Eastman Kodak’s new range of self-distributed films – which were announced late last year and earlier this year – appear to be dramatically cheaper in the UK than previous versions of the film.
The new films are sold in a new yellow-and-black colour scheme different to those distributed by Kodak Alaris, which had the exclusive rights to the film after Eastman Kodak went into bankruptcy protection in 2012.
The reduction in wholesale prices compared to the earlier films means shop prices for most films are as much as 20% cheaper.
For example, one London film lab – Aperture Printing – told Kosmo Foto their Eastman Kodak-branded Kodak Gold 200 35mm would sell for £10 for a 36-frame roll – £2 cheaper than the previous versions of the film.
Other shops also appear to be reducing their prices. 21 Studio Photolab’s website also shows cheaper prices for the new Eastman Kodak film – with a five-pack of Kodak Gold 200 120 falling in price from £51 to £39.99.
Prices also appear to have fallen with the new Eastman Kodak films on Analogue Wonderland, one of the UK’s major online film retailers.
Some of the Eastman Kodak films – Tri-X, Ektar 100 and Kodak 200 amongst them – are sold under the same name as the previous versions, but others have had to be rebranded (such as the Portra and TMax lines of films) because Kodak Alaris owns the rights to those brand names.
The price reduction is all the more surprising given that prices in the US, where the films are made, do not appear to have enjoyed such price drops.
Distributor Dupli recently announced it had the exclusive rights to Eastman Kodak’s stills films in the UK, which it will distribute alongside Kodak Alaris’s products.
The price drops may partly be in reaction to new colour film competition emerging in the past couple of years.
Harman Technology, the makers of Ilford and Kentmere black-and-white films, launched its Phoenix range of colour films at the end of 2023, which now counts two versions of Phoenix and two experimental colour films called Red and Switch Azure.
China Lucky film, meanwhile, has relaunched its colour film line-up after a long break and currently has two films – Lucky Color 200 and Lucky C400.
I'm a New Zealander who has been living in London since the mid-1990s, shooting film seriously since the year 2000. Kosmo Foto was launched in 2012 and has since become a film brand, with the release of my first films Kosmo Foto Mono 35mm (2017) and Kosmo Foto Mono 120 (2019).
I’m doing everything I can to promote film photography in the 21st Century, and help it survive and thrive. If you want to write something for Kosmo Foto, please drop me a line at foto.dowling@gmail.com.
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