Another Kodak moment …
By Robert de Gast (Mar 10, 2006)

Kodak's sale of digital products made up 54 percent of its total revenue for 2005, marking the first time in the company's history that revenue from digital exceeded that from film.

Still, total losses for the year could top one billion dollars-loses attributed to the restructuring that paralleled the shift to the digital medium, according to the company. Kodak is unveiling a new logo, saying good-bye to the famous image of the yellow film box. "This is the latest step," a news release stated, "in the company's broad transformation effort, which reflects the multi-industry, digital-imaging leader Kodak has become." In plain English, this means that the digital revolution is here and Kodak, finally, has signed on. Still, 10,000 jobs will be cut in the next few years.

Kodak is not alone in its "restructuring." Nikon will soon suspend all its film-camera production, except for one model. Konica is stopping all film production. Leica (its first camera was made in 1924!), Hasselblad, Ilford, Agfa and Contax are all contemplating enormous production and marketing changes.
Photography was already more than half a century old when George Eastman made it accessible to nearly everyone.

Besides founding Kodak, he developed a series of state-of-the-art camera and film features, including film that was dry and flexible. Until Eastman's innovation most photography was done, inconveniently, on wet glass plates.
It all started in 1885 when Eastman, then 31 and a lowly clerk in a bank in Rochester, New York, started the Eastman Dry Plate and Film Company-a daunting decision for someone earning about US$15 a week. But Eastman, a devoted amateur photographer, was convinced that he could make the enterprise called photography more user-friendly. Cameras were cumbersome and complex, and Eastman decided to do something about that. Three years later, in June 1888, he produced a simple camera: a plain black box 6 1/2 inches long and 3 1/4 inches wide with a button on the side and a key for advancing the film. He called it the "Detective Camera." (Sherlock Holmes had just been introduced to America, and the camera seemed small enough to intrigue people interested in that current vogue.)

The camera had no viewfinder and no way of focusing. The photographist, as photographers were first called, simply held the camera in front of him, pressed the button, and hoped for the best.

Each roll of film took 100 pictures. The camera had to be sent back to Rochester for developing, and when it was returned (loaded with a new roll of film)-assuming all had gone well-100 small, circular pictures, 2½ inches in diameter, were the result.
The success of the "Detective Camera" was short-lived. In September 1888 Eastman changed the camera's name to "Kodak" and registered it in many countries. Because the British Patent Office demanded an explanation of brand and trade names, we know what Eastman was thinking about: He wrote, "First. It is short. Second. It is not capable of mispronunciation."

In 1892 the company was renamed Eastman Kodak. The camera cost US$25. The film, including developing, cost US$10. By 1895, 100,000 cameras had been sold, and George Eastman was a wealthy man. Other models followed, and in 1900 the "Brownie" appeared on the scene. It cost one dollar, and film (six exposures) cost only 15 cents. Since the customers couldn't load or unload the film themselves, the slogan "You press the button-we do the rest" became instantly familiar and famous. As Bill Bryson pointed out in Made in America, Eastman developed three crucial strategies that have been the hallmark of virtually every successful consumer goods producer ever since. First, he went for the mass market. Second, he showed a tireless dedication to make his cameras cheaper and better. Third, he spent a lot on advertising: Eastman's advertising budget in 1896 was an unheard-of US$750,000.

When, in the 1930s, the Eastman Kodak Company tried to give away half a million cameras to celebrate its 50th anniversary, there were only 400,000 takers. Photography, like much of the world, was in recession. In the latter half of the 20th century Kodak was still king, but more recently, as noted above, the company has not done well. The digital revolution apparently took it by surprise. Its stock is down. Film sales are down. But the company is aggressively promoting its digital products, and with a name as famous as "Kodak," the chances are that the Eastman Kodak Company is here to stay. 

Because of George Eastman, photography became one of the dominant visual forms of our world. Today, cameras are everywhere. A tourist in San Miguel de Allende without a camera is a rare sight indeed. The digital camera has become the camera of choice, though, and is reenergizing photography. The explosion of picture taking parallels the great interest in photography witnessed after the introduction of the Kodak camera. Today's digital cameras offer superb quality in convenient styles for everyone. Digital photography is a source of fun and fulfillment. I hear this from many photographers who feel it has given them newfound excitement about their image-making. George Eastman would have approved, although I think he would be astonished at the prices.

Robert de Gast is a professional photographer and the author of nine books. He offers short photography tutorials and conducts workshops and tours. He can be reached at 152-7396 or at robertdegast@hotmail.com