Newsletter for Fall, 2000

The first society devoted to the history of photography and the preservation of photo antiques

And A Good Time Was Had By All...

The Great PhotoHistory XI is now history itself. We hope you didn't miss it. As always, one of the best parts was renewing old friendships. As in the past, everyone we talked to, and comments published in other photographic historical journals, agreed that an educational, and fun time, was had by all. It is hard to believe that the first symposium was held in 1970, and each successive presentation has received recognition from all over the globe. This years program maintained the excellence we have all come to expect.

In case you missed PhotoHistory XI, Sharon Bloemendaal, an editor with the New York-Pennsylvania Collector, has kindly provided copies of her article that appears in the January 2001 edition. Sharon rightly calls PhotoHistory "a scholarly and friendly Symposium". Attendees we talked to agreed. Even topics they had not eagerly anticipated, turned out to be both informative and entertaining. The swap meet, as with any other, was "exceptional" if you found something you wanted, at the right price. Or, perhaps, "about what I expected", if you didn't. George Eastman House was in its normal splendor and a delightful host. We hope you are planning now to attend PhotoHistory XII.

And it all came about because of Chairman, Jack Bloemendaal and His Band of Hard Working Helpers: Tim Fuss, Bob Navias. Roger Watson. Jim Morris. Jack Granel. Jim Pricy. Sharon Bloemendaal, Frank Calandra. and Nick and Marilyn Graver. If we have missed anyone, please let us know. Meanwhile. Many thanks to all of you!

Things to Do...

[ ]Send in your $20 Dues to: Frank Calandra, Treasurer
350 Witting Road, Webster, N.Y., 14580-9009

[ ] Attend The Annual Dinner
Date is not yet set

[ ] Attend the next meeting at Brighton Town Hall
2300 Elmwood Avenue 7:30 PM Guests always welcome

This Month's Mystery Questions...

1. Along with Scotch tape, the 3-M company makes amateur 35mm film. Originally they used the 3- M brand , but for the last ten years or so they did not identify 3M. Only that the film was made in Italy and packaged In the USA. Now they are identifying themselves on a new line of film. What new brand name is 3M using for their film that identifies them as the maker.

2. What maker of luxury goods plans to take a $15 million stake in the ailing Leica Cameras A.G.? The move is said to be logical for the company to own "the Rolls-Royce of cameras".

3. While we doubt that they all make them, name one photographic related product sold under the following names: 3M. Da-Lite, Apollo, Elki, DuKane. Elmo, and Plus? No. it's not projection screens.

Answers at End of Newsletter

Obituaries:

Natalie Kattelle

With deep regret we report that Natalie Kattelle, wife of Alan Kattelle, was fatally injured as she and Alan were entering in a highway crosswalk. Alan was also injured but is recovering. Natalie had served as the secretary/treasurer of the Movie Machine Society and worked tirelessly with Alan to make the organization a reality. The family asks that any memorials be sent to the American Heart Association, 7272 Greenville, Dallas, TX 75231

Seton Rothwite

While not the inventor of stereo cameras, Seton Rothwite, who passed away July 18, 2000, at ninety-five, holds a place in photo equipment history for his unique approaches and camera designs. Stereo was largely regarded as a passing fad, more appreciated in the 1800's than in the mid-1943, when Rothwite designed the Stereo Realist. However, it would be 1947 before the David White Company, a maker of precision measuring equipment, took the chance to produce and market the Realist and accessories. The new camera's basic parameters, as well as unique design features, would set standards for a rebirth of stereo photography.

After A Few Dozen Lines. We Are Going To Tell You About Polaroid...
But First: Concord...Gee Whiz Gang!

We were all set to go to press when the December 12, WSJ arrived with the following headline: "Small Company Plans to Expand High-Tech Camera Line". The company they referred to was Concord Camera Corporation. Concord, the item states is an "...unadvertised name (which) remains unknown to most consumers-including millions that use the product it makes." With that kind of build-up the reader is hooked. Who are they talking about? It is a company, the writer emphasizes, that has, "deftly fashioned itself a new image (it doesn't say what its old image was) with the global camera industry as a skilled manufacturer, overseeing a factory in China from headquarters in Hollywood Florida." (Other companies) including Eastman Kodak- and instantly recognizable Polaroid Corp. - rely on Concord to supply them with large volumes of low-priced cameras.

