The popularity of film is on an undeniable upswing. As a result, prices of cameras have crept up and up to a point that one might think that at least film itself can provide some stability. Think again. 

Coming to you from Nicos Photography Show, this video takes you through his thoughts on the question “Has Kodak Lost Its Mind?” It is a difficult question to answer for several reasons. Firstly, Kodak has been progressively raising prices on all of their films for several years, and they typically pair their price increases with a statement saying that the cost of materials has been increasing and/or that they are investing in production so that they can provide more options of film and more stock for each film. The first time that I can recall seeing such a statement, I was quite happy for Kodak. I thought that the underlying message was that film was gaining popularity and Kodak wanted to stay on top of it. Has that materialized? No. 

As you may recall, I penned an article a month ago in a similar vein to this video. The fact of the matter is that while COVID-19 has disrupted production and inventory across the board, I have not personally seen anything else that has got this out of hand. Prices of film, particularly Kodak film, have increased by 50% and for some films, nearly doubled over the past three years. Much of that price increase predates COVID-19 by a lot, and yet, there have been no new films since Ektachrome E100. If you go to a film shop today, you will likely see mainly empty shelves with price tags that are going up constantly. 

I cannot help but feel like Kodak has not lived up to what they promised when they started the price hikes. What are your thoughts? Are you still shooting film? If so, are you still shooting Kodak?