06/17/96 THE BRAWL OVER BORN-AGAIN CAMERAS

THE BRAWL OVER BORN-AGAIN CAMERAS

THE PHOTO GIANTS ARE ripped that small outfits are recycling the big guys' disposable cameras and selling them. So Eastman Kodak, Fuji, and Konica are trying to squelch this guerrilla crew, called ``reloaders,'' thus far with little apparent success.
Reloaders such as Brooklyn's Envirocam and Tacoma (Wash.)-based Charles Randolph Co. buy used brand-name disposables from film developers for a nickel to 20 cents. They refurbish and repackage the cameras, put in new film, then sell them for as much as 50% off the big-companies' retail price, which goes up to about $12 each. Reloaders are a small yet growing slice of the 60 million disposables--worth $550 million retail--sold yearly.
The reloaders, though, don't usually replace the lens, and they use cheaper film. That, says Kodak spokesman Jim Blamphin, endangers the quality of photos and risks giving ``the entire industry a black eye.'' Baloney, reply the reloaders, who insist they inspect and clean all parts.
Konica is retaliating with its own reloading program to manufacture private-label cameras. And all three photo giants have been encouraging film labs to recycle with them exclusively by offering incentives, including paying for used parts.
EDITED BY LARRY LIGHT By Lisa Sanders