Why didn't Kodak jump on the changing digital photography band wagon?

9 years 4 months ago #417625 by Jacko
Here's what I don't understand.  Kodak was the world leader from early 1900s and then around 1975 Steven Sasson and engineer with Kodak invents digital photography. They created this monster, why didn't they stick with it and see it as the future?  Was it just arrogance that film would always be around?  Such a shame.  


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9 years 4 months ago #417630 by effron
Maybe they didn't see the possibilities?

Why so serious?
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9 years 4 months ago #417634 by Screamin Scott
Kodak was basically a film company. Even with film, they didn't market many top end cameras (the Retina line was made in Germany for them). Thus they missed the bandwagon. They did market some digital models, but by the time they did, they were outclassed...

Scott Ditzel Photography

www.flickr.com/photos/screaminscott/

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9 years 4 months ago #417641 by Ian Stone

effron wrote: Maybe they didn't see the possibilities?


How ironic 


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9 years 4 months ago #417652 by garyrhook
For the same reason that the videotape recorder, also invented in the US, was not exploited by an American company. It took someone else with different ideas to see the potential.


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9 years 4 months ago #417663 by Sawyer
Evolution of an idea

Canon 5D Mark II | Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM | Canon 35L | Sigma 85 1.4 | Helios 44M-6 58mm(M42) | Zeiss 50mm 1.4 (C/Y) | Canon 135L | (2) 430EX II
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9 years 4 months ago #417672 by KCook

garyrhook wrote: For the same reason that the videotape recorder, also invented in the US, was not exploited by an American company. It took someone else with different ideas to see the potential.


:goodpost:
And Kodak never took the camera side of the business all that seriously.  This new fangled digital deal looked and smelled like a camera feature, off the radar for Kodak management.

Kelly

Canon 50D, Olympus PL2
kellycook.zenfolio.com/

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9 years 4 months ago #417753 by Colorado Mike
Isn't Kodak just making printers these days?


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9 years 4 months ago #417771 by Joves

Colorado Mike wrote: Isn't Kodak just making printers these days?


Only on the commercial end from my understanding. They are pretty much out of the general public arena.
As far as why they did not go into the digital technology, there is a one word answer. STUPIDITY!


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9 years 4 months ago #417789 by garyrhook

KCook wrote: And Kodak never took the camera side of the business all that seriously.  This new fangled digital deal looked and smelled like a camera feature, off the radar for Kodak management.


I think that's probably very insightful. If Kodak saw itself as a company that sells film, why would digital devices be of interest?


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9 years 4 months ago #417804 by Happy-pixel
Imagine if Sony stayed with the Walkman vs moving to changing technology?  Same things applies to Kodak.  


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