Kodak T-MAX 400 is a new professional black and white ISO 400 film. Kodak claim that the improved T-MAX 400 is the world’s sharpest and finest-grained 400-speed black-and-white film. “The new T-MAX 400 film provides a grain structure that is superior to anything I’ve seen in a 400-speed film,” said noted photographer and master print maker John Sexton.  “That, combined with Kodak’s legendary quality control and consistency, makes this film a most valuable tool.” UK availability will be from January 2008, priced at £2.92 for 24 exposures and £3.02 for 36.

A survey of more than 9,000 professional photographers in the U.S. found that 75 percent of photographers say they will continue to use film. Black and white photography in particular was a popular reason for sticking with film, with 57% preferring to use film rather than digital to create a certain look and feel. “This survey indicates that film remains an important tool on which professional photographers rely to effectively create their work, so providing choice is of utmost importance. It’s an ‘and’ world where digital and film co-exist and complement each other.” said Mary Jane Hellyar, President, Film Products Group and Senior Vice President, Kodak. A similar survey run by Kodak in Europe also found that more than two-thirds of professional photographers surveyed plan to continue using film.

Does this apply to you - do you still exclusively use film, or a mixture of film and digital?

Fujifilm is providing details of local E6 processing laboratories in the UK where photographers can process their film. In view of the resurgence in use of reversal film, Fujifilm has given extended support to its network of laboratories which include E6 processing among their services. Photographers can email or telephone Fujifilm to find their nearest E6 laboratory.

Fujifilm has announced a worldwide price increase for its color negative photo film products. Due to take place in October, the increase is being blamed on the rapid rise in costs of silver, oil and other raw materials. Prices are expected to increase globally by around 5% - Fujifilm USA are still considering the best pricing structure for the US market.

A daguerreotype camera dating from 1839 has sold at auction for 588,613 euros, becoming the world’s most expensive camera. An anonymous buyer paid the vast amount for the daguerreotype camera in an auction on Sunday organised by the Galerie Westlicht in Vienna, Austria. The camera lay undiscovered in a loft in Munich, Germany since 1940 and was accidentally discovered by its owner.

Website: Yahoo News - World’s oldest camera auctioned for 800,000 dollars

The new Kodak ULTRA single use camera features a Kodak Ektanar lens and ISO 800 film. “The new ULTRA Compact Camera is an ideal complement to a digital picture-taking experience,” said Julian Baust, Chairman & Managing Director, Kodak Limited. The Kodak ULTRA Compact Camera is now available in Boots stores in the UK for £9.99.

PMA 2007: Kodak Gold 200 is a new consumer film which provides brighter colour and deeper saturation, has an extra stop of speed and is suited to general lighting conditions. The new Kodak Gold 200 Film will be available in the UK from early April.

Monochrome enthusiasts will welcome the news of the reintroduction of ILFORD SFX 200 infrared film. Available from March 2007, ILFORD SFX 200 is a special red-filtered film perfect for landscapes, mountainscapes and similar subjects. “The revival of ILFORD SFX 200 film will enable those specialists who concentrate on outdoor photography to achieve a remarkable degree of control over their images,” commented ILFORD PHOTO marketing director Howard Hopwood. ILFORD SFX 200 is available in special value promotional packs which contain three rolls of 36x135 film plus an ILFORD COKIN P red filter.

Update: Ilford have also launched a competition called White Light, White Heat, which invites all amateur photographers to demonstrate their creative usage of ILFORD SFX 200 film.

Following on from last week’s announcement by Fujifilm UK that Velvia 50 film was being re-introduced, Fujifilm USA have followed suit today.

FUJIFILM U.S.A. Press Release

Valhalla, NY, November 14, 2006—FUJIFILM U.S.A., Inc. is pleased to announce plans to re-introduce an ISO 50 Fujichrome Velvia professional film, tentatively named Velvia II. Fujichrome Velvia (RVP 50) was the first high color saturation, high contrast transparency E-6 compatible film when it was introduced in 1990 and was a favorite among photographers. Its discontinuation was announced last year due to difficulties in procuring some of the raw materials used to produce the emulsion.

