The End of Kodachrome

[dinodan]

Announced today (6-22-09)

Kodak Kills Kodachrome Film

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[KevinDks]

Indeed. This is never going to be big news on TPF, although see this thread in another section, but there is plenty of disussion on The Kodachrome Project, APUG (105 posts since this morning) and PhotoNet.

What people like Daniel Bayer (Kodachrome Project founder) and Josh Root (photo.net editor) are pointing out is that we have 18 months of Kodachrome processing being available, so let's make the most of it. Supplies of film may run out by autumn, but it isn't being dumped on the market in one go like some other films when they were discontinued, so there is time for everyone who wants it to buy what they need, then do their part to make sure the old lady gets a great send off.

Kevin

[musicaleCA]

Damn. I like that McCurry was asked to shoot a last roll. My gods is that man good.

[dinodan]

Thanks. I missed that other thread. It seems a bit misplaced in the "Equipment and Products" section...

I just ordered 10 rolls of KR 64 from Adorama.

[blash]

Damn that sucks. RIP Kodachrome

I never used it - but it definitely looks like a wonderful film. My main concern with this, seeing as how I haven't used it, is that someone decides that E6 or C41 deserves to go the way of K14. That will be a SAD day indeed.

[christopher walrath]

Forget Mama, S&G. Kodak just took our Kodachrome away . . .

[KevinDks]

I never used it - but it definitely looks like a wonderful film.

There's time yet. Just one roll and you're part of photographic history.

For me it goes way beyond wonderful - words like 'unique' and 'iconic' are overused, but they really apply to this film. It is saturated, but not overly so, with a distinctive colour palette. Skin tones are accurate (European ones definitely, others I can't say from personal experience but they seem to be). Just enough grain. Contrasty, too much sometimes, you need to expose carefully, but it's easier than Velvia. I think it looks like reality, or reality looks like Kodachrome.

And as if that weren't enough, in dark storage the slides don't fade for decades, like this from my collection, taken in 1961 or this from 1963 (both are a little soft from scanning, the actual slides are very sharp). Just think, $11 for the film, $6.99 for the processing, $4.00 for shipping and you can have 36 or 37 fantastic images that you can guarantee will look just as good in 2059 (and very likely 2109) and all you have to do is keep them in a shoe box under the bed.

Kodak should have employed me in sales...

Kevin

[Actor]

Those of us who shoot movie film have not been able to get Kodachrome for several years now.

[SonnarSphere]

And as if that weren't enough, in dark storage the slides don't fade for decades, like this from my collection, taken in 1961 or this from 1963
Kevin

two beautiful slides, Kevin. thanks for sharing those.

[Actor]

I think the end of all film is just over the horizon. Kodak has positioned itself to be competitive in the digital world. There was a time when you could get all kinds of film at the corner drug store. Now the choice is down to a few color print films, maybe one reversal film and CN400.

My local camera store carries only digital cameras and stocks about a half dozen emulsions of film. Anything else is special order. When Mom and Pop go digital that leaves Hollywood as Kodak's primary customer, but Hollywood is going digital too. Once Kodak stops making film I doubt that Fuji can continue making it much longer. In fact, Fuji will probably stop before Kodak.

My great grandson, born last week, will probably never see a film camera, unless it's one of mine or my son's. I tried to give K-1000 to one of my grandchildren. He accepted it graciously but never used it. He has a cheap digital.

The last users of film will be hobbyists supplied by a few minor manufacturers and a cottage industry of people making film in their basements. And it will be very expensive film. The last film users will be the large format people who will produce their own emulsions on glass plates. History comes full circle.

[KevinDks]

two beautiful slides, Kevin. thanks for sharing those.

You're very welcome. My Kodachrome sets on Flickr saw a major increase in hits on Monday and Tuesday, not from TPF mind, but that is to be expected.

I have a set called 'Other people's slides', which is mostly Kodachrome with a couple of Agfachromes from 1961, and my main project set is 'Cushman revisited', featuring my own Kodachromes taken this year at London locations photographed in the early '60s by Charles Cushman. The announcement has added a little urgency to that project!

Kevin

[KevinDks]

I think the end of all film is just over the horizon.

You make a good point about movie film, although how close the industry is to finding an acceptable alternative to 35mm prints for distribution to cinemas isn't clear to me. All I can say is that right now there is one non-specialist online retailer from which I can buy dozens of different combinations of type and speed and format of negative and transparency films from 4 big manufacturers, and from a specialist retailer I can buy dozens more variations from 6 or 8 manufacturers, including sheet film in several different sizes straight off the shelf. That place even stocks 5 different kinds of Super 8 movie film.

To go from a market like that to nothing would take time, but no one knows whether that will ever happen, or how long it might take, or what will be available in the long term (apart from homemade stuff). Crystal balls not being readily available I think the only response is to shoot lots of film while it's around and while it's so cheap and not to worry about what the future may hold.

Kevin

[Dwig]

Kodachrome will continue to be part of my photographic life for some time. I have a mountain of old family images that I'm archiving. Amoung the pile are quite a number of Kodachromes. 50-60 year old Kodachromes are much more pleasant to scan than any other color films of that age. The still have their "greens of summer", to borrow Paul Simon's phase.

Check out some scans of some 63 year old Kodachrome dupes (yes, dupes on Kodachrome Duplicating Film made from Kodachrome originals, both done in 1946) at:

Dwig & Karen » Tam & Richard's wedding July 12, 1946

You wanting something to listen to while mourning might want to check out David Sadof's blog