Kodak file for bankruptcy - a lesson for all camera companies past and present

[Andrew Reid]

[html]

[img]http://www.eoshd.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/kodak.jpg[/img]

Former Kodak VP Don Strickland -

“We developed the world’s first consumer digital camera. Kodak could have launched it in 1992. We could not get approval to launch it because of fear of the cannibalisation of film.”

Steve Jobs -

“If you don’t cannibalize yourself, someone else will.”

[url="http://www.eoshd.com/content/6913/kodak-file-for-bankruptcy-a-lesson-for-all-camera-companies-past-and-present/"]Read full article[/url]

[/html]

[Atlasman]

Paralyzed by their success!

Canon's answer to mirrorless, their G1X, is a good example of this paralysis.

[Andrew Reid]

That is a good way of putting it.

[tungah]

Andrew you are spot on in this post. Well done.
I really hope manufacturers take Kodak's mistake as an exemple.

[Jared Wilson]

Great post! Canon is afraid to take away from their professional video camera sales. That's why they don't want to put clean HDMI on their DSLRs. However, if they don't make the best DSLR possible then someone will beat them to it and steal their sales.

What they need to do is create a mirrorless camera and sell it, initially, with an adapter included so that their existing lenses can be used. Then they can go ahead and begin working on a line of lenses for their mirrorless system. They can create a camera the same size as their current models and use the space saved from removing the mirror box to add increased processing power and a headphone jack. They can use the color processing from the C300 for the video and have a clean HDMI out with 8bit 4:2:2.

This may take away from C300 and other video sales, but they will make more money if production companies buy 12 of these cameras instead of renting one larger camera. Hurlbut Visuals own a ton of 5D Mark II's because they are cheap. They can have several cameras with back-ups. Production companies can buy several and independent filmmakers can buy one or two. They make up for what they lose in individual unit cost with the quantity they sell.

That would set them on a path ahead of Nikon and Sony and with far more lenses than MFT. If they get ahead now they can stay ahead for awhile. Put out the best product they can, without intentional limitations, and they will succeed.

[Simco123]

They not done it with PC.  We were told 20 years ago that they will do away with PC workstation and everything software wise held over the server with just screen and keyboard for user to interact. Even back then we had dumb terminals which were touted as the way forward. 20 years later we are still using PC essentially the same basic design as it was. The powers that be all decided it is not worth the risk and maintained the status quo because adapting different technology would put PC manufacturer out of business.
Just think we could have had solar powered cars many years ago but big influential oil companies decide how we spend our money and not always some geeks. Even Jobsy has a number of failures.

[RobertoSF]

Good article, Andrew. I like your lensing on the future. It will be very interesting to see what Panasonic offers next. Perhaps a successor evolved from the GH2 and AF100 (which is currently on sale, along with their P2 cameras).  Meanwhile, a number of us are reasonably happy with our GH2s and PL mount anamorphic lenses.

One request to Panasonic: can you please, please, please make the sensor aspect ratio switchable to 4:3? To shoot footage that will properly de-squeeze to 2.35 would be a dream.

Can you pass that along to the powers-that-be, Andrew?

Gracias, compadre.

[jimmiesner]

I live outside Rochester, NY (Kodaks base).  It's really sad how they have destroyed themselves.  20 years ago they employed 60,000 people.  Now it's down to 7,000 and dropping.   

[PAVP]

Great article Andrew.  It's strange that so many companies lack the vision that Steve Jobs brought to the table.  Corporate Product Protectionism is going to be the downfall of so many companies.  You would think that more companies would take note of the success of Apple and other similar successful companies.  Look at the innovation and forward thinking rather than being stuck in the past.  So many old car makers died due to being stuck on the steam engine rather than working on their own to come up with what was clearly a superior technology in the combustion engines and likewise with Electric and hybrid cars.

The one company I don't understand is Nikon!  They have the least to fear in terms of going hard after the DSLR Video market.  They don't have a Pro Video Dept. to protect.  They should've gone hard after the VDSLR market with mirrorless designs and new lenses!  Likewise Olympus also could do such a thing with little risk to their existing business.

[Simco123]

Perhaps Nikon is using shared technology? Things like patent agreement may limit what is and is not allowed for a still camera. Perhaps it is not so surprising that the D4 clean HDMI output is restricted to 30fps.

[fionaMc]

What went wrong? The firm that once brought photography to the masses has finally succumbed to the explosion of digital technology. From what I read,  the company had many ups and downs financially. They could have get loans such as [url=https://personalmoneynetwork.com/payday-loans/]payday loans[/url] so that the company is saved.

Well, despite its modern day problems, Kodak left a definitive mark on the country, shaping our ideas of what a camera can be used for. Indeed, Kodak created a culture of life recording that has never been stronger. Kodak may not survive, but Kodakery lives on.