Nikonian72 Loc: Chico CA

What he said!

nikon_jon Loc: Northeast Arkansas

In the last sentence you asked "What happened?" I think paranoia would be a good explanation. When the Hunt brothers started manipulating the silver market in the 70's it seemed that Kodak began to operate in a state of abject fear. They began hording silver and it seems that became their total focus. I once talked to a man who had been on a tour of Kodak facilities and someone he knew there showed him a huge warehouse filled with silver ingots. I think the man would have lost his job if it were known that he did that. The people there jokingly called it Fort Rochester (as in Fort Knox). When a person or corporation begins acting like Silas Marner and counts his money every day rather than using it, he loses touch with reality and also soon loses money too.

My comment to the 'Great Yellow Father' would be, "If you have lost your nerve in a competitive market, sell your company to someone who can do something with it. Then you can go into your warehouse and count your silver and forget the rest of the world'.

ggttc Loc: TN

and then there was kodachrome 25

sinatraman Loc: Vero Beach Florida, Earth,alpha quaudrant

what kodak should do is buy olympus and move manufacturing of their cameras to the USA, and proudly advertise that fact. it wouls save 2 brands as people would buy american cameras if they were offered.

pdwoodswood Loc: Lewisville, NC

I think it is too late for Kodak to do anything and Polaroid is waiting on the guy that plays "Taps"

BBNC

Even x-ray has gone digital. All the interested doctors can see your x-rays all at the same time on their computer monitors, as soon as they are taken.

Xiaoding Loc: North Carolina, USA

The old days were not that great.

Kodak had a great knack for making blah, boring films and blah, pastely prints.

Agfachrome blew Kodak away. Then FUJI. Thank God for the Japanese! They saved photography!

I worked in printing back in the day, even the Kodak film for printing blew. It was just that no one knew it, because they were brainwashed into buying nothing but Kodak. I remember when the guy from GAF came and showed us what they had...another "Kodak" moment! As in, Kodak gone!

Another mediocre American company, groupthinking itself into the rear view mirror. Don't miss them.

BBNC

Fujichrome 50 was great film, but had little on Kodachrome 25, the main drawback of which was the slooooooow speed. I don't miss using film, no matter whose it was.

rayford2 Loc: New Bethlehem, PA

Kodak's dilemma is nothing new to this country. The very able managers are a thing of the past thanks in part to obsolete college curriculum and a host of lawyer related issues perpetrated by guess who? The politicians who are themselves lawyers, NOT managers by any means.
Add to this the tremendous amount of American invented technology that was exported to countries that could make the same product for 1/10th of what we could...long live the rich people.
To rub salt in the wound our fearless leaders decided to create a "free trade" thingy that guaranteed an enoromous loss of jobs but guaranteed the major stock holders and upper management of companies that "outsourced" everything a blank check.
Can we compete with the foreign companies? Sure. But it would mean getting rid of the bells and whistles we now enjoy though taxation and lowering our standard of living, including pay decreases, and getting rid of the political stupidity that lawyers get rich on. Too bad China doesn't import lawyers.
Another way is to tax hell out of imports until we reached a happy trade median which will not make Americans happy, and certainly won't be considered by Washington.
Besides, some people believe this would start a trade war and eventually lead to some military confrontation.
That being said, watch out for the candidate that shakes your hand, smiles like a cheshire cat, and promises the moon to you. Their agenda is different from yours.

rayford2 Loc: New Bethlehem, PA

And I loved that Panatomic-X film.

PhotoGeezer Loc: North East Ohio

My favorite was Tri-X pushed to 800 for sporting events and Panchromatic-X (Pan-X) and Pan-X Plus - Professional when you wanted to blow them up big.

Shot a lot of high school sports when I worked for a daily newspaper for a couple years.

sinatraman Loc: Vero Beach Florida, Earth,alpha quaudrant

don't like american companies? Don't let the Statue of Liberty hit you in the but as you GO HOME to asia. Kodak made faboulous film like tri-x kodachrome etc. It also produced vital films and other war matireal to help contribute to the effort to keep china, korea, hong kong, India from becoming provinces in the greater japanese empire. As it was said by the silent majority in the late 60's "America, love it or LEAVE it. Also it is extremly classless and rude to dis kodak and praise the Japanese on the 70th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

photosbyhenry Loc: Apple Valley MN

don't like american companies? Don't let the Statue of Liberty hit you in the but as you GO HOME to asia. Kodak made faboulous film like tri-x kodachrome etc. It also produced vital films and other war matireal to help contribute to the effort to keep china, korea, hong kong, India from becoming provinces in the greater japanese empire. As it was said by the silent majority in the late 60's "America, love it or LEAVE it. Also it is extremly classless and rude to dis kodak and praise the Japanese on the 70th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.[/quote]

What he said.

Xiaoding Loc: North Carolina, USA

Lame. Fade to black.

pdwoodswood Loc: Lewisville, NC

You are correct, Kodak was a mediocre company with mediocre products. I still think their 35mm film mounted in slides was an excellent product.Their cameras just mediocre. When faced with increasing competitiveness from Japan, Kodak's response was only mediocre and without vision.
Reputation mediocre. The franchise