Film Brands and Types

The last 10 years has seen some films disappear as manufacturers trim ranges. This writer particularly mourns the loss of Fujifilm Neopan 400 Black and White film!

The good news is that, many types and formats still continue. In fact, there has been recent examples of new initiatives.

Colour film is still well supported by Fujifilm. Perhaps this is partly due to continued strong Japanese market interest in film.

Even Kodak hasn’t given up, with niche parts the original company saved under new ownerships. Apparently, Hollywood did not want to lose film for movie making, hence Kodak still film remained commercial and survived. Kodak (Alaris) are said to be due to reintroduce Ektachrome slide, so the journey continues.

Ilford continue to prosper and support black and white film. They nearly folded a few years ago but were bold enough to totally relook at their operation including price rises to survive. It turned out that the market didn’t want to lose them and under new investment ownership, this relatively modest company can see a strong future including a new factory.

Another example of film product turnaround concerns Ferrania. In an excellent book, The Revenge of Analog by David Sax 2016, Sax describes how enthusiasts Nicola Baldini and Marco Pagni took on sections of closed and abandoned factories and equipment to reignite a film brand. A high risk and extremely difficult task due to the toxic and specialist nature of film production.