Re: [APML] The End of Tech Pan???

["Joseph O'Neil" <joneil@multiboard.com>]

>This past weekend I was out at our dark site and someone mentioned he had it
>good authority that Kodak was discontinuing Technical Pan film, beginning
>with the 4x5, then 120 versions and probably, finally the 35mm version. If
>this is true, the greatest all time astrophotography film will be history.


         I would hold off for a while before getting too worried.  Tech pan 
has a lot of applications.  The thing is, there are many, many rumours on 
the web that Kodak is discontinuing Tri-X, D76, etc, etc - all mainstream 
B&W products.  Kodak has cancelled a lot of B&W products, but these are 
mostly low selling products, that are hard to make.

         Now I might be eating my hat saying this, but still, I do notice 
that there are many camera shops going whole hog into digital, 
dropping  anything not mass market, consumer driven products.  One major 
camera store in downtown Torotno for exmapel in the past theree years has 
almost completley given up their entire darkroom and large & medium format 
lines.  One little desk left.

         When pushed on  why, I find some sales people bend the truth a wee 
bit.   They take a previous product that Kodak has dropped,a nd they say - 
"well kodak dropped their blah-blah-blah film, and we are pretty sure the 
way things are going, they will drop these otehr products too, so we are 
getting out ahead of time."

         Well, it's not at all true, but it does become a self full filling 
prophecy after a fashion.   I think they half belive it, and I think also 
there is more moeny in digital imaging than traditional film.  You see, 
anything digital, liek computers, needs an upgrade or replacement every 
three years on average.  Imagine if your Hasselblad or your Nikon or your 
Lecia was totally worthless after three years and you had to buy a whole 
new one.

         see why some camera store owners are , possibly even on an 
unconsious level, looking forward to the demise of film & related products, 
even if they have to hurry up the process a wee bit?  :)

Well, backt o tech pan, it might be true, but there have been so many 
rumours about so many product liek this being dropped, I tend to take it 
with a big grain of salt.
joe


http://www.oneilphoto.on.ca
http://www.multiboard.com/~joneil
"Una salus victus nullam sperare salutem"


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