Parting Shot, Kodak May Call It Quits in Film

[upchuck]

I retouch and color correct images for advertising and catalogs for a living and have done so
since 1971. Having worked both with transparencies and digital files as originals, I would
say that a quality sep made from a quality tranny gives a better result lithographically. Having
worked in the "old fashion" manner with etching chemistry and darkroom exposure manipulation
as well as with Scitex circa 1992 and Photoshop beginning in 1996 I can speak from both
sides of the aisle. With an expensive digital camera that most pros use, the digital is excellent.
Photoshop uses the same type of manipulation that I did the old way, except it's faster and
you don't have to dump a 16x20 sheet of sep'd film when you're not getting the result you
want.
But it really doesn't matter which is better, as digital is taking over. I rarely work on
corrections from a scanned tranny anymore. In many cases what I see is a dumbing down
of what is considered quality. Film use in lithography is virtually gone and for other uses
will probably become an art form. So I make a fine living with digital images, and go with the flow.

[Victrola1]

I hope film survives.

If I threw away a camera system for every advance in film technology since 1970, I would be broke. The current digital reminds me of chromed fins. Throw it all away after a few years because it is no longer the current look.

Why is there no modular approach to the digital imaging area as there is with film? Lenses, bodies, throw it all away with the next great mega pixal claim.

A lot of camera manufacturers have tried going it alone on making their own digital system and lost. Minola and Konica are gone. Pentax is a ward of Samsung. Mamiya has been sold, so it is hitting medium format now. A few others are reported to be teetering. Could not the electronic image recording have been left to those who know and body features and optics the same?

Only professional photographers can hope to justify the cost of a new, quality digital system every five, or fewer, years. What of we who some what seriously play and may fill a tray with Dektol once a month?

I am in no rush to be rid of twin lens Mamiyas, nor old screw mount lensed 35mm's. If you know how to use them, they produce results. A Mamiya C3 I bought from pro I used to help photograph weddings is still used over 30 years later.

Who will still be using the $1,000 digital they buy today in 30 years?

Cheap digital has done one great thing for the mass amatuer market. Polaroid fuzzies of funny colors are gone.