Film photographers love the look of Kodak film. But increasingly, they’ve all been getting really annoyed at the company. Kodak, who was recently given a bit of a reprieve on all their debt, is raising prices on their 35mm and single-use camera products on January 1st, 2024. And because the company operates with retailers on an MSRP basis (Manufacturers suggest retail price), film photographers are bound to feel the squeeze soon. But with so many other new choices coming up in the film photography market, will the sun start to set on Kodak?
Thanks for the tip, Bill Manning and Brent Eysler.
The news first came from the Find Lab, which posted on Instagram that film prices were increasing quite a bit. However, they made a math error and recalculated what the costs would be. They clarified, stating that film prices would cost them (the retailer) more money. However, they wouldn’t be raising their prices on film sales to consumers.
We all know that that’s only a matter of time. They, and every other brand that sells Kodak 35mm film, will eventually raise their prices to compensate. So if you want some Kodak film, we recommend picking some up very soon before the prices go up even more.
Some folks probably might not understand why the price is going up, and why there might be such variability on what’s available on the market. That’s because of the manufacturer’s suggested retail price, which doesn’t have to be enforced to consumers. This is different from the manufacturers’ advertised price — which is enforced, for the most part, by camera and lens companies. Due to this, a store could charge you $24 a film roll if they wanted and Kodak just wouldn’t care. Fujifilm hasn’t cared either. It’s a known problem in the film world — but in reality, it isn’t the end of the world. If Kodak ends up dying, other brands will take their emulsions and such. And we’re pretty positive that the guy who started the Impossible Project and Supersense will go ahead and try to revive them.
To clarify all this, 120 and large format films aren’t experiencing price increases. As it is, more and more photographers are probably moving towards 120 because of the inherent quality.
More importantly, though, it’s worth wondering if we should even care anymore. Brands like Atlanta Film Co are making ECN-2 films available at a cheaper price point. Bill Manning, who sent us the tip about this, is the man behind Atlanta Film Co. — and we don’t have a reason to believe that he’s just trying to sell more film vs rolls processed via C41. Brands like Blue Moon Camera still sell the film at a very affordable rate while having customer service that we’d say puts B&H Photo to shame.
Just recently, Harman Phoenix was announced as an alternative that popped up. So, between them and Atlanta Film Co, a lot is going on. Lomography has traditionally used some variant of Kodak Film for lots of theirs, and so their prices are also bound to go up. There were even talks over a decade ago that they’d be getting some of the brand’s extinct emulsions.
So all this makes us wonder then: what’s the point of getting Kodak film or Fujifilm anymore? Kodak and Fuji have been rebranding one another’s film emulsions for a while now.