Digital BW, The Print

joshscapes wrote:

> And don't get too attached to any one digital camera, lens, 
> computer, ink, paper, color film, temperature in a day, clouds in 
> the sky...ect.
> 
> What kind of a comment is that?  I'm sorry.  I don't mean to sound 
> harsh or sarcastic (well maybe a little).  But in this day in age 
> does someone really need to be told not to get too attached to any 

Josh, I agree for the most part with the content of your e-mail. I 
myself don't even own a digital camera and sincerely hope that film 
remains available for a LONG time. I didn't intend to be provocative.

But AgfaPhoto (the film, paper and chemistry branch of Agfa that 
emerged after the parent company declared insolvency earlier this 
year) has indicated that it failed to find a buyer and is wrapping up 
operations at the end of 2005.

http://www.forbes.com/markets/feeds/afx/2005/10/19/afx2285533.html%3E

Long discussion here: http://www.apug.org/forums/showthread.php?t=20610

AgfaPhoto laid off all of its staff earlier this fall. I think a 
European company bought up its stock of B&W paper and some chemicals 
and is selling it until it's gone. There was also talk of Fuji buying 
up some of its materials and/or IP, and of a company buying the colour 
mini-lab part of the business, but I don't know if these deals 
materialized.

The 120-format B&W films were discontinued earlier this year. 
Production of all Agfa films and chemicals has ceased. That's why it's 
becoming difficult to find APX films and Rodinal, as fans buy up the 
stock everywhere. Lots of discussions of alternatives to these films 
and developers are currently underway on photo.net, APUG, etc.

Given the fact that Agfa is basically out of business, and that Scala 
requires a proprietary process, I think that settling on Scala now may 
not be a wise idea. There are alternatives for B&W slides, but they 
are generally not as convenient.

Jordan
www.photosensitive.ca

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Jordan Wosnick
jwosnick@...