end of color slide film on the horizon?

[crackhead]

Welp, i really don't know what to do if color transparency film has only a couple of years' of viability left... Maybe sell all my gear and get out of the photography hobby for good.

British Journal of Photography - End of transparency?

"E6 processing is on its last legs, with only “months” left. That’s the verdict of one London pro lab, but others say there’s still life in the much-loved film. Olivier Laurent canvasses opinion.

“Due to significantly decreased sales volumes, Kodak is ceasing production of Ektachrome 64T Professional Film.” We’ve become used to announcements like this, which came late last year along with notice that Ektachrome 100 Plus has been discontinued, and that stocks of the E6-process films would probably only last into the early part of this year.

While the decline in film sales has smoothed in recent years, for some products the continued fall has pushed them perilously near the red. And it doesn’t look good for E6.

Gaining popularity in the 1970s, for years it was the preferred choice for photographers who wanted ultimate repro quality, because of its “superior tonal range – richer, smoother hues that are unachievable through modern-day digital software”, says Melinda Gibson of Genesis Digital. “It not only produces a velvety grain structure, but also a cleaner, smoother colour graduation.” "

[Dobick]

every single attempt at digital velvia looks like a caricature of the real thing. I have not seen one single preset accurately capture what velvia does as far as accurate color saturation in landscapes (or for that matter anything with detailed color variations.) That is not to say that with selective masking in photoshop and individual tweaks the overall look and feel cannot be achieved, but that it takes much more than a single set in lightroom to get it right.

I mention all of this to say that I think the above quoted article is off base. Kodak may very well do away with their color positive films, but the market as a whole will not disappear. I think fuji will gladly take up the slack.

I may be wrong. I think the rumors of the death of film are a bit premature yet. Until large format digital is an affordable alternative then film should hang in.