It’s official: Eastman Kodak’s two new films are Kodacolor 100 and Kodacolor 200. Here’s why they are so special.
What are those films? I’ll answer that, but here’s a better question first: How are these films distributed? This is the first time in over a decade that Kodak is finally selling film without the shadow of past bankruptcy standing between the factory and the photographer.
A day after the leaked new box design was revealed, Kodak’s Instagram account posted a message with several sample images:
“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.”
Here’s what all this means:
Regular Analog.Cafe readers would recognize Kodak Alaris as a distinct business from the Kodak Eastman Company. The Kodak that had existed as a single company since 1892 was split into two in 2012 as a result of bankruptcy.
Since 2012, Eastman Kodak Company has operated its Rochester film factory and sold film to film studios — but not photographers. Kodak Alaris is a new business that owns the rights to brands like Portra and Ektar. The restructuring that allowed Kodak to exit bankruptcy created a third party, Alaris, which stood between the factory and the customer.
Of course, the Rochester factory still had significant control over the materials they made, and so they struck deals with companies like CineStill and several others to power new brands that didn’t involve Alaris (this does not include “unauthorized” rebrands by smaller shops). Yet, Eastman Kodak Company had not sold its film directly since 2012 — until now. There was always someone between the factory and the customer.
This is why today’s announcement is such a significant step for Kodak. Not because it’s a new film (it kinda isn’t) — but because it’s the factory that makes it who’s selling it.
We would still have to go to a store to buy this new Kodak film; this stuff isn’t sold directly by Rochester. But there’s one less party between the conveyor belt and our camera — which means better prices and a new source of nearly unbeatable quality colour-negative film (although others are trying: analog.cafe/r/the-real-iso…).
The film.
You may recognize the Kodacolor brand and design from Kodak’s earlier products, discontinued in the early 2000s. So, what’s in the boxes today?
Eastman Kodak did not post technical information on its website (kodak.com/en/still-film/ho…) that would indicate exactly what’s in the packaging. However, they did say, “These films are sub-brands of existing Kodak films and offer the same high quality you’ve come to expect from Kodak,” which suggests that these are not entirely new or reformulated emulsions.
Blue Moon Camera had a post on Instagram earlier that appeared to validate the rumours of Kodacolor 100 being the same as Pro Image 100 and Kodacolor 200 being ColorPlus. However, they’ve since edited it to remove that claim. It’s unclear whether the shop knows the films’ true origins and forgot that they weren’t supposed to reveal them, or if they accidentally restated an unconfirmed rumour as fact (and then fixed their mistake).
Whatever the case may be, the Kodacolor boxes look pretty (a design departure from the Alaris’ recently modernized packaging), the prices appear very affordable, and the rolls should be available in the US and Canada very soon.
Eastman Kodak has lots of film to sell (thanks to its recent factory upgrades, analog.cafe/comments/rq8i). Kodacolor is just another way to get it into our pockets. I think this is great news for film photographers everywhere.
Dmitri