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Digital photo has killed Kodak's Australian manufacturing plant, costing 600 jobs.
Where are heading to?

I saw this story last night, and was wondering why it was news. It's been something like 12 months now since they announced that they were stopping the manufacture of film cameras in the first world.

It's not at all surprising, and Kodak has been bleeding $$$ for quite some time. Certainly, were I working in a film based industry, I think that prudence would have suggested looking elsewhere or retraining as a good idea.

And please don't get me wrong; it's not that I don't feel some sympathy for these people who will be losing their jobs, but I don't think you neede to be rocket scientist to figure out that silver halide based imaging is on the way out.

I didn't know Kodak had manufacturing plants in Aust!

On the flip side, what about the jobs created due to the increasing market demand for flash memory? Electronics companies (including Kodak's other division) would have no doubt enjoyed huge increase in sales with everyone and his dog buying replacements for their "outdated" film P&S cameras.

My motto: "Everything happens for the better"

Yes, I agreed on both comments, I still shoot film with my F5 in some cases, but mostly the sympathy for all the 600 Aussie with no job but with huge mortgage and bills keep flowing in difference channels.
Technologies change on daily basic and we have to accept it as our live in this modern world same as computers, soon will be commodity in a corner shop

IMHO Kodak has been left so far behind in the digicam stakes...

gstark wrote:I saw this story last night, and was wondering why it was news.

Gary, I wondered that too. Certainly, it is a tough situation for the people working there, and presumably their specialised skills won't help with finding a new gig.

Maybe it is because there is an election?

But blind Harry riding a horse backwards on a dark night could have seen it coming. There must be countless supeseded technologies that have suffered a similar fate.

Greg

One has to feel sorry for the workers, but agreed this has been a long time coming.

Onyx, I think most of the flash memory seems to be made in China.

MHD, agreed on Kodak digicams, but not really our market, they are more like disposable digicams though I must say the Pro 14 does seem a good camera (with a bit of Nikon synergy)

Greg B wrote:There must be countless supeseded technologies that have suffered a similar fate.

Yep.

Offset printing would have to be one, and just have a look at how the newspaper industry has been changing. They've had to deal with significant changes in terms of printing - going from offset to digital - plus imaging (silver halide to digital), plus having to deal with web content and competition from what once were non-competing and complementary industries, such as broad and telecasting.

Minilabs would have to be another similarly affected area, and if they'r enot changing, they're dead. And look at how the camera stores' focus is changing. Film cameras are quickly becoming a minor part of their inventory.

But I have never considered Kodak to be a market leader, and for me, I think the greatest lost might be (if we've not already lost this) would be the local processing of Kodachrome stock.

Glen wrote:MHD, agreed on Kodak digicams, but not really our market, they are more like disposable digicams though I must say the Pro 14 does seem a good camera (with a bit of Nikon synergy)

There's actually a Canon version of the Pro 14 too, but my understanding is that there are still some significant firmware issues with both versions.

IOW, they're a bit like the Paris Hilton of cameras: nice body, but no brains.

IOW, they're a bit like the Paris Hilton of cameras: nice body, but no brains.


Great line, Gary

I'll add that to my list of Garyisms.