5 Years Since End of Kodachrome Processing

[silverhalide]

I meant to post this last week, but somehow 12/30 slipped by me. The deadline for submitting Kodachrome film to Dwayne's for processing was five years ago on 12/30/10.

Kodachrome and my life were intertwined. My father shot tons of Kodachrome slides and movies as I grew up. Many of my memories are not direct memories, but of the Kodachrome images of my life.

My father first appeared in a Kodachrome home movie in 1937 at the age of ten, and he passed away just 50 days after his last appearance in a Kodachrome home movie shot on Christmas day 2010. His life was recorded on Kodachrome for 73 years of Kodachrome's 75 year life.

I have four generations on Kodachrome.

[Will2]

I loved Kodachrome too. The colors and the longevity of the film. Here are a few slides I shot around 2005. The skin tones are just great and they have that pastel look that I just never saw anywhere else. Also, although these scans are pretty good, Kodachrome was notoriously difficult to scan well...it always looked better projected and so few people get to see that anymore.

[mr8mm]

Very sad

[slashmaster]

Did you hear about the guy who can successfully process it all by himself?

[mr8mm]

Is he processing slide film or movie film or is this a joke?

[nikonr10]

I meant to post this last week, but somehow 12/30 slipped by me. The deadline for submitting Kodachrome film to Dwayne's for processing was five years ago on 12/30/10.

Kodachrome and my life were intertwined. My father shot tons of Kodachrome slides and movies as I grew up. Many of my memories are not direct memories, but of the Kodachrome images of my life.

My father first appeared in a Kodachrome home movie in 1937 at the age of ten, and he passed away just 50 days after his last appearance in a Kodachrome home movie shot on Christmas day 2010. His life was recorded on Kodachrome for 73 years of Kodachrome's 75 year life.

I have four generations on Kodachrome.

I too used a lot of kodachrome back then when super 8 film was cheaper to buy and get processed for free .
When Ektachrome came out in super 8 as 100 D for me this was the best super 8 film for color reversal . Never got any better than this with more play than kodachrome and home cooking .

yea Mama don ,t take my Kodachrome

[cineandy]

its hard to get any motivation these days, once you spent 26 years shooting k25/k40 any modern stock is a poor substitute, personally I hated 100d, soft, tended to blow out highlights, jammed in the camera, too over rated imo. Where have those 5 years gone? Seems like yesterday I fedex off the last rolls of kodachrome for processing on 28th Dec 2010

[doug]

Seems like yesterday indeed. But that 2-year period of 64T which was supposed to replace Kodachrome and was a bit of a cruel joke, probably contributes to the illusion.
Personally though, I really think 100D is (was) a good film and a worthy successor to Kodachrome. It's tragic they have ditched this too.

I often wonder if Kodak ever has regrets about making these cuts in the interests of saving money short-term. You would think with modern technology they could do short runs of classic emulsions like Kodachrome and Ektachrome, and charge the necessary higher prices for discerning users (of which there must be many worldwide, mainly still photographers. Just look at the response to Ferrania's little-publicised project). Kodachrome has the problem of special processing of course, but maybe Dwaynes or someone could carry on if they had the chemicals from Kodak These kind of Special Edition runs would just need a little advertising but I'm sure would be worth it financially for Kodak, as well as good for their overall image..

[BAC]

Doug, I agree with you on the E100D, if they did a short run I would stock up on it, I think it was a great film. As much as I like the look of Kodachrome I don't think we will ever see it again. I believe the discontinuation of it was more than just an issue of demand as they state in the press release below, it was also about the complex and toxic chemistry involved.

http://www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier. ... estid=4179

[Angus]

100D was an acceptable alternative and a good film in its own right but nothing will ever replace Kodachrome.

[doug]

Doug, I agree with you on the E100D, if they did a short run I would stock up on it, I think it was a great film. As much as I like the look of Kodachrome I don't think we will ever see it again. I believe the discontinuation of it was more than just an issue of demand as they state in the press release below, it was also about the complex and toxic chemistry involved.

