Light Lens Lab - New Film Project

[koraks]

I’m just sharing what I’ve seen—I have no idea how they actually operate.

Which is appreciated, please keep this in mind!

I’m just really surprised by the idea of a hundreds ofmillion yuan investment.

In dollar values, we're talking about $25-35M or so. That's not surprisingly much if you're looking at an effort to set up a film coating business. In fact, it's roughly 10% of what you'd expect it to be.

 

[Romanko]

Honestly, with a budget this high, wouldn’t it be more straightforward to just acquire an existing company?

Please buy Kodak. Please.

 

[koraks]

Please buy Kodak. Please.

There's a confusion about orders of magnitude going on here. The present market capitalization of EK is $800-900M. If one were to attempt to acquire it, it would require a significantly larger sum to seduce present shareholders (or even a majority). And then, of course, you're sitting there with a high-risk investment on a different continent in a different culture that's basically impossible to manage.

The only real rationale for a Chinese business to acquire EK would be to strip off any valuable assets, spit out the carcass and thereby get rid of a competitor. Look at what happened to Kodak's paper business.

 

[Romanko]

If one were to attempt to acquire it, it would require a significantly larger sum to seduce present shareholders (or even a majority).

Just wait till they go through bankruptcy again.

The only real rationale for a Chinese business to acquire EK would be to strip off any valuable assets, spit out the carcass and thereby get rid of a competitor.

Yes, this is the scenario behind most acquisitions these days.

 

[axestrata]

"I heard on the Internet that...." Sigh.

Their Cooke Speed Panchro II for Leica M is amazing, with the classic Cooke look. Their recreation of the 35/2 Summicron is also excellent. Both of these are fractions of the prices of the originals.

Chinese manufacturers are really upping their games. Eons ago, Japanese cars and electronics were cheap "knockoffs". Twenty years ago, Korean cars were a joke. I think Chinese manufacturers are undergoing similar transition.

I agree with your assessment on the emergence of how Chinese technology and industrial development will be no less than what Japan and Korea has manage to achieve. I will go one step further and predict they will exceed all others before them, especially give how resourceful they’ve managed to be.

 

[koraks]

I will go one step further and predict they will exceed all others before them, especially give how resourceful they’ve managed to be.

Not to mention that China is a big country. A lot bigger than Japan and Korea combined, controlling a lot more resources, and with a considerably larger population. So your prediction makes perfect sense. China is a world power, and its star is still rising; it's as simple as that.

 

[axestrata]

Not to mention that China is a big country. A lot bigger than Japan and Korea combined, controlling a lot more resources, and with a considerably larger population. So your prediction makes perfect sense. China is a world power, and its star is still rising; it's as simple as that.

And I hope China will greatly expand options for us regarding film stocks. I heard someone offer the idea that Light Lens Lab may have acquired Fujifilm's film production equipment. It would be amazing if someone can resume and expand what Fujifilm used to offer during it's peak.

 

[koraks]

I heard someone offer the idea that Light Lens Lab may have acquired Fujifilm's film production equipment.

That's a ridiculous idea at so many levels.

 

[axestrata]

That's a ridiculous idea at so many levels.

I think it was intended to mean one or two machines that were used for film production that are no longer being used.

 

[koraks]

I think it was intended to mean one or two machines that were used for film production that are no longer being used.

That's conceivable, although that leaves a very broad range of equipment, none of which captures the essence of a film manufacturing production system. People attribute too much meaning to symbols like these.

 

[Marcelo Paniagua]

I agree with your assessment on the emergence of how Chinese technology and industrial development will be no less than what Japan and Korea has manage to achieve. I will go one step further and predict they will exceed all others before them, especially give how resourceful they’ve managed to be.

With all due respect I find it curious how it is common knowledge (or taking as common knowledge) that China is not on par with Japan/Korea. Their level of manufacturing is quite high and I would say not subpar to Japan/Korea.

Based on my experience, Chinese manufacturing has all levels of quality. For cutting edge line to crude workshops. I used to work for a local hardware retail store and we often went to China to get products for the company inhouse trademark. They had all levels of quality, to suit everybody pockets. Surely, they were lots of companies that offered cheap, low-quality wares but they offered quality stuff too (for a price).

My other passion besides photography is cello. I found that China had both industrial level workshops that produce anything from cheap, $10 violins for Amazon, to concert level instruments. It also have low level workshops that pays a person to carve the back of a violin a day instead to pay the energy for an automated process because the worker fee is cheaper that the energy price. Then there exist workshops (like the one I get my instrument from) that pays decent salaries to their highly trained artisans and sell quality instruments.

I guess it boils down to China being too damn big, so there are all levels of industry.

 

[axestrata]

With all due respect I find it curious how it is common knowledge (or taking as common knowledge) that China is not on par with Japan/Korea. Their level of manufacturing is quite high and I would say not subpar to Japan/Korea.

Based on my experience, Chinese manufacturing has all levels of quality. For cutting edge line to crude workshops. I used to work for a local hardware retail store and we often went to China to get products for the company inhouse trademark. They had all levels of quality, to suit everybody pockets. Surely, they were lots of companies that offered cheap, low-quality wares but they offered quality stuff too (for a price).

My other passion besides photography is cello. I found that China had both industrial level workshops that produce anything from cheap, $10 violins for Amazon, to concert level instruments. It also have low level workshops that pays a person to carve the back of a violin a day instead to pay the energy for an automated process because the worker fee is cheaper that the energy price. Then there exist workshops (like the one I get my instrument from) that pays decent salaries to their highly trained artisans and sell quality instruments.

I guess it boils down to China being too damn big, so there are all levels of industry.

I think what I was speaking to was the perception of those nations and the reputation they have, particularly here in United States. In general, it doesn't seem to be realized here by the general public the power and scale of China's technology and industry.

 

[Marcelo Paniagua]

I think what I was speaking to was the perception of those nations and the reputation they have, particularly here in United States. In general, it doesn't seem to be realized here by the general public the power and scale of China's technology and industry.

Agree about he perception. We on the general public often think China is still manufacturing cheap tin toys. There is a reason USA is on a process of commercial war with China.

 

[koraks]

There is a reason USA is on a process of commercial war with China.

Which is about as far as we'll venture in that policy-related direction.

 

[Marcelo Paniagua]

Which is about as far as we'll venture in that policy-related direction.

Agree.

 

[koraks]

Thanks; I appreciate it.

 

[warden]

One thing this thread has done is make me look at the lens offerings from this company, and they look very nice indeed.

 

[MCB18]

Not sure if this has been posted yet, but this was posted on the Keica disc server from someone at LLL. The purple coating is apparently the anti-halation dye.

 

[axestrata]

Not sure if this has been posted yet, but this was posted on the Keica disc server from someone at LLL. The purple coating is apparently the anti-halation dye.

Fujichrome rolls

 

[MCB18]

Fujichrome rolls

Just the paper that they use to roll the film. I wish I had Fuji paper to use, that paper is the best. But all I can get normally is Ilford and Kodak so that’s what I use

 

[koraks]

If this image is somewhat representative of the actual conceptual design, then they have an interesting approach to coating the film. It's very different from how Kodak and Fuji do it (not sure about Foma & Harman).

 

[MCB18]

If this image is somewhat representative of the actual conceptual design, then they have an interesting approach to coating the film. It's very different from how Kodak and Fuji do it (not sure about Foma & Harman).

Looks extremely simplified, I think this is probably just a block diagram for planning/explanation purposes.

 

[koraks]

That's possible, although I do think I see 2-3 hints in there that are a bit too coincidental for a generic block diagram.