Pages: [1]   Go Down

Author Topic: Agfa Gevaert  (Read 374 times)

Ivo_B

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1077
    • www.ivophoto.be
Agfa Gevaert
« on: November 14, 2024, 08:47:10 am »

Bad news in Belgium,

530 people will loose their job due to the further and fast decline in the demand of film (or what remains of it), be it photographically film or film for medical use.
Despite all the on going hype about film and the ridiculous cost of film and old analog gear, the demand for film goes down and down and down.

Agfa in Belgium is considered as one of the 'zombie' companies that is still in business thanks to heavy credits by the banks based on a glorious past, but in reality bankrupt, only kept alive to avoid a social catastrophe.

...
Logged

kers

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 4454
    • Pieter Kers
Re: Agfa Gevaert
« Reply #1 on: November 14, 2024, 01:08:02 pm »

Bad news in Belgium,

530 people will loose their job due to the further and fast decline in the demand of film (or what remains of it), be it photographically film or film for medical use.
Despite all the on going hype about film and the ridiculous cost of film and old analog gear, the demand for film goes down and down and down.

Agfa in Belgium is considered as one of the 'zombie' companies that is still in business thanks to heavy credits by the banks based on a glorious past, but in reality bankrupt, only kept alive to avoid a social catastrophe.

...
Sad news...  wow 530 people...a lot
I have used a lot of Agfa in the past from slides tot BW film to baryta paper.
Spend sooo much time in my DOKA and in my dark bathroom developng film...
I am glad that time in the dark with the toxic environment is over, however

I liked and still like very much the AGFA multi contrast baryte paper that i used a lot with selenium toner.
as i also enjoyed ilford Gallery and a very nice thick kodak baryte that i used.

...
Logged

Rob C

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 24313
Re: Agfa Gevaert
« Reply #2 on: November 14, 2024, 04:03:05 pm »

Ivo, perhaps the very high cost of film is part of the problem, the greatest disincentive to buying. I still have a Nikon F3 that’s almost unused, and a lot of film remains in the bottom of the freezer, a mixture of black/white negative and colour transparency material. Just for old time’s sake, I hang on to some cassettes of Kodachrome that will never be exposed or developed. Oh, I also have a brick of Velvia 50 on 120 format, but no 120 camera anymore.

My Canoscan remains unused, wishing, perhaps, to see that stuff in the freezer, but the darkroom was dismantled years ago, freeing the office from water supplies and drains. Sadly, that lovely scanner can’t work with Windows 10, and I would have to get a computer to operate with an older system. I think I could get that done, but it’s the film and processing cost that kills it for me. The entire Pro section of my website exists because of that scanner… friggin’ “progress”.

Though digital is probably now the superior system, I do have sympathy for those people who think that digital has made them sloppy. God knows how they feel about what the iPhone cameras have done for technique! I think that after using mine for so long, going back to my digital camera will be a bit of a shock!

Yes, unemployment is a tough call, and not everybody is capable of retraining for something else, much depending on age as well as opportunities available.

Rhossydd

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3381
    • http://www.paulholman.com
Re: Agfa Gevaert
« Reply #3 on: November 27, 2024, 04:28:18 am »

Sadly, that lovely scanner can’t work with Windows 10,
It's almost certain to work if you use a driver from Vuescan.
Logged

Robert Roaldi

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 4921
    • Robert's Photos
Re: Agfa Gevaert
« Reply #4 on: November 27, 2024, 07:05:34 am »

Tangentially related to this is the work of a Ryerson (whose new name is Toronto Metropolitan University) professor Robert Burley, https://theimagecentre.ca/exhibition/robert-burley-the-disappearance-of-darkness/. During the early demise of film he travelled to the various factories where film was manufactured around the world and photographed the buildings and their interiors, or what was left of them. In some cases he got there too late and the facilities were gone. An exhibit of those works was on tour for a while in the mid-2000s and I saw the show at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa. I have no idea how one would view that work now, but that link shows some of the photos.