Fujifilm UK Press Release

07 November 2006 - Fujifilm Professional is delighted to announce that the company is planning to re-launch Fujichrome Velvia 50 into the UK market. Production of Velvia 50 was halted at the beginning of 2005 when vital raw materials used in the production of the emulsion became unavailable. The re-launch of Velvia 50 is a further illustration of Fujifilm’s continued commitment to the production and promotion of professional film. Russ Gunn, Fujifilm Professional Product Manager, made this comment: “We have received many requests from photographers to restart manufacturing, as they had used Velvia 50 for many years and consider it unmatched in terms of quality and character. One of Fujifilm’s main priorities is to nurture the culture of photography, so we have been reviewing the possibility of restarting production.”

Ilford Press Release

Taking the high tonal quality of finished prints on ILFORD Photo paper to even higher levels of perfection is ILFORD Photo’s versatile new selenium toner - considered by many to be the ultimate tool in achieving unsurpassable results. First announced earlier this year, ILFORD HARMAN selenium toner was introduced at Photokina for November 2006 availability, along with a new leaflet ‘Selenium Toner Tips’ in English, French, German or Spanish. This high quality formula has numerous advantages in addition to emphasising the versatile tonal range of black-and-white prints, and is extremely straightforward to apply.

Horseman Press Release

Horseman shows the SW-D2 Pro, a super wide angle camera, the LD Pro, a hgh-end camera back accessory for adding bellows functions, and the Horseman 3D Stereo Camera at Photokina.

Cologne, Germany (September 26, 2006) – The Horseman will highlight three new products at Photokina this week, including the SW-D2 Pro super wide angle camera, the LD Pro high-end camera back, and the Horseman 3D stereo camera. The SW-D2 Pro is a higher-end version of the SWD large format digital camera announced earlier this year. The SW-D2 Pro will feature additional mount compatibility for the SWD interchangeable digital back system, plus some new design improvements that open new dimensions for large format digital photography. In addition to the SW-D2 Pro, Horseman will also show the LD Pro, a high-end camera back accessory that is equipped with a slide-back mechanism to allow mounting of a high-end camera back to give full bellows functions, and allow you to convert the LD into a 4x5-inch film camera.  The LD Pro takes high-end digital backs, such as Phase One, Leaf, Imacon and Sinar.

Kodak UK Press Release

Kodak Introduces Enhanced PORTRA Colour Negative Films with Finer Grain, Spectacular Skin Tones, Vivid Colour and Ideal Scanning Performance - Continued Innovation Gives Pro Photographers High Quality Films to Achieve Impactful Images

London, September 11 – In a move that underscores its ongoing support of the professional photography market, Eastman Kodak Company today introduced enhanced versions of its iconic KODAK PROFESSIONAL PORTRA colour negative film family, comprising 160 VC, 160 NC, 400 VC and 400 NC film.  These films help professional photographers create stunning images with finer grain, spectacular skin tones, and improved scanning performance for greater enlargement capability. Plus, PORTRA 160VC and PORTRA 400VC films now provide a more ideal combination of higher colour saturation and lower contrast for optimal performance in high-colour applications.

Kodak UK Press Release

Kodak commits to the future of professional paper with Improved Kodak Professional Ultra Endura Paper

London, August 2006 – Kodak underscores its commitment to the future of professional paper with the recent introduction of a new, upgraded Kodak Ultra Endura Paper, designed to increase efficiency and bolster quality for professional labs and their customers. Through Kodak’s ongoing research and development of Professional Imaging media and its commitment to the Silver Halide platform, Kodak Ultra Endura Paper has been updated to show richer, more realistic colours across the spectrum while maintaining its outstanding longevity.

Ilford Photo Press Release

With its manufacturing plant and administrative head offices now fully operational following the company’s reconstruction over the past 18 months, ILFORD Photo has re-organised its US presence to reflect the company’s determination to progress the American black-and-white photography market. Throughout the restructuring of its North American operation, ILFORD Photo’s parent company, HARMAN technology Ltd, has maintained consistent supply and support of its full line of black-and-white photographic products, and now announces its new organisation which provides the foundation for its ongoing business in the USA.

