Repairman reminisces as Kodak retires its cameras

It's almost like losing an old friend, News came Thursday is that bankrupt Eastman Kodak will stop making cameras.

Kodak cameras have been part of life in this country for more than a century and whose eyes captured our most cherished memories. CBS News correspondent Anthony Mason takes a stroll down memory lane with a camera repairman.

Last year, a customer brought this camera into Marty Moyal's repair shop.

"You press this button and you pull it out," said Moyal, showing the camera to Mason.

"Wow, that's a beautiful thing," commented Mason

It took his breath away.

"I show everybody who like cameras, look at this one," said Moyal.

The camera in question was made in 1909, a No. 4A folding Kodak Model B. "Amazing. I love this camera," said Moyal.

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For 20 years in Forest Hills, New York, up in his 2nd floor workshop, Moyal has been fixing cameras. He can't believe the company that defined the camera business in the 20th century is now abandoning it.

"In the beginning, I was surprised," admitted Moyal. "Kodak?!"

Mason asked Moyal that a lot of people started with these cameras. "This is the beginning of photography," Moyal answered.

Millions of Americans took their first photographs with Kodak's Brownie camera, introduced in 1900. Then in the Sixties, Kodak unveiled the Instamatic.

It was a Kodak engineer who in 1975 invented the digital camera But in the end Rochester, New York company lost the technology race..

"It's history," Moyal said. "You just cut the history. Just cut it. No more. And it's sad."

Soon the only place you'll find Kodak-made cameras will be in places like Marty Moyal's repair shop.

The Kodak moment is over.

[motoreyes]

I think there is a common misconception that film is unobtainable. While it is not the consumer staple that it used to be it is still around, if only in a niche market. Kodak will continue to make film...Fuji will continue to make film along with at least half a dozen other companies. Heck, I still buy new 127 film for my Brownie Starflash! Toy film cameras (lomo) are big and there are some new film cameras being produced. Film may or may not die out...it may be around for another 10 years or 50 years...as long as there is a demand for it. It still proves to be profitable. Do a search on "The Impossible Project"...you may find the film for your Polaroid...otherwise, Fuji makes a line of instant film cameras. Most of all...have fun!

[venusvegasvada]

I don't know what Kodak sells these days, but it looks like their CEO Perez isn't doing too bad. He joined the company in 2003 and his claim to fame is being an inkjet printer guy from HP. Didn't take him long to crush the company.

According to this, as Kodak was bleeding out he made over 22 million plus from 2005 to 2010 (available data). He even got a 870,000 bonus last year. Nice! That's a lot of Brownie cameras huh (that they aren't selling)?

Not bad for driving a company into the ground. But these guys play by 1%'r rules so it's different for them. He files for bankruptcy and throws all the lenders under the bus and he's a hero. Heck, he'll probably get a fat bonus this year too.

http://www.forbes.com/lists/2010/12/boss-10_Antonio-M-Perez_GDKP.html

http://www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier.jhtml?pq-path=2710&pq-locale=cn&gpcid=0900688a80234316

[askagain]

It is ludicrous to blame Walmart for Kodak's problems. Kodak milked film long after digital cameras hit the market. If other digital camera makers could prosper, Kodak should have prospered, too. The real culprit is Kodak itself. In all likelihood, a combination of things such as management decisions, marketing decisions, and the cost of materials and labor all contributed to Kodak's problems.

[wordwrkr]

What an incredibly poorly written article.

[rwsmith29456]

I'm really sorry to see film photography dying out, but one day it will be completely outmoded. I don't know how those special few that continue to use it when film is unobtainable. I had an old Polaroid Land, that I could get film for up until about 10 years ago, now it's just a museum piece because it can't take pictures without film. And I loved using it and the pictures it took.