I hadn't thought there was too much of a problem with toxic substances. In spring 2012 apparently there was some kind of discussion about short runs, including Kodachrome (although unlikely):

Beverly Pasterczyk, a R&D Film chemist spoke at a SMPTE meeting in Los Angeles last week. She has some very interesting things to say regarding possible short runs of just
about any modern KODAk motion picture film :

Ms. Pasterczyk is a chemist with film R & D at Kodak, and she mentioned that Kodak Research is currently engaged in the continuing design and implementation of new emulsions, such as the new version of the Vision III product.

"Regarding consumer films, she said that they are considering restructuring
a new approach aimed at producing these at a reasonable cost in much
smaller volumes than in the past. She said that new technology will
permit them to continue to produce these in "boutique quantities" using
single coating machines rather than the huge multiple coaters of the
past. She said that basically, as long as they had sufficient orders for
a minimum of a single master roll "54 inches (almost 1-1/2 meters) wide by
whatever length - no minimum stated", they would consider examining
production in terms of the economics involved. Future production would
primarily be on an "on demand" basis."
This would include the infrastructure for processing, probably at a single
lab, either in Rochester NY, or sub-contracted.

"On demand" could conceivably include any film that Kodak has ever
manufactured. Someone in the audience asked the inevitable question:
"Including Kodachrome?" Her answer: "Yes, including Kodachrome". She
added that while small runs of Kodachrome were unlikely, it was not out of
the question, since they have had numerous inquiries.

Now I know that was all said 4 years ago, but maybe all hope isn't lost for making short runs of classic emulsions. IF Kodak can get back on its feet again. Who would have thought last year we would be looking at the possibility this year of a new Kodak movie camera ?

[Angus]

I think Ferrania have a great idea in reducing the size of the machinery and not making huge runs necessary for film production. If Kodak can get into a position where they can likewise make shorter runs, they could do emulsions "to order" as described.

As for Kodachome...there is a separate problem of the processing....does Dwayne's still have the K14 machinery and could it be brought back into use?

[doug]

100D was an acceptable alternative and a good film in its own right but nothing will ever replace Kodachrome.

Ektachrome 100D I think is the best contender for any short run idea if Kodak did get to that stage.
Although it is not up to Kodachrome's standards it's close. More grain than K40 but acceptable. I used to shoot regular 16 on Kodachrome with 1.85:1 masking. When 100D arrived I moved to ultra 16, and now find the grain moreorless the same as before. If shooting super-8 maybe Max 8 is a good way to go.
I find E100D tends to make caucasian white faces red but with careful filtration it can be minimised. On the plus side, Ektachrome I think is a shade less contrasty than Kodachrome, making exposure easier to control.
But all this is academic of course, when no Ektachrome is manufactured. Lets hope Ferrania can make a good alternative. I hope they can minimise the grain, even a slow film would be good.

[David M. Leugers]

My only regret about shooting Kodachrome was that I could not shoot more 16mm due to cost restraints on my budget. Projecting 16mm Kodachrome is just a beautiful experience. Still, the miles of R-8mm and S-8mm Kodachrome I managed to shoot are just as dear. Alas, we knew for a long time Kodachrome would have to end someday and I really doubt it could be successfully resurrected even if the demand was there. Ektachrome 100D was such a good film it was a suitable replacement and should be considered for revival at some point by Kodak (or maybe an "improved" E-6 stock?). The death of E100D had more of a damaging effect on my personal filming enthusiasm to the point of my nearly giving it up. My filming has been very sporadic to say the least as the wind was kicked out of me by the loss of Kodachrome, Plus-X and E-100D in short order. They were my favorite films to shoot with. They made our little formats look their best up on the screen and they could successfully produce excellent transfers to digital to boot. Kodachrome is not dead. You just can not create any new Kodachrome films, but what you have will last way longer than you or I will. What a great product...

[winbert]

....does Dwayne's still have the K14 machinery and could it be brought back into use?

As Kodachrome was exclusively owned by Kodak, I believe Kodak lent the equipment to Dwayne. When Kodak stopped the Kodachrome, the machine was returned to Kodak. Kodak may still keep the machine but the chemicals are the most important. Are they still available or readily made?, this is the question.