The Zeiss Ikon SW superwide 35mm camera is announced, available in October 2006 for 799,00 €.

Carl Zeiss AG Press Release

Oberkochen, August 15, 2006. The Zeiss Ikon SW is the 35mm precision camera for uncompromising superwide photographers. Its lens mount takes any lens with M bayonet, in particular the ZEISS high performance superwide-angle lenses Distagon T* 2,8/15mm ZM and the Biogon T* types from the ZEISS ZM range. An accessory shoe directly above the lens takes the corresponding superwide Viewfinder. A second shoe is built in to take a flash, a bubble level or other accessory. The electronically controlled metal focal plane shutter offers speeds ranging from 1/2000 sec. – 8 sec. in automatic mode (AE-lock is available) and 1/2000 - 1 sec. + B in manual mode. Fastest flash synchro speed is 1/125 sec.

Ilford Photo Press Release

Having long established its reputation for the production of market-leading black-and-white photographic paper, ILFORD Photo has now taken the whole genre onto a new level of archival and presentational excellence with the fusion of modern digital technology and true silver gelatine printing.

ILFORD Photo has announced the addition of a new paper to its range of specialist black-and-white photo products, which not only represents a major step forward in the production of high quality images, but also utilises the latest advances in digital processing. Called ILFORD GALERIE FB DIGITAL, this 315gsm fibre base baryta paper has been created for printing with digital laser printers, and is compatible with digital printers such as the Durst Lambda and Océ Lightjet models. This is the only paper in the world which utilises ILFORD Photo’s renowned fibre base baryta material, made famous by such products as Ilfobrom Galerie FB and Multigrade IV FB papers, with the ability to be exposed in digital laser printers (Lightjet and Lambda) writing directly from digital files.

Direct Source Marketing (DSM) Press Release 

Horseman/Rollei Partnership Unveils First 3D Camera Built From the Ground Up

CONCORD, CA (August 9, 2006) – One of the most advanced 3D stereo cameras ever developed was announced today by Horseman, which is in a joint venture with Rolleiflex to develop professional level cameras and accessories. Called the Horseman 3D, the new camera features the ability to make stereo pictures of high-speed moving objects, such as flying birds,  jumping animals, a spray of water, and indoor or night scenes. These kinds of shots were difficult with conventional stereo cameras, but are routine with the Horseman 3D because of a unique 24x65mm size electronically controlled focal plane shutter that allows perfect synchronization of right and left images up to 1/1000sec. shutter speed. This synchronization is possible thanks to a 24 x 65mm long blade, one piece metal focal plane shutter.

HARMAN technology Press Release

ILFORD Photo’s parent company HARMAN technology has been successfully paving its route to the stars since it first exploded onto the photographic industry just over a year ago. Since then, its growth has been meteoric, extending its business to a far wider audience than was at first envisaged. Now into its second year of trading, HARMAN technology Limited can look back over a period of unprecedented growth and success. Following the acquisition in February 2005 of the ILFORD black-and-white photographic business, premises and name from the receivers of the old ILFORD Imaging group, HARMAN, named after the founder of the ILFORD business, Alfred Harman, has grown exponentially to its present position among the major companies of the global photographic and imaging arena.

Fujifilm Press Release

The whole field of holography is about to undergo a major advancement with the introduction of FUJIFILM holographic film which sets new standards in quality, consistency, and speed.

The world of three-dimensional holography has been quite dormant over recent years save for its continued progress in security packaging, credit cards, and other types of authentication, and the foray into 3D portraiture as witnessed by the recent ‘blue’ portrait of HM The Queen. However, a major development by Fujifilm looks set to revive the field of hologram creation across a wide section of commercial and artistic applications. Fujifilm of Japan has entered the holographic film market straight in at the top of the tree with the highest quality, highest consistency and highest speed film now available.