Kodak's announcement

[Joseph Tainter]

According to the December issue of Shutterbug, Kodak has announced that 
it will no longer produce slide projectors, and will stop servicing 
those already produced in 8 or 9 years.

Can slide film be far behind?

This is a shock for me. I give a lot of presentations with slides. I am 
accustomed to showing up with a carousel and finding a Kodak projector 
ready. Over the next few years this will gradually cease to be a 
reliable expectation.

I don't think digital projectors give the impact of a conventionally 
projected transparency. And people still have trouble getting them to 
work somtimes.

I know there are a couple of other slide projector makers, but nothing 
they offer (to my knowledge) equals the convenience of the Kodak 
carousel. I have sometimes been forced to use them. Even if such 
projectors continue to be made, the major hotels that house conferences 
will not buy them. All that will be available is a digital projector.

As with so many transitions in photographic technology (p&s cameras, 
APS, mini labs, etc.), change seems to mean a decline in image quality. 
Also, to preview one of my presentations, I will now have to carry a laptop.

This is not an improvement. I understand that Kodak must transition to 
digital along with everyone else, but some parts of that transition may 
be going to quickly. Was Kodak losing money on slide projectors? It 
seems to me that there will be demand for them for some time, if only 
for luddites like me who want our images actually to look good on a 
screen. Why buy quality gear, quality film, and work on becoming a good 
photographer only to have low quality projection equipment?

Joe