Kodak: Complete Guide to Cameras, Films and Printers

Perhaps Kodak It only sounds like reels of photos or prints if you are of a certain age, or that it sounds little or nothing to you. The truth is that one was a leading brand in photography for a whole century and, today, after some bump which I will tell you later, is still there, offering a variety of photographic products that you cannot even imagine.

In this complete guide we will take a walk through its interesting history, including its failure, and I will introduce you to its different photographic products: analog and digital cameras, reels and printers.

Old Kodak Camera: Kodak Brownie

What happened to Kodak (and why it failed)

Eastman Kodak Company, better known as Kodak, is a multinational photographic company founded in 1892 in the United States. For a century it led the photographic sector thanks to its cameras and photographic films.

The company traces its origins to George Eastman, inventor of photographic film which replaced the glass plate, and businessman Henry Strong. In 1888, Eastman, who believed in the democratization of photography, patented a camera that included film. That same year he launched the Kodak 100 Vista camera coining the slogan:

«You push the button, we do the rest»

George Eastman

With this idea of ​​turning a technical, difficult and cumbersome process into something easy and accessible to everyone (looking for photography to be “as practical as a pencil”), revolutionized the photographic world, greatly influencing our society.

The first photographic revolution came from the hand of Kodak

His inventions did not stop there, the commercialization of the transparent roll gave way to the invention of the cinematographic camera; in the middle of the s. XX promoted the color revolution in the printing of books and magazines; In 1975 a Kodak engineer created the first digital camera; and produced Apple’s first Quicktake digital cameras in 1994.

But… why did Kodak fail? If it was the market leader and Fujifilm, which remained stoically, was always lagging behind Kodak… It was precisely the democratization of photography that its founder had advocated so much for that swept the company, although it would be more sensible to say that it was the bad decisions in the face of such important changes that led them to bankruptcy.

Fujifilm, which had nothing to lose, opted for the change, while the American brand, being the leader, gave up that digital camera invention introduced by one of his engineers fearing it might end his roll film business and tried to hide it from the world.

Kodak’s first developing kiosks

What they did not think is that others could discover and commercialize it later. So it was. In short, they did not know how to adapt to the change that was coming and the company went into bankruptcy in 2012.

Hand in hand with its new CEO, Jeff Clarke, in 2014 he began his Restructuring process.

Currently, it is reorienting its activity towards other markets, mainly photography and digital printing.

Since 2020, it has also sold pharmaceutical products. Behind all this there is another scandal related to the enormous rise in kodak stock and a loan from the US government, although this would give for another article (journalistic, of course).

Kodak Instamatic analog camera, a classic of the brand

Kodak instant cameras

Despite the fact that the company lost an instant photography patent battle with Polaroid and left this market in 1986, these Kodak instant cameras are still on the market today. Unlike other brands, they are not only instant cameras, but also work as small pocket printers.

KODAK MiniShot 2

The size of the printed photo is 5 x 8.6 cm. it’s in yellow and blank.

KODAK Mini Shot 2 Retro

Unlike other instant cameras, with the Mini Shot 2 retro you can decide whether or not you want to print the photo you just took.

The photo size is 5.3 x 8.6 cm and is available in black and in yellow.

KODAK Mini Shot 3 Square

The photos have a square format and a size of 7.6 x 7.6 cm. It is available in white and in yellow.

KODAK Mini Shot 3 Square Retro

KODAK Printomatic Instant Print

Prints are smudge-proof, tear-proof, and adhesive-backed. It also does not require ink, toner, or a film cartridge. Available in the following colors: YellowBlueGreenGrayBlack And pink.

KODAK SMILE Classic

It is not the most compact, because it prints photos at size 10.8 x 8.8cmbut it is not heavy. It is also in several colors: BlueBlackRedGreen.

KODAK SMILE Instant Print

Camera and printer in one, with a nice design and a slider to turn on the camera. Possibility of inserting a micro SD card, touch control panel, LCD navigation, 2 image modes, preview, automatic flash and rechargeable battery with up to 40 prints per charge.

You can get to know her better in this video:

KODAK STEP Instant Print

Micro SD card, 3.5″ touchscreen, 13 MP camera with optical zoom, split screen, pop-up flash, self-timer, selfie mirror, autofocus; HD video recorder; editing to add style to your photos with borders, stickers and filters; it also allows you to connect to any device to share on social networks or to send and print photos. And it only weighs 100g.

Kodak digital cameras

They missed their chance, out of fear, yes. But in the end, sooner or later, either you get on the bandwagon or you stay on the ground. So Kodak could not be less with the issue of digital cameras, so yes, in their catalog they currently have the following digital cameras:

compact cameras

These are the cameras kodak compact. They are characterized by being small, light, easy to use and cheap.

bridge cameras

The kodak bridge cameras are their compact astrozoom: