Another brand heard from after a long while.. Lucky Film.

[Agulliver]

I wonder if there's a chance of 30m bulk rolls of Lucky colour film? I have a local lab operated by someone who will undoubtedly return my reusable cassettes if I go down that particular route.

Watching this thread with interest. Not wanting Kodak to suffer, because they've been truly great, but another new C41 film will be something of use to many of us.

 

[koraks]

Lucky Color Film Update (Jan 2025)

Lucky Film, a renowned Chinese brand with a rich history in photographic film, also the OEM factory for Eastman Kodak, once held a prominent place in the market. However, the rise of digital cameras nearly two decades ago led to the cessation of their consumer film production. Despite this...

reflxlab.com

Reading some of that, I really have my doubts whether I should by any of this when it hits the market. But it's beyond the scope of this forum to discuss in-depth why. I'm sure anyone reading the link above somewhat carefully will understand my concerns.

 

[OrientPoint]

Reading some of that, I really have my doubts whether I should by any of this when it hits the market. But it's beyond the scope of this forum to discuss in-depth why. I'm sure anyone reading the link above somewhat carefully will understand my concerns.

I believe I see your point and agree totally.

For color in the future I shall be sticking with Harman Phoenix, which I have every confidence will continue to improve. Illford/Harman seems to be the only company left with the experience, technology and interest to produce film at the level of quality we all came to expect pre-digital, at a sustainable price-point and for the foreseeable future. (Well, perhaps Adox meets these criteria as well). Kodak is pricing themselves out of the market; Fuji doesn't want to be in the market; and Ferrania appears to be circling the drain. Rather than hope for some new player to emerge into what is obviously a niche legacy industry, I'm going to stick with the one company that both wants to and can survive.

 

[AnselMortensen]

Thank you for sharing that link.
I won't be buying any of that film.

 

[brbo]

I probably won't either, since it will not be significantly cheaper than Kodak consumer film, definitely won't be better and probably also won't be "special" (like Adox Color Mission 200).

Other than that, I have no idea what is wrong with Lucky. Or is it just their non-existent colour film that somehow offended people?

 

[koraks]

Other than that, I have no idea what is wrong with Lucky. Or is it just their non-existent colour film that somehow offended people?

For me, that's not the reason for my concerns. The hint was that it's not appropriate subject matter for this forum; if you combine that with the text of the quoted article, it should be fairly easy to figure out one or two issues that would make me hesitate. Mind you, I think I understand Lucky's position and it's not that I'd want to categorically exclude them. Just...if there is at least one more option, maybe I'd rather go with that. And, like you said, the Kodak offering is pretty compelling. Especially as long as we can still get our hands on some of the Vision3 stuff, which is really excellent for optical printing if you want somewhat subdued colors (which is what I want most of the time).

 

[brbo]

I guess I’m just dumb.

And the enlightenment would obviously explode this forum. Oh, well…

 

[M-88]

I guess I’m just dumb.

It's most likely the second paragraph of that article, which would immediately make it a [censored] topic.

 

[brbo]

It's most likely the second paragraph of that article, which would immediately make it a [censored] topic.

@koraks and @MattKing offered insight into what they believe would lead to the unwanted discussion.

With that information, I guess I'd rather be dumb...

 

[koraks]

I guess I'd rather be dumb...

But you're not - you're just saying that for rhetoric purposes. And as rhetoric devices go, I find this a particularly ugly one.

 

[sednoid]

Looks like Lucky Color is really happening. It's a US/Europe distributor site but seems legit.

Home - Lucky Film

It’s official – after over a decade Lucky Film is back with a brand new, true original color 35mm film at a price today’s photographers can afford.

luckyfilm.net

 

[cmacd123]

and to add to the "Mystery" - Peta Pixel is talking about a "Fight" between twoPotential Distributors... Nothing connected with China is simple.

Lucky Film's Comeback is Causing In-Fighting Among Distributors

Excitement and hype for a new C-41 color negative film stock is causing Lucky Film distributors to fight amongst each other.

petapixel.com

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

I won't touch any of their film with a 10' barge pole.

 

[GregY]

I won't touch any of their film with a 10' barge pole.

This!

 

[baachitraka]

Are those films really bad even for casual shooting?

 

[brbo]

I won't touch any of their film with a 10' barge pole.

Because...?

 

[Film-Niko]

Are those films really bad even for casual shooting?

Concerning the announced coming color negative film, we just have to wait and see, or better: We have to intensively test it when it is available.
Lucky stopped their former color film production around 2010 - 2012.

Their former color films were not bad, but also not on the quality level of Kodak, Fuji, Agfa, Konica, Ferrania. One factor in which you see quite clearly the technology gap is the shelf life of the films:
The former Lucky color films have detoriated / expired much faster than those of the competition. Strong color shifts have occured much faster with the Lucky films compared to the competition. A ten years expirded Kodak or Fuji film is in most cases usable without any severe problems.
But with a Lucky CN film you will have very strong color shifts.

The new film(s) will certainly be a bit different. Lucky has already said that partly new components are used.
We will have to test whether the new stuff is better than the former discontinued films.

 

[GabrielC]

Well, even if it is not of the highest quality, if it can bring down the prices a bit it will be a good thing already

 

[baachitraka]

Right now the prices are kind of high to have fun shooting film and not to.say about the paper. Some.good.papers are not available anymore (MCC) but others have bumped prices too...

So anything cheaper is good to have.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Because...?

Personal reasons that I will keep to myself.

 

[brbo]

Personal reasons that I will keep to myself.

Ok.

It was just a very strong opinion, expressed publicly, backed up by nothing. Just seemed odd...

Must be a Canadian thing, considering @GregY mirrored your statement immediately ...

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Ok.

It was just a very strong opinion, expressed publicly, backed up by nothing. Just seemed odd...

Must be a Canadian thing, considering @GregY mirrored your statement immediately ...

That comment makes us look stupid. I think its a human thing. Best to keep personal stuff to oneself, no?

 

[retina_restoration]

Must be a Canadian thing, considering @GregY mirrored your statement immediately ...

You seem to be making a considerable effort to create needless confrontation and offend people. I don't know why. I'm guessing you don't either.

 

[GregY]

Ok.

It was just a very strong opinion, expressed publicly, backed up by nothing. Just seemed odd...

Must be a Canadian thing, considering @GregY mirrored your statement immediately ...

Some folks like shooting x-ray film, some re-spooled film, some the cheapest current one, some the kick-starter, some the newest on the market.
Both travel and enlarging paper have considerable costs these days, so some of us prefer working with reliable materials & direct our purchases to those we'd like to see remain in business. For me that'd be Ilford & Kodak.
It's not as if strong opinions are foreign to this forum.....does a different opinion make it offensive? Incidentally neither Andrew nor criticized the film or made any negative remarks..... we both just strongly stated we personally wouldn't buy any....

 

[cmacd123]

Lucky stopped their former color film production around 2010 - 2012.

Their former color films were not bad, but also not on the quality level of Kodak, Fuji, Agfa, Konica, Ferrania.

was the Lucky firm not closely involved with the "Kodak China" story, where Kodak invested in making film in China originaly for that market, and leter exposted to other places. at the time Kodak claimed that the Quality of that Operation was one of the better locations in the Kodak family, (or course about a year later they started shutting down all the plants outside the US.)