Good Morning Alex, This is Debby Parker, David’s Wife,

Thank you for the note and understanding, David has been very ill for quite a
long time now and I am filtering through all of the orders he had on file and
trying to get them all out to the customers, I will pull your order and get it
out to you as soon as I possibly can, I have had to completely learn what
David did, in order to start full filling orders again, and it has taken me a
bit of time to learn this whole process, but rest assured, I will get it out
to you as soon as I possibly can.

Thank you again.

Debby Parker

Rest assured orders are still being filled, and I hope anyone else expecting their piece of glass is patient in light of unfortunant circumstances.

April 18th, 2008, Mobberley, Cheshire UK and Minnetonka, MN, USA — HARMAN technology Limited and its monochrome brand, ILFORD Photo and Polaroid Worldwide have been in discussions about ILFORD Photo taking on production of Polaroid’s black and white professional instant sheet film. Despite their best efforts, together the prospective partners have determined that they can not find a commercially viable way forward.

HARMAN’s Chairman and Managing Director, Phil Harris said. ” The processes involved in the manufacture and assembly of professional instant sheet film products are very demanding and it would require substantial investment to re-establish them at HARMAN technology’s site in Cheshire, England. When compared with current and projected sales for the products, it was clear that such an investment could not be justified.”

Phil Harris continues: ” While we had hoped to work together on continuing the production of instant sheet film, it is cost prohibitive to meet the declining demand. As a company, we are saddened that such an inspirational form of expression will disappear, but we will always remain staunchly committed to the long term future of monochrome photography in all its facets and we will continue to do everything we can to support it”.

[source here]

So, a no go it seems. Remember Fuji still makes instant film though, so they’re our best bet. Some wider distribution or an expanded product line and everyone would be happy, I imagine.
Until then, you can [get it from megaperls].

Kodak-Branded SLR – 6th of march, 2007

‘Vivitar has plans to develop a Kodak SLR camera similar to the Vivitar V3000s,’ said Vivitar UK CEO Abbas Bhanji who added: ‘The planned KV100 is, at the moment, at the development stages and once released will be aimed at educational institutes who specialise in traditional photography.’ …

… Initial predictions of the death of film have been somewhat premature, according to Joel Proegler, general manager of Film Capture at Eastman Kodak who told us: ‘Kodak has focused on the digital message for the past four years. As we come out of that transition, one thing is very clear: film is a very profitable part of the business’.

[source]

Now, a simple case of re-branding an existing camera? Perhaps, but if it’s “in development”, perhaps not. Some quick research turns up the specs on the Vivitar V3000 – it’s sort of a modern Pentax K1000 with a plastic body. Pentax K mount, manual everything, built in light meter, split prism finder – really a solid basic SLR. Vivitar has never been a camera manufacturer, but has sold cameras under it’s brand since the 1970′s – so where this is actually being manufactured, I don’t know.
But, disregarding the speculation that will ensue – There will be a new Kodak brand, K mount, Manual SLR coming to the market. It’s aimed at educational institutions, and I’d expect it to be around 200-300USD.

Ilford in Japan
Japan likes film, and a fair few photographers quite like Ilford, so reports of Ilford pulling out of the japanese market upset a fair few people. Chugai Graphics released a statement, which you can find [here, in Japanese]. I don’t read Japanese, but those who do have pointed out what the beef was.
Essentially, Harman wanted Chugai to carry their range of Harman Inkjet products, as well as the Ilford Photo range (Remember, Harman is the parent company of Ilford Photo). Chugai already carry the old Ilford line of Inkjet papers (From Ilford Imaging, seperate to Ilford Photo.), and they apparently couldn’t handle products from two competing companies. Disagreement arose, and there was apparently some bad blood between the companies, and Chugai made an announcement before Ilford/Harman.

However, A new distributor has been appointed – CyberGraphics/Oriental, are now the distributor for Ilford in Japan. There’s even a Ilford Photo website for japan now: www.ilfordphoto.jp/

Simon has informally made the announcement:

Sorry to get to this late : HARMAN technology Limited have indeed appointed Cyber Graphics as its new and exclusive distributor in Japan. I am also pleased to announce that the full and comprehensive initial stocking order for our new distributor is on the water and we do not expect any stock outs whatsover to occur. A full press release will follow in the next few days.

Mr. Simon Galley [source]

So there you go. Ilford Photo are still in Japan, and it seems they’re happy about the new arrangement.

New camera from Fuji
This is big news, and I haven’t had time to report on it. Fuji have shown the prototype of a new folding medium format camera at PMA 2008, in Las Vegas.
It’s been affectionately dubbed, “That new Fuji Folder” – usually followed by a few sentences about mortgaging a house to buy one if that’s what it takes.
Pricing has been the biggest point of speculation – with anything from 500-2000USD suggested.