One of the photos was of an office interior at a Kodak facility in Toronto and it happened to include some office mail slots. I saw the name of a friend's brother who worked there.
Logged
--
Robert

Rob C

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 24313
Re: Agfa Gevaert
« Reply #5 on: November 27, 2024, 10:55:05 am »

It's almost certain to work if you use a driver from Vuescan.

Hi, I just found your post today - haven’t visited this thread in a while.

I’m not familiar with Vuescan - is there any brief explanation you can offer of what it is, please?

Thanks -

Rob


Oops! Did the obvious thing and consulted Dr Google! Thanks!

Rob
« Last Edit: November 27, 2024, 10:58:44 am by Rob C »
Logged

Robert Roaldi

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 4921
    • Robert's Photos
Re: Agfa Gevaert
« Reply #6 on: November 28, 2024, 09:56:53 am »

Hi, I just found your post today - haven’t visited this thread in a while.

I’m not familiar with Vuescan - is there any brief explanation you can offer of what it is, please?

Thanks -

Rob


Oops! Did the obvious thing and consulted Dr Google! Thanks!

Rob

I'll second Vuescan, does everything I've ever needed and the creator provides good support. The user interface is a bit awkward at first, but I use Olympus cameras so all other menus seem like child's play to me.
Logged
--
Robert

Rob C

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 24313
Re: Agfa Gevaert
« Reply #7 on: November 28, 2024, 10:47:57 am »

I'll second Vuescan, does everything I've ever needed and the creator provides good support. The user interface is a bit awkward at first, but I use Olympus cameras so all other menus seem like child's play to me.

I thought it was Sony that had asylum menu systems. ;-) I find my Nikon menu system somewhat confusing, but as I originally managed to set it up as close to a manual camera as possible, there’s very little need ever to dive.

KLaban

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2487
    • Keith Laban Photography
Re: Agfa Gevaert
« Reply #8 on: November 28, 2024, 12:35:33 pm »

I thought it was Sony that had asylum menu systems. ;-) I find my Nikon menu system somewhat confusing, but as I originally managed to set it up as close to a manual camera as possible, there’s very little need ever to dive.

The easiest digital OS menu I've ever set up was the Leica M9, but there again it was extremely limited in options and use compared to modern top end digital cameras. That said it was one of the most enjoyable cameras I've ever used.

Even the latest Leica OS menus and controls remain simplistic, comparatively comprehensive and yet intuitive.     
« Last Edit: November 28, 2024, 12:43:38 pm by KLaban »
Logged

Rhossydd

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3381
    • http://www.paulholman.com
Re: Agfa Gevaert
« Reply #9 on: November 28, 2024, 04:57:40 pm »

I’m not familiar with Vuescan - is there any brief explanation you can offer of what it is, please?

Oops! Did the obvious thing and consulted Dr Google! Thanks!
The crucial aspect is that Vuescan has it's own drivers for the scanners for current OSs.

I've owned it for decades now and now just use it to provide a driver for my old, but excellent, Minolta MF scanner. That driver even allows me to use Minolta's old software which I find drives the scanner better than Vuescan itself.
Logged

Robert Roaldi

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 4921
    • Robert's Photos
Re: Agfa Gevaert
« Reply #10 on: November 30, 2024, 12:19:26 pm »

I thought it was Sony that had asylum menu systems. ;-) I find my Nikon menu system somewhat confusing, but as I originally managed to set it up as close to a manual camera as possible, there’s very little need ever to dive.

Just a quick note about Vuescan that may not be immediately obvious. Aside from acquiring input from a physical scanner, it can also use a digital file as input. One thing I've done in the past is to digiscan colour negative film using my camera and then used Vuescan to use that file as input to do the conversion from colour negative to positive. Vuescan has a few onboard colour negative film filters. I did not do much of this at all so cannot make any intelligent comments about how well it works. I'm not sure that it's any easier than simply learning how to do this in a photo editor, but it might save some time if you can dial it in correctly.
Logged
--
Robert
Pages: [1]   Go Up