The item notes that while Concord still sells direct to dealers, it has proven that developing close alliances with larger companies can improve their fortunes. In 2000, two-thirds of their sales were made to larger competitors. Concord makes Kodak's popular F300, 35mm camera which has a motorized film advance and retails in the mass market for $39.95.

While sluggish a few years ago, for the current fiscal year Concord predicts sales of $225 million, a 30% increase. The year before, sales were $173.2 million which included $38.7 million from Kodak and $43.4 million from Polaroid.

The company's biggest product has been disposables. It also makes instant cameras, as well as conventional 35mm and 24mm APS cameras. But as you might guess, Concord sees a greater world to conquer in high-tech. Ira B. Lampert, the 55 year old chairman says he is comfortable with Wall Street's projections that the company will hit their earnings targets even though the shares hit a low of $7.88 during the last year. They later peaked at $34.50, and traded on 12-12-2000 for just over $20.

The interesting thing about Concord. besides convincing someone at the Wall Street Journal that an article would be a great idea, is the fact that they admit that they are only one fish in the fairly large second, perhaps third, tier camera supply chain. One of the most prominent supplier of low-end cameras is still W. Haking Enterprises Ltd. in Hong Kong. For many years Haking has supplied low-end cameras to Kodak. And for a generation it was run by an "all business" manager, Pauline Chang, who must now be long joined to that great camera factory in the sky. Tales of dealing with the "Dragon Lady" were legion at Kodak.

But back to Concord. Founded in 1984, Concord has only 218 employees in their Avenel, N.J. headquarters. However, it has opened a factory in Shenzhen, China, "...a pioneering move to ensure a low labor-cost advantage over US factories." The company says it will soon enter the high-tech market, although it is a "tougher league". The biggest problem is the rapid technology changes which means shorter model life and near perfect timing (required) of product introduction.

Concord also has contracts with Agfa-Gevaert and 3M whose products are marketed by Italian, Ferrania SpA. Concord charges between $2 and $18 for film cameras that retail between $5 and $30. Total sales to Kodak are said to have been more than $100 million over the last three years.

So far, Concord's digital cameras include the Jam-Cam 3.0 camera marketed by KB Gear Interactive, Inc. Eden Prairie, Minn. On the market since August, it retails for $99 and expected sales are 500,000 units by next autumn. IXLA an Australian company will sell two more new digital cameras by next July, the Concord Eye-Q IR, which will be co-branded with Nokia Corp., the cellphone maker in Espoo, Finland. The idea is to bundle the two devices and enable users to zap pictures around the globe by phone.

(Ed. Note: If I didn't know better, I would almost believe that this article was either planted or perhaps written by a cub reporter. It has what we used to call a "Gee Whizî factor". ($100 million from Kodak. Gee whiz, isn't that great. And other great things are going on! Gee...")

The Continuing Melodrama..,An Almost Instant Snapshot Of Polaroid 2000..

In an earlier issue we noted that Shamrock Holdings, an investor group controlled by Roy Disney, Walt Disney's brother, and the largest shareholder of the Walt Disney Company, had once made an unsuccessful attempt to buy the Polaroid Corporation. Disney's reasons for wanting Polaroid are uncertain, perhaps to dismantle it and sell off patents and other assets that could be worth more than the operating company. The reasons Disney failed were complicated but he is probably glad he failed. Polaroid has lost money for the last six years.

In the March 1st, 1999 Business Week, asked (is) "Something Set To Click at Polaroid?" It. speculated that the new CEO, Gary T. DiCamillo was behind the introduction of the new I- Zone camera line that the company hoped would match sales of similar cameras sold by manufacturers in Japan.

Amid almost universal skepticism that a camera that made postage stamp-sized, sticky- backed, pictures, would sell, I-Zone was a huge hit with the younger set. This in spite of the fact that the cameras created a king-size anguish to many parents who found themselves paying 75 cents each for I-Zone's ten tiny Images. Then shortly after I-Zone, Polaroid marketed an inexpensive, pocket-sized digital camera. The December 4th, 2000, Business Week reports that the $25 I-Zone instant camera, "quickly became the world's best selling camera, in terms of units and helped Polaroid into the black for the first time in 5 years".

How did DiCamillo do it? He had become the Polaroid CEO in 1995, leaving Black & Decker, where he had revitalized the company's consumer power-tool business. Amid much skepticism that anyone could save Polaroid, DiCamillo has made more progress than even supporters thought possible. He came to a company that had virtually no leadership, no R&D, yet a billion-dollar instant-film operation that was providing more than 90% of the profits. It was also toiling with products that had been in development for years and that now had little or no demand in the marketplace. An example, instant x-ray film, which would have been too expensive, less quality than needed and too late to compete with more advanced products already on the market.

