Response to Another reason to shoot Ilford? (Kodak messes with B&W emulsions)

I don't see any sinister agenda here on Kodak's part.
The manufacture of film is still partly a 'black art'. Not all the variables are fully understood, and therefore not entirely controllable. Moving an entire manufacturing facility may well cause a slight unforeseen change in some of the characteristics of the films made at the new plant. I imagine this would apply especially to the older emulsion formulae, where grain growth and sensitivity are changed drastically during a ripening stage.
I think Kodak are just hedging their bets by saying that developing times may change when manufacture is shifted to the new plant.

Kodak's statement about 'better dust control' is also a bit ambivalent. They could mean that the new plant will have better air filtering and tighter environmental control during manufacture, or they could mean that the film coating itself will be altered.
Until Kodak themselves clarify the matter, or we've actually seen some samples of the new films, then I think we should suspend judgement.
Wild claims that they'll put less silver in the new emulsions, and suchlike, seem completely without any foundation at the moment. And anyway, T-grain films are actually capable of a higher Dmax than the more silver rich older emulsions, so where's the precedent for thinking that Kodak's next generation of films will be inferior?

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