The Last Film Movie Cameras?

Digital cameras have grabbed the lion's share of the consumer market over the past decade. Now it looks like the same thing is happening in the motion picture industry, as industry giants shift production to digital equipment.

Debra Kaufman of Creative COW Magazine reports, "ARRI, Panavision and Aaton have quietly ceased production of film cameras within the last year to focus exclusively on design and manufacture of digital cameras. That's right: someone, somewhere in the world is now holding the last film camera ever to roll off the line."

I think the reality is that there are no new film camera designs on the drawing board, but ARRI or Aaton will manufacture cameras on demand. However, I wouldn't be surprised if they had limited inventory of machined bodies and other components that don't wear out quickly.

This new reality is reflected in Kodak's recent stock price woes. The once mighty film giant's share price recently dipped well below $1 on news that the company had retained the services of bankruptcy protection experts and is looking for a buyer interested in its digital imaging patent portfolio.

Personally, I don't think film is dead yet and Kodak is a bargain at current prices.

Film Fading to Black [via a thread on Filmshooting.com]