• Home
  • Reviews Index
  • Best Gear
  • Inspiration
  • Learn
  • Disclaimer
  • Staff/Contact Info
  • Media Kit
  • Membership
Bridging Tech and Creative Photography
Bridging Tech and Creative Photography
Bridging Tech and Creative Photography
News

Dear Kodak, This is the Best Time to Make Sensors Again

Chris Gampat
No Comments
01/08/2021
3 Mins read
Chris Gampat The Phoblographer Leica M9 at Bryant Park (10 of 27)

It’s time that Kodak gets back to the image sensor business.

Dearest Kodak,

I remember fondly back to a time when you made imaging sensors. Specifically, I remember the ones you sold to Leica. They were wonderful. The sensors you made too were wonderful. Sadly, the industry didn’t appreciate them. And I hold myself partially responsible for not appreciating what your sensors did at lower ISOs. All we cared about were high ISO results. But if there were ever a time for you to come back to the digital photo world, now is the time, Kodak.

I’m not talking about some of the odd products that you make. Instead, I think you need to sell sensors again. I remember when you sold some to Olympus. And I remember how beautiful the images were. I genuinely thought so since Olympus was a more affordable brand for early 20s Chris. 

The situation is this. There are really three sensor makers right now. Tower Jazz is most likely used by Leica a lot now. Sony controls how a lot of the photo industry functions. But they’re dictating too much over Sigma, Panasonic, and Nikon. Canon isn’t sharing their own sensors. And Samsung pulled out. We need more competition. We don’t need more camera and lens makers. But cameras should shine with solid image quality, and your sensors should be helping those lenses shimmer in the eyes of passionate photographers.

I know many of your employees haven’t liked the truth that’s come from this blog. But you can’t deny that the manufacturers understand the importance of us keeping them all in check. They’ve literally told us this. 

Your focus on film is cool. When Ektachrome was announced, we were one of the few to get the NDA. So why not make a digital Ektachrome sensor? 

Heck, why not make a variety of sensors? A Portra sensor? A Tri-X sensor? A T-Max sensor? An Ektachrome sensor? Or better yet, why not let the manufacturers use that and have that rendered for themselves? 

I’d really love a CCD sensor. Panasonic’s L mount lenses would look wonderful at ISO 50 with a CCD sensor. Nikon’s Z mount lenses would make a Portra sensor at ISO 160 look so wonderful! You could get so much more done in the photo industry, and you could return in a tremendous way.

Another reason why this is the best time is because we’re in a global recession. That’s the best time for a company to grow. Trust me, I’d know. I founded this site in the last one. Cameras started getting killed by smartphones in around 2011. We’re 10 years later. Looking on in the next 10 years, the industry is supposed to come back and evolve. That’s what the watch industry did, at least when the nail was put in the coffin in 2001—cameras and passion products. Passionate photographers buy them. Hobbyists buy them. Professionals buy them. And creators need them. But we need more variety.

To clarify more, you don’t need to make cameras. That’s not necessary. But you can continue on with a B2B model. A Kodak digital brownie would be a super cool idea, but we don’t need it. We need to strengthen the companies currently around. And you and Samsung are probably in the best position to do so.

Sincerely,

Chris Gampat

Editor in Chief/Founder

camera manufacturers ektachrome imaging kodak lenses portra sensors
Shares
Written by

Chris Gampat

Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.
Previous Post

Jason De Freitas Transforms New Zealand Into An Infrared Wonderland

Next Post

Become a Better Photographer and Editor in 2021 for Just $9

The Phoblographer © 2023 ——Bridging Tech and Creative Photography
Bridging Tech and Creative Photography
  • Home
  • Our Staff
  • Editorial Policies
  • Media Kit
  • Membership
  • App Debug