DiCamillo instigated a three-prong strategy: (1) cut costs by reducing the work force from 12.300 to 9000, (2) selling unprofitable businesses for more than $50 million, and (3) reinventing amateur instant photography. Where to start? Through surveys. DiCamillo found that instant photography had been languishing for so long that it was unfamiliar to two generation of customers.

Polaroid now had a new design team, a revitalized marketing force and began introducing 20-25 new or revised products a year, This Christmas it has a dozen products including more variations of the I-Zone.. And then there's Webster, a tiny scanner that makes digital images of I-Zone photos. It was hoped that Webster would introduce younger shutterbugs to instant photography. The I-Zone Digital, which may have been originally the Webster, is now on the market and available at Eckard Drug Stores.

But Now In December 2000...

Unfortunately, it is now clear that Polaroid is going to need many more I-Zone Webster Wonders and other hits to survive. Big retailers did not place the flood of orders that Polaroid expected for Christmas sales. Result? In 1999 Polaroid earned only $9 million on $1.9 billion in sales. For 2000, analysts predicted a 17% climb, to about $10.5 million on $2 billion in sales. But fourth-quarter revenue could be S60-$70 million less than expected and operating profit could drop $45 million to the "break-even" range and perhaps a net loss for the quarter. Polaroid's debt load remains around $830 million, partly a vestige of the company's struggle to avoid that take-over by Shamrock holdings in the 1980's. Interest payments of $63 million, have eaten up profits for the first nine months of the year and the debt cannot be reduced significantly without selling off more of what limited assets the company still owns. As of this writing, (December 16, 2000) the stock sits at $6.50.

DiCamillo says Polaroid is still moving "aggressively" to meet the demand for digital cameras. One problem - just like everyone else, it does not make a profit on digital.

Polaroid- Part II.

In late April, 2000 another key Polaroid executive, Carole Uhrich, quit, Once considered a possible candidate to run Polaroid, she resigned after 33 years with the company. Uhrich, 55, was Polaroid's executive VP and assistant chief operating officer, ranking her as one of the top women in the photography industry.

At the current price of its stock, what worthwhile assets are left might be ripe for an unfriendly take-over. However, there are two possible deterrents: (1) a "poison pill" provision in the company charter imposes harsh penalties if the company is forced to sell against its will and (2) the employee stock-share plan which holds 22% of Polaroid shares, might resist a sale.

In late 2000, two new potential headaches have also surfaced. First is the growing rumor that Fuji Photo Film of Japan will bring its instant products (based on Kodak patents) to North America. Second, Polaroid's Chairman, DiCamillo, while predicting that new products will boost sales by as much as five-fold next year, announced that four businesses were being sold: sunglasses, graphic arts, holography and glare reducing polarizers.

Polaroid has long been considered as a possible takeover by the German Agfa-Gevaert Group or Japan's Sony Corp,, but as it's market cap shriveled to $375 million-down from $2.4 billion in August, 1997, even hopes for a takeover have faded for most involved. Some, it is rumored, are just awaiting for the auction block to be set up.

A Salute to Jim McKeown and His Wonderful Price Guide To Cameras

If anyone ever brought order out of chaos, it is Jim McKeown and his encyclopedic Price Guide To Cameras. No, Jim hasn't sent your editor a copy of his new one - he did once and I thought it was one that I had ordered and didn't even send him a thank-you note. Although I waited and waited, he didn't send me the next one. I forgave him- bought it anyway.

Why is Jim's guide so unique, and essential, to anyone interested in old cameras? First, because it is excellent research. You may not agree with the prices but those are moving targets. You would be hard put to disagree with the descriptions and comments about the items. And, more often than not, you find something more about an item that you thought you knew everything. If there was a Ph.D. given in photographic equipment, this could well be his dissertation. No committee in the world would be able to argue with him. The latest edition may be the last with Jim at the helm but I'll bet you'll see evidence of his influence on the next volume. So let's all express our appreciation for his work well done. Overall, Jim has provided the best photographic equipment historical volume available anywhere. If he retires, which we doubt, we wish him the best.

