Kodak Gold and Ultramax have been revamped and are now being sold directly by the Rochester film factory. Last month, Kodak made headlines by reintroducing the Kodacolor brand along with its ISO 100 and 200 color-negative films. Today, we’re hearing that additional Kodak films are also receiving design updates, a shift in distribution, and potentially lower prices in the future.
So, what does this mean for Kodacolor and its redesign? In the previous month’s newsletter, I mentioned another Kodak entity, Kodak Alaris, which operates separately from the Eastman Kodak Company that oversees the Rochester film factory: analog.cafe/r/film-photogr… In brief, Kodak split into two entities during its bankruptcy in 2012, with Kodak Alaris taking on responsibility for marketing and selling films like Ultramax (review: analog.cafe/r/kodak-ultram…) and Gold (review: analog.cafe/r/kodak-gold-f…). This made Alaris a third-party middleman between the factory and distributors.
However, that setup appears to have changed, and the original Kodak factory is now starting to sell its films directly to distributors. Although this doesn’t imply that the films are any different from before, there is a chance of seeing *better prices* in the near future since Alaris, as a third party, is being taken out of the process (at least for some films).
What about Kodacolor? Is it a new brand? Ultramax and Gold are established brands that have been in our cameras for years. A minor rebranding and possibly better pricing is positive news. However, Kodacolor is a less familiar name today, as it hasn’t been seen on a film box in decades.
According to Eastman Kodak, the revived Kodacolor brand is simply a way to market their current emulsions without any modifications. Last month, I identified that Kodak Kodacolor 200 is essentially the same as Kodak ColorPlus. For details on how I discovered this, check out this article: analog.cafe/r/kodak-colorp…. I also recently published a piece about Kodak Kodacolor 100, confirming that it is *not* Kodak Pro Image 100: analog.cafe/r/kodak-kodaco… — which happens to be one of my favorite color-negative films. This highlights that Kodak produces more color film than it may initially appear! #editorial🔥
Last month, Kodak made headlines by bringing back the Kodacolor brand along with its ISO 100 and 200 colour-negative films. Now, we're hearing that additional Kodak films are undergoing a redesign, seeing changes in distribution, and may potentially be offered at lower prices soon. #editorial.