Eastman Kodak 4Q Profits for 2010 fell 95%. This is the company that started the age of hobbyist photography.
Camera’s date back to 1817 but it was George Eastman who developed a simple box camera with a fixed-focus lens and single shutter speed, which along with its relatively low price appealed to the average consumer.
No matter what brand of film camera you owned most of the film was produced by Eastman Kodak. Most people simply referred to the film as Kodak Film.
Way back in 1975 — when Kodachrome color slides and Kodak Instamatics were all the rage — Kodak researcher Steve Sasson built the first digicam, cobbled together from spare parts and leading edge digital technology. More details here.
The management at Kodak foolishly did not see the future. Other companies did see the future in digital photography. Kodak clung to film cameras too long and relied on the income the film provided too long and was left behind.
This is not the first famous company to disappear. Remember RCA, Zenith, Montgomery Ward, and Woolworth’s? Someone has compiled a list at http://www.walletpop.com/photos/companies-that-have-vanished/.
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