"William Robb" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >Processing availablity will be the killer for colour negative film, as you >say. As film volumes start to drop, players will start to get out of the >processing game. They won't have any choice. Processors require a certain >minimum volume of product to maintain chemical control, and once that >minimum volume is no longer being met, it is no longer viable to offer the >service. >As the number of labs offering film processing diminishes, more consumers >will go to digital out of either necessity or convenience. > >This has the potential to snowball very quickly, especially since the >processing industry would be quite happy if film went away for good, and is >actively behind bringing digital to the masses as quickly as they can sign >lease agreements.
Yep, and the minilabs in non-photo stores will be amongst the first to go. They're the ones with the least tolerance for dealing with these things. (And many of them also have the added incentive of selling digital point-and-shoots.) >> > On a positive note, I think quality black & white film will remain a >> > viable niche market. >> >> I took some Tri-X to a local professional lab a few weeks ago and they >> more or less laughed at me. They hadn't processed any for 3 years. I've *never* had a lab process black & white for me. Many other people who shoot B&W are the same way. That's the factor that will help it survive. I expect digital to equal silver halide B&W in terms of image quality within a few years, but there's a certain panache to a genuine "silver gelatine" print, even if it's largely snobbery. -- Mark Roberts Photography and writing www.robertstech.com
