They've Taken My Kodachrome Away

[BuckyD]

Sad day for us old dinosaur film photographers - Today Kodak announced last production run of Kodachrome color slide transparency film.

Though I finally bit the bullet & went digital last year (bought a Canon EOS-1D MK III & EOS Rebel Xsi to complement my old EOS-1N RS & other Canon film bodies), I still shot some Kodachrome 64 at Reno '08 (& have a small supply). Gonna miss this great film type & its' proven archival quality. Been a few years since I shot the ASA-25 speed Kodachrome. (Have some WW2 slide stuff in my archives, that I believe was ASA-12!)

"Blue Skies, Kodachrome" - Farewell, Old Friend!

Here's a blog link sent to me by an buddy:

http://jammiewearingfool.blogspot.com/2009/06/theyve-taken-my-kodachrome-away.html

DBD

[JET1]

FYI...

Nikon may become a major sponsor for the races. film is dead ... long live the dinosaurs. (now if I could just find a buyer for my 1964 nikon F black body...)

[First time Juke]

Re: They've Taken My Kodachrome Away

I am also quite surprised about this...world is changing.

...."Simon and Telefunken" really rocked...in 50 ways.

[First time Juke]

Re: They've Taken My Kodachrome Away

I took this with 8 Mpix Coolpix 3 days ago..do you know the plane ?

[Apteryx]

Re: They've Taken My Kodachrome Away

I took this with 8 Mpix Coolpix 3 days ago..do you know the plane ?

Valmet L-90tp Redigo

http://www.jetphotos.net/viewphoto.php?id=311841

[ignomini]

Re: They've Taken My Kodachrome Away

Sad day for us old dinosaur film photographers - Today Kodak announced last production run of Kodachrome color slide transparency film.

Though I finally bit the bullet & went digital last year (bought a Canon EOS-1D MK III & EOS Rebel Xsi to complement my old EOS-1N RS & other Canon film bodies), I still shot some Kodachrome 64 at Reno '08 (& have a small supply). Gonna miss this great film type & its' proven archival quality. Been a few years since I shot the ASA-25 speed Kodachrome. (Have some WW2 slide stuff in my archives, that I believe was ASA-12!)

"Blue Skies, Kodachrome" - Farewell, Old Friend!

Here's a blog link sent to me by an buddy:

http://jammiewearingfool.blogspot.com/2009/06/theyve-taken-my-kodachrome-away.html

DBD

I feel you pain. Shot Kodachrome up until a few years ago, then transitioned to Provia when all West Coast processing shut down. I agree with the digital guys except in the world of stereo, where trannys are still rulers of the universe.

[AirDOGGe]

Re: They've Taken My Kodachrome Away

How do you feel about Ektachrome? I've heard it's quite a good subsitute. I never shot slide film myself, so I canot say either way...

Details, according to Wikipedia:

"Although Kodachrome is often considered a superior film due to its archival qualities and color palette, advances in dye and coupler technology have blurred the boundaries between the differing processes, along with Kodak having abandoned Kodachrome research and development since the mid 1990s. Furthermore, the developing of Kodachrome has always required a complex, fickle process requiring an on-site analytical lab and today (2009) requiring a turnaround of several days to allow for shipping times to the one remaining Kodachrome processing facility, Dwayne's Photo in Parsons, Kansas.

By contrast, small professional labs have been able to process Ektachrome on-site since the 1950s, with product safety and effluent discharge having been drastically improved since the 1970s, when Kodak reformulated their entire color chemistry lineup. It's even possible for amateur labs to process Ektachrome within an hour using a rotary tube processor (made by Jobo, WingLynch or PhotoTherm), sink-line, or even by hand inversion in a small drum."

[BuckyD]

Re: They've Taken My Kodachrome Away

OK - my 2-cents worth:

Personally, I've always preferred the 'warmth' in the dye colors of Kodachrome (K-14 process) over Ektachrome transparency film (E-6 process), which tends to be more 'cool' (blue-ish) in comparison. Kodachrome film, as noted, has superior archival properties w/very stable dye emulsion & the film itself is more durable & doesn't scratch as easily as Ektachrome (or the even softer print negative films). Even w/optimum storage environment, Ektachrome slides start to lose color & contrast intensity after a decade or more (I've noticed this w/my own slides from twenty years ago or more - also have noticed severe dye-shift in old Ektachromes shot in the 1940s & 1950s, where the slides start turning to overall Magenta, w/the best you can do printing from them is for producing a B&W print image). The fine grain emulsion of Kodachrome film, especially w/the slower speed 64 & 25-ASA slide film, provides superior sharpness (resolution) too. The combination of Kodachrome color, sharpness, durability & archival nature made it my preferred film.

Drawbacks: Kodachrome's required special lab processing & less forgiving exposure latitude than Ektachrome film (both in shooting/camera settings & push-pull film processing adjustments). Ektachrome/Fujichrome Type 'E-6' processing at 1-hour or same-day developing labs, is ideal for many commercial projects & assignment work, when time schedules are critical. When Kodak was doing its' own Kodachrome processing - it was all done out of their Rochester, NY lab exclusively. A bunch of years ago- Kodak farmed-out their Kodachrome processing to 'Kodalux' contract processors, that changed base locations every few years & numerous quality-control issues arose frequently, until Dwayne's Photo Lab took over in recent times. Consumer-market budget versions of Kodachrome film really declined in quality grade (-used to be you could really get good overall quality & save money by buying 'import' Kodachrome film vs. domestic U.S. produced film) to the point where you had to spend the bigger bucks by buying Kodachrome 'Professional' grade film for consistent quality (no pin points & other dye imperfections, etc.).

But it's a fact that- today's large variety of E-6 positive films have been vastly-improved over their earlier versions, and perform extremely well, producing absolutely beautiful photographs - especially in their professional grades.

I think most everyone will admit, that film vs. digital photographic prints each have unique attributes of their own - producing very different image interpretations, especially as far as the subject of color goes. That's my answer & I'm stickin' to it!

DBD

P.S. - Post-911 airport screening machines haven't done any big favors for the poor film photographer, and I've had to send my processed & unprocessed film vs. the old hand-carry method to avoid risking film fogging, etc. (-no matter what the TSA guys tell ya). One definate great advantage that digital has over film.

[First time Juke]

Re: They've Taken My Kodachrome Away

I recently saw a document over Albert Kahn color photographs...what tehnique did they use to get live colors on film ?