But, down to the cool stuff:
-It’s name is the GF670
-Rangefinder coupled 80mm lens f/3.5 lens
-Metal construction
-Manual film advance
-Both black and chrome finish available
-Shutter Speed is 1/500 to B
-Exposure compensation in 1/3 stops, 2 stops each way

The Speculation
-TTL light meter?
-Focal plane shutter or leaf (in the lens) shutter?
-flash sync at all speeds?
-Auto exposure? (There is an “A” on the shutter speed dial)

Some Photos:

Some Links:
-Initial Report
-The first images
-A video of the camera
-Czech blog, some more phots

David Bram got this response from Fuji USA:

“We wish to inform you that the new portable medium-format film camera displayed at the recent PMA 2008 Show is a prototype and currently not available. At this point in time, there is no additional information on the technical specifications, pricing, or release date for this prototype. “

[Check out David Bram's blog]

A lot of people got this same reply. It’s a generic response, which suggests they’re getting a hell of a lot of inquiries about this camera. That’s a good thing.

As others have pointed out, a lot is price dependent. If it’s too expensive, why wouldn’t you just buy a Mamiya 7? 6×7 is often touted as Ideal Format, the aspect ratio fits perfectly onto a 8×10 sheet of paper. I’d prefer 6×6 or 6×9, and there’s a lot of speculation about maybe more than one version if there’s enough demand. Maybe even a version with a wide angle lens?
This has been debated on various forums for quite a while, and we’ll just have to wait and see. Everyone has their personal preferences . Personally, I’ll consider one if it’s in ther 500-1200USD range.
Also, Cosina’s speculated to have their hand in this as well. Expect more at fotokina in September.

So that’s the state of traditional photography today. We’ve been left waiting for more from Fuji and Kodak, and I’ll report back as we get it.

HARMAN officially responds

Dear All,

We have received many, many e.mails from photo enthusiasts the world over regarding the possibility of our manufacturing monochrome POLAROID product. We have no idea whether this will be possible or practical, what I can tell you is that our Chairman and Managing Director Dr. Philip Harris has written to the CEO of POLAROID with the intention of discussing the possibility, should anything develop from this contact I will let you know.

Simon : ILFORD Photo / HARMAN technology Limited

[source]

That’s Simon Galley, Marketing Director of ILFORD/HARMAN. He’s the antidepressant of the analogue photography world.

And, with news from Polaroid itself, the phase-out timetable for Polaroid products has been released.

Last updated 18th of February, 2008. [source]

So there looks to be a safe supply of 600 film for the next year, but I wouldn’t put money on it. The larger the format, the more depressing the situation, it seems. Many have noted that 8×10 products are already hard to come across.

So, who could take up the slack from Polaroid? Many have suggested Fuji, and I’m leaning towards them too, as they already make a range of Polaroid-compatible instant products. But someone on the Film Wasters forum actually [took the time to email Harman], the benevolent parent company of Ilford, and got a response;

HARMAN technology Limited thank you for your email. It is nice to know that you consider us to be the natural home of Black & White.

We will be in touch with Polaroid as soon as possible to discuss the licensing of the product. We will be in contact with you to keep you up to date with the situation.

In the meantime please keep in touch with our website (www.harmantechnology.com)

So, an interesting suggestion. This is in regards to Polaroid’s black and white products, of course, which are still extensively used by artists. No words on products like 600 format film, which you’d think has the largest market (everyone has a Polaroid 600 camera stowed away somewhere). Perhaps we’ll hear more in the next few weeks.

In the mean time, if you’re so inclined, you can sign the ["Save Polaroid" Petition]. I don’t imagine it will get Polaroid to reverse their decision, but it shows support for the product, which helps suggest how viable it is to other companies.

There has been speculation about the demise of Polaroid for years now. Between the propaganda or honest belief of it’s leaving the marketplace, it’s never really been backed by anything from the company. Polaroid, of course, doesn’t talk to us much these days. Product discontinuation notices have come in the form of stickers in the past, and as they try to compete in a digital world, while their name is tacked onto crappy TV’s and digital cameras, their film range isn’t what it once was.
But this, it seems, is the end.

Polaroid shutting 2 Mass. facilities, laying off 150

Polaroid Corp., the Massachusetts company that gave the world instant film photography, is shutting down its film manufacturing lines in the state and abandoning the technology that made the company famous.
more stories like this

The Norwood and Waltham plants make large-format films used by professional photographers and artists. Polaroid also makes professional-grade films in Mexico, and its consumer film packs come from a factory in the Netherlands. All these plants are slated for closure this year. Polaroid chief operating officer Tom Beaudoin said the company is interested in licensing its technology to an outside firm that could manufacture film for faithful Polaroid customers. If that doesn’t happen, Polaroid users would have to find an alternative photo technology, as the company plans to make only enough film to last into next year.
[continue here...]

Seems like the end of an era. No more tacky “Christmas ’94″ photos.
Time to go start buying up stows of film…

It’s interesting to note FujiFilm still produces pack film (peel apart), which you can [buy from megaperls webshop here].