Can the October issue of CameraShopper Be Number 109? Answer - YES

At PhotoHistory, we had a much too short chat with Jay Topper about his publication CAMERASHOPPER, a publication that has become an essential for many photographica collectors. Jay's standards for advertisers, classification categories and condition ratings, etc. have gone a long way in helping sellers and buyers have a better or at least, reasonable, understanding of what one has for sale (condition, exact type/model, etc.) and if it matches what the other is looking for. Nothing is ever perfect but Jay's system is probably as good as it gets. It is miles ahead of most auctions we have attended. Of course there is more to CAMERA SHOPPER than just ads, We were particularly interested in the October issue's article by Jim Ziegler on the ARGUS A., Argus being one of your editor's favorite companies from the past. Of course this probably means that Jay will have a buyer for Argus articles in back issues 92, 96, 98, and 99 ($1 each plus large self-addressed and stamped envelope). In case you want to run an ad in the US, become a subscriber which also reduces classified ad rates to 20 cents a word, subscriptions are $20 a year (11 issues) Address: CameraShopper, P.O. Box 1086, New Canaan, CT 06840, or call (203) 972-5700 or fax (203) 972-5702

Is 3-D Ready for a Comeback? 3D Image Technology Thinks It Never Left And Everybody Should Have One. Virtually Free. A Stereo Realist. It's Not,..,

Remember 3-D? Remember 3D Imaging Technology? Perhaps you said no to the latter, unless, of course, you are a dedicated member of the National Stereoscopic Association - or perhaps you drink Red Dog Beer. The National Stereoscopic Association produces one of the largest and most informative journals on photohistory and modern 3-D photography available anywhere. On the other hand, 3D Imaging Technology Inc. of Norcross Georgia, sells a single-use 3-D camera that is being used by the Red Dog Beer Co. as a premium. Customers who buy two six-packs of Red Dog Beer receive a free 3-D camera imprinted with the Red Dog logo plus a discount on the cost of the developing. Similar programs have been designed for Sprint, Marlboro cigarettes, Frui topia, and Fox Television. Waters & Wolf, an Evanston, Ill.-based advertising agency which managed the promotions, said sure it's a novelty, a niche product, but it has its place." We don't know where the next promotion will be, but down enough Red Dogs and you probably won't care.

Ever Hear of a Camera You Swallow Like A Pill? Here's A Prescription...

In the event that your doctor tells you need your innards inspected, you may not anticipate the test with pleasure. But it may not be so bad after all. Researchers are finding less invasive ways to look inside a patient's body and one of them is a camera that can be swallowed like a pill. The cameras are enclosed in small capsules that the patient swallows like a large vitamin. The camera travels through the small intestine flashing as it takes two pictures ever second. On it's journey, about 50,000 pix are transmitted to a special belt worn by the patient. After their journey the cameras are passed unnoticed by the patient and can even be flushed down the toilet, but preferably not, since they cost about $300 each. The test, invented by Israel-based Given Imaging, could help patients take tests that now require patients be sedated. Tested by Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, a doctor remarked, "as somebody who has been in this field, it certainly blew me away."

And Speaking of See-Through. Vivitar Promotes See-Through Cameras..

They make attractive gifts, part of a novelty collection, or just a curiosity sitting around the house. Once "see-through" cameras were prized collectables because few were made. Usually salesmen's samples, they were sometimes offered to dealers as displays to show the workmanship and innards of a sleek new model. We can't recall any of the display models designed for actual picture taking because, as you probably know, light does fog film. But you would think it to be a real problem with 35mm models. Apparently not. Vivitar's (and very similar Concord) blister packed, inexpensive 35mm line comes in a variety of colors that look attractive-perhaps "cute" is a better term. Target stores, K-Mart and Wal- Mart and Eckard, promotes them at under $20 with film, and sometimes they throw in a pair of "precision" binoculars.

Answers To This Issue's Mystery Questions:

1. 3M now calls their film SOLARIS. It comes in 100, 200, 400 and 800 speed color negative as well as Solaris Chrome transparency film in 100 speed, all made by Ferrania in Italy. The film is but one of the 50,000 products made by 3M, which, incidentally, was recently purchased by General Electric.

2. Hermes, the French maker of luxury goods, like $800 neckties, plans to take a $15 million stake in the ailing Leica Cameras, A.G.. Mirrelle Maury, deputy managing Director, calls Leica, the Rolls Royce of cameras, a logical addition. Hermes, doesn't own a Rolls.

3. Chester Carlson made $200 million from his invention and Joseph P. Wilson made another $100 million. The invention was, of course Xerography and the company Xerox.

4. One new catalog lists: 3M, Da-Lite, Apollo, Eiki, DuKane, and Elmo overhead projectors.