Eastman Kodak: 130 Years of Photo History

[3113]

Eastman Kodak is filing for bankruptcy. It was only a matter of time, with digital cameras and picture phones, but still rather sad.

Here's 130 years in pictures.

 

[sr71plt]

Yeah, and here I was still scared of trying out the technology of a box camera.

 

[NiceyJane123]

I'm a photographer, so this is sad to me. Everyone knew they couldn't keep up with the digital companies - much less Canon and Nikon. Still, the first camera I bought on my own (I was in 8th grade) was a Kodak Advantix.

 

[okatty35]

Do the old Kodaks go up in value for any reason? The ones from like the 70s and 80s? They were already out of production but not sure if this might spike interest in those.

 

[NiceyJane123]

Do the old Kodaks go up in value for any reason? The ones from like the 70s and 80s? They were already out of production but not sure if this might spike interest in those.

Anything that is no longer in production will have some value to a collector. The original ones are especially sought after.

 

[estragon]

A sad story, especially for the City of Rochester, New York and the people who worked for Eastman Kodak (both current and retired). But Eastman Kodak went digital far too late, arriving at the party as the caterers were boxing up the empty wineglasses, and long after Nippon Kōgaku Kōgyō Kabushikigaisha and friends had eaten Kodak's breakfast, lunch and supper.

Once again, a hard lesson: a franchise is not a moat; defend and innovate, or die.

 

[NiceyJane123]

A sad story, especially for the City of Rochester, New York and the people who worked for Eastman Kodak (both current and retired). But Eastman Kodak went digital far too late, arriving at the party as the caterers were boxing up the empty wineglasses, and long after Nippon Kōgaku Kōgyō Kabushikigaisha and friends had eaten Kodak's breakfast, lunch and supper.

Once again, a hard lesson: a franchise is not a moat; defend and innovate, or die.

Well said, estrogon. Well said!

 

[trysail]

I've got some news for some of you:

Kodak invented digital photography.




http://www.npr.org/2012/01/19/145437587/business-news

 

[okatty35]

That' s like having a big boner and not knowing what to do with it.

I've got some news for some of you:

Kodak invented digital photography.




http://www.npr.org/2012/01/19/145437587/business-news

 

[NiceyJane123]

That' s like having a big boner and not knowing what to do with it.

'Tis true!

Kodak may have invented it, but they focused on film until the 11th hour, and then didn't have the momentum to overtake the Big Two. Kodak started losing it's footing in the photography world back in the early part of the 2000s and they never got the technology to save the company.

 

[trysail]

That' s like having a big boner and not knowing what to do with it.

It's one more in a very long list of reasons why Warren Buffett has never invested in technology-driven companies. Polaroid went after the digital photography business in 1999. They were too early; the market wasn't ready— consumers stayed away in droves— and Polaroid went bust.


If you have any experience financing high tech companies, you know all too well that one of the ways to be wrong is being "too early."


It's all so easy— in hindsight !

 

[TE999]

One day soon young people will listen to Paul Simon singing his hit 'Kodachrome' on an Oldies station and wonder what the fuck he's referring to.

 

[estragon]

I've got some news for some of you:

Kodak invented digital photography.




http://www.npr.org/2012/01/19/145437587/business-news

No dispute from me on that score. But merely having a great idea isn't enough.

 

[TheeGoatPig]

One day soon young people will listen to Paul Simon singing his hit 'Kodachrome' on an Oldies station and wonder what the fuck he's referring to.

Too late. It was featured in the Coneheads movie about 20 years ago, and I had no idea what it was back then (my father informed me back, so I know now, and just had this conversation two weeks ago again).