Kodak

The Kodak discussion on r/BuyItForLife is heavily dominated by vintage film cameras and legacy brand sentiment rather than modern product evaluation. Antique Kodak cameras from the early 1900s are frequently cited as remarkable examples of durability, still functioning over a century later, while the brand itself is most often referenced as a cautionary tale of corporate failure to adapt to digital. Modern Kodak products receive only scattered, lukewarm attention.

Vintage Kodak cameras are genuine BIFL artifacts, but the modern Kodak brand is largely a licensing shell, and contemporary products like instant cameras receive only qualified praise at best.

Vintage Kodak cameras, particularly Brownie box cameras, are celebrated for their extreme longevity and mechanical simplicity. Kodak film products also retain a loyal following among analog photography enthusiasts.

• Brownie box cameras from 1905–1916 still functional over 100 years later
• Simple mechanical design with few parts means little to break
• Kodak film (Gold 200, 50D) praised by analog photographers
• Kodak still actively produces 16mm and other film stocks
• Mini 2 Retro instant camera noted for above-average image quality
• Kodak historically known for strong worker investment and company culture

The modern Kodak brand is widely seen as a hollowed-out version of its former self, with its name now associated with corporate failure and third-party product slapping. Modern instant camera products draw specific complaints about speed and cartridge bulk.

• Brand name now licensed onto third-party products with no legacy quality
• Company missed digital transition and never recovered market position
• Mini 2 Retro instant camera criticized for slow print speed and bulky cartridges
• At least one commenter swears off buying Kodak cameras entirely
• Vintage film formats increasingly use discontinued or hard-to-find film

A Kodak Brownie box camera from 1905 is still usable today — it's essentially a cardboard box with a hole in it, and there's almost nothing to go wrong with it.

Kodak actually ranked number one in U.S. digital camera sales in 2005 — it wasn't that they ignored digital, it was the smartphone that ultimately killed them by making standalone cameras irrelevant.

The Kodak name is now just slapped on third-party products, much like what happened to other once-iconic consumer electronics brands.

Kodak, alongside GE and IBM, was once cited as a model of how American companies could treat workers well across generations while still being enormously profitable — a stark contrast to where the brand stands today.