New film from Kodak

“To help meet the growing demand for film, Kodak is excited to announce the launch of two color-negative films, KODACOLOR 100 and KODACOLOR 200, in 135 format rolls,” Kodak said in an Instagram post. “For the first time in over a decade, Kodak will sell these films directly to distributors, in an effort to increase supply and help create greater stability in a market where prices have fluctuated.”

https://www.404media.co/kodak-is-selling-its-own-film-again-for-the-first-time-in-a-decade

Now, I wonder, did I accidentally sell my film cameras with my dad’s estate, or are they in a box somewhere in my house? I honestly don’t know. For a long time after I stopped using them (or shooting film at all), I kept my grandfather’s Konica, the camera I learned on, and my Nikon N70, the first SLR I purchased myself (woo Ritz Camera employee discount in 1998). But I do not know where they are NOW.

I have thought about buying a Nikon F5 – that was my dream camera back then, Nikon’s flagship, and WAY out of my price range as a poor college student. But now you can get a nice on for less than $500 on eBay. The question is whether I would actually use it, or just use my Canon mirrorless. Which I ALSO do not use nearly as much as I should.

Back to the article – in general I find discussions of which film to use kind of tedious. I shot a lot of Fuji back when I was shooting film, but that was largely because they had a deal with Ritz so it was cheaper than Kodak. I then told myself that Kodak color was too warm, which I probably made up so that I was making an artistic choice rather than a financial one. It would be fun to shoot a roll or two of Fuji Velvia, which is now about $1/frame, not including developing. I’d have to be really careful with it.

All that to say I don’t really care what film Kodak is packaging now – just the fact that they are expanding film production or even just upping marketing of film is good for people who shoot film or are considering it.

Lastly, the link is from 404 Media, of which I am a paid subscriber. They do good journalism (largely more important stuff than this piece).

New camera day!

We were in New York City for spring break this past week and it just so happens our hotel was only a few blocks from B&H Photo, perhaps the greatest camera store on the planet

I’ve been shooting with a Nikon D300 for a while now – I still think of it as my new camera. I bought it as a “new dad” gift when my wife was pregnant with our first child. That child is now most of the way through her sophomore year of high school, so that shows you where my sense of the passage of time is.

I had always thought I’d always shoot Nikons. I bought my first in about 1998 when I was working at Ritz Camera. It was an N70 SLR, and I bought it because it fit my hands so much better than the comparable Canon. Since I worked in a camera store, I got to spend A LOT of time playing with the cameras, and it was a no-brainer. The Canon was a nice camera, it just felt too small.

Fast forward to today and I think Nikon really dropped the ball. I hate that I need an adapter to use my old lenses, but everyone is doing that. It really kills loyalty – if my old equipment is no longer compatible, I lose a lot of incentive to stay with one manufacturer. And I think the Canon EOS R6 and R6 Mark II slot in just between the Nikon Z7 and Z8. I don’t mean to be a snob (well, maybe a little) but the Z7 doesn’t feel like a pro camera to me. The Z8 does, but it’s significantly more expensive than the EOS R6. I just couldn’t justify it.

My only qualm is that I’ve been shooting almost everything for years with a Tamron 17-50 F2.8. Having a max aperture of 2.8 on the whole lens is amazing. But the Canon 24-70 2.8 was just too much money to justify today. I got the kit with a 24-105 F4 IS, which is a cool lens, just not as fast as I’m used to. Hopefully I don’t regret it.

Keep your eyes peeled for the first photos from the new camera. The battery is still charging and it’s killing me.