It's official: Kodak is bankrupt

[ndsimm]

This makes that story even sadder:

Kodak Digital camera - 1975

who knows where they would be had they moved forward with the idea instead of shelving it?

[surlynkid]

engineers used to get promoted into those top exec spots at companies like kodak. now it is MBA types. very different thinking on how to run things.

[bburton]

The main lesson IMO is: Constantly and aggressively innovate so as to put yourself out of business, or your competitors definitely will.

Few companies follow this approach. Apple is a good example of a company which has. General Motors is a classic example of what happens to fat, middle-aged, bureaucratic organizations where the ultra conservative culture of stock options and year-end bonuses takes over, and management loses touch with the realities of their marketplace.

Sears and a host of other companies have also suffered this inevitable downfall. Kodak (may it rest in peace) joins a long, undistinguised list of similar failures for similar reasons.

[groovyone]

It will be interesting to see if the company IP is parted out or if there is some attempt to revitalize them.

[PHOTO-DA]

I just don't get how misinformed people are on here- Yes Kodak INVENTED THE FIRST DIGITAL CAMERA- but they did not stop there and until 2004 they pretty much had the PRO DIGITAL CAMERA MARKET TO THEMSELVES! They worked with Nikon and Canon to make cameras that were based on their systems KODAK PROFESSIONAL DCS Pro SLR/n Digital Camera Kodak DCS Pro SLR/c - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia but then pulled out of the market of making the whole cameras and just supplying the guts-chip sets- to the camera makers. In fact for several more years NIKON AND CANON USED KODAK chips in their DSLR's at all levels and only in the last few years did they start doing their own (not sure what patent fees that they are paying to Kodak still).

Yes Kodak's management did drop the ball but they didn't IGNORE the digital market-they CREATED IT! Now they did screw up in allowing others to leapfrog past them in what chips can do in Digital Cameras vs 6 years ago and they should be chastised greatly for not supporting those R+D people better than they did.

They do have a slew of patents dealing with DIGITAL Cameras that they are trying to find buyers for but not sure who really would be buying them since the technology is going more out of date with each new generation of chips.

I haven't looked at sheet film lately but does KODAK still make any for large format or has Fuji locked up that market?


Kodak DCS Pro SLR/c Review: 1. Introduction: Digital Photography Review Kodak DCS - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kodak still makes a lot of digital P+S cameras also.

[bburton]

Originally Posted by PHOTO-DA

I just don't get how misinformed people are on here- ...

I don't see any post in this thread which warrants your label of "misinformed." Your insights have certainly added to the discussion, but I don't see anybody arguing against you.

You (and others) will be interested in this analysis of the bankruptcy:

How Kodak squandered every single digital opportunity it had

Essentially, the conclusion of this article is in its final paragraphs:

"Lessons learned

The most immediate takeaway from the fall of Kodak is clear: don’t be afraid to cannibalise your own business in the name of progress. This is seen time and again in the digital revolution: Sony’s reluctance to develop a competent digital Walkman left an opening for the iPod. Blockbuster laughed off Netflix in the early days, then went bankrupt when it couldn’t compete with its web-based competitor. And iPads may be eating up some Mac sales, but Apple’s bottom line is stronger than ever.

But Kodak’s inability to make any of its products stand out over the last decade is demonstrative of an overall reluctance to innovate. Certainly, if you asked Kodak executives in the early 2000s if they were committed to innovation, they would have answered yes, but real innovation requires risk and vision. You don’t kill all wi-fi cameras just because the first model got a lukewarm response from the market — that is, if you really believe in the core idea.

The story of Kodak’s downfall is an affirmation that true innovative spirit is much more often found in smaller companies and startups rather than old-school behemoths of yesteryear. After all, if you don’t have much to lose, you tend to make many more all-in bets. But, as Kodak has shown, if you do nothing but play it safe, the cost just to stay in the game will whittle you down until you’ve got nothing left."

[brewercm]

One of the big problems with Kodak that Fuji, Nikon, Canon, Apple etc., etc. don't have is the union workforce pensioners. Kodak still has to fill holes in their pension fund due to a lack of managing that pension fund properly, or just under estimating what the costs would be.

From USA TodayAnd Kodak currently is spending upward of $50 million a year through 2014 — and then at least $90 million a year through 2022 — to fill a financial hole in its United Kingdom pension plan.

[Angelo]

A good article by Scott Bourne on the life and demise of Kodak.
I must confess, I'm kind of saddened by the inevitable passing of Kodak, but will always be grateful for the education it provided me.
Kodak Files For Bankruptcy – Thanks For The Memories « Photofocus

[andyz]

Kodak to phase out it camera, digital picture frame business as part of cost cuts - The Washington Post

"Eastman Kodak Co. said Thursday that it will stop making digital cameras, pocket video cameras and digital picture frames, marking the end of an era for the company that brought photography to the masses more than a century ago..."

I don't know that I've ever oned a Kodak camera, being relatively new to photography, but it still saddens me to think of the end of an era, so to speak.

[JJOC]

Originally Posted by ka5txl

I want my Kodachrome Back!!!!

I would like my Kodachrome back too. But then again, I would like a decent Kodak printer. I bought one last summer because of the name. The product has not lived up to the name. I am tempted to give it away and go by a HP.

[JJOC]

My first camaera was an Instamatic 100. When my parents saw that I ws serious about cameras, they let me use their Retina

[venchka]

Originally Posted by andyz

Kodak to phase out it camera, digital picture frame business as part of cost cuts - The Washington Post

"Eastman Kodak Co. said Thursday that it will stop making digital cameras, pocket video cameras and digital picture frames, marking the end of an era for the company that brought photography to the masses more than a century ago..."

I don't know that I've ever oned a Kodak camera, being relatively new to photography, but it still saddens me to think of the end of an era, so to speak.

You need to quote the good news in that article as well. Kodak will also focus on it's FILM business. And why not? The R&D, production hardware, etc. are all paid for. Go Kodak!

Wayne

[Howard Barlow]

Keep up with the times.

[venchka]

Originally Posted by Howard Barlow

Keep up with the times.

"Are you talking to me?"

I do. I know this will fall on deaf ears here, but there is a rapidly growing group of folks who have followed one of the following paths:

1. Film-Digital-Film & Digtal
2. Digital-Film-Maybe Digital too.
3. Film. Period.

Fortunately, we aren't forced to pick one or the other. We can use both. "Right tool for the job," don't you know.

Wayne

[Howard Barlow]

Originally Posted by venchka

"Are you talking to me?"

No, sorry, Wayne, I should have said Kodak. And, no, they are not keeping up with the times, or they would be flying with digital.