Film fans
In the last 18 months camera giant Kodak has hired 300 people across their film and chemicals floor. Remarkably, however, that’s not been enough — the company is continuing its film tech hiring spree to meet the demands of a resurgent 35mm market. Analog photography is making a major comeback, much like vinyl has been in the music industry, with some popular SLR film cameras seeing prices rocket up 80% in recent years.
Digital decline
Film cameras may be making a comeback but, with smartphone cameras’ megapixel counts growing ever-dizzier, the humble hero of your 2010 family vacation — the digital camera — isn’t showing any signs of life.
The rise of digital cameras was quick, as consumers turned to DSLRs and point-and-shoots to capture memory-card-ready moments. The decline, however, has been even sharper. Since the peak in 2010 — when 121 million units were shipped globally — things have been downhill for digital cameras, with shipments declining nearly every year since. The past 2 years have been particularly rough, with digital camera shipments now down some 93% from the ‘10 peak.
Retro revival
The formula for a nostalgic physical format revival is beginning to appear. If the process is slightly cumbersome, way more work and something your parents or (ideally) grandparents did, it has a chance of making a comeback. Meanwhile digital cameras join CDs, DVDs, and MP3s in the ‘tiringly practical and boringly modern’ 21st-century tech trash can.
