’s IR film. He tells me that Kodak made the decision following slumping sales of the IR film. He tells me that Kodak made the announcement with plenty of time for the film’s fans to load up before it left.
Scott tells me that Kodak conducted a survey last summer of professional photographers and found that 2/3 were still shooting film. He explained to me that as the volume of film sales has decreased, Kodak’s cost control measures have increased, resulting in a steady line of profits for Kodak and product prices for consumers. He tells me that transparency films have been hit the hardest by the advent of digital. Interestingly, he also tells me that 35mm sales are being outsold by sheet film. This surprised me at first, but then it began to make sense. Those who are in film, are going to stay in film, and I imagine the large format folks are going to be some of the last ones to leave. I leave Scott and the Kodak booth content in knowing the future of sheet films looks good.

Holga
Well, why not? Along the same lines as the exciting new Fuji prototypes and the recent Ilford and Kodak film releases, Holga has expanded their camera line with 4 new models. Three of those new models are 35mm versions of the classic Holga camera, and the 4th new model is a pinhole version of the classic 120 camera. FS Distribution has 3 of the 4 new Holgas on display in their booth. The first is the new Holga 135, simply a 35mm version of their classic camera. Next on the list is the Holga 135PC, a pinhole version of the same 35mm camera. And finally, a camera they did not have available for viewing, the 135 BC, a 35mm Holga with the edges inside the camera rounded to produce the “vignette” look that the Holga is famous for. The “BC” I am told, stands for “black corner.” In true Holga simplicity.

Epson
In the film scanner department, Epson continues to push the envelope with their popular flatbed film scanners. The V750 Pro remains their top-of-the-line flatbed film scanner, capable of scanning at 6400 dpi with wet scanning capacity as well. Of newer interest though is a new technology coming into Epson’s middle-of-the-road scanners. The new V500 is the first Epson flatbed scanner to use LED lights to scan images rather than traditional bulbs. The difference? The LED’s require no warm up time! Scanning is instantaneous with the new V500. This new technology, I am told, will travel upward through the Epson line and most likely be in the replacement for the V750 Pro, which I was told is not likely for several more years. The V500 also utilizes a CCD for scanning, rather than a lens as in the past. By the way, I was told that another reason for Epson’s switch to LED’s was their concern for the environment!

Back in our hotel room, on the last day of my trip to PMA, Photo John asked me what I was most excited about this year at PMA. I thought for a moment. Was it the D3? With its stunning ability to capture images as a resounding iso? Was it Olympus and their ability to anything-proof their compact cameras? Was it the Sigma DP1 and its DSLR-sized sensor? My mind ran over all the latest, coolest gadgets. I even thought about the Fuji rangefinders and how exciting it might be to see them put into production. But I realized it was none of these things. The thing at PMA I was most excited about was the film manufacturers’ commitment to film. Time and time again, I kept seeing their commitment show up. The manufacturers are in it for good, and they are developing new products that show that they are. I saw the look on rep’s faces as they described their favorite film or talked about how they are “defending the darkroom.” I saw the sincerity on their face as they each turned to me and said;

“We’ll be in film as long as there’s a market for it.”

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