Kodak Hopes to Rival Digital Tape With New Film

Eastman Kodak Co. has released a motion picture film to compete with the growing popularity of digital tape.

Kodak says its new Vision2 Super 16 mm motion picture color negative film offers more detail from scenes shot in bright light or dark shadows. Because the film captures more information, cinematographers have more editing choices once the film is converted to digital, which means filmmakers can take greater advantage of digital technology during post production.

Kodak suggests that the film's ability to capture enhanced details means the gap in image quality has widened between film and digital systems. Kodak hopes this breakthrough in technology will give a boost to documentary and other lower budget productions, where Super 16 mm film is seen as an alternative to HD 24P and low cost digital tape.

Vision2 is the descendant of Kodak's Vision line of films, which were introduced in 1995 and quickly became the most widely used motion-picture film in the world. To develop Vision2, Kodak totally redesigned its film technology. Vision2 features the company's patented Advanced T-grain technology to improve light-capture efficiency and to further reduce grain at all exposures.

Kodak Vision2 500T film is currently available worldwide. Company officials plan to add additional products to the Vision2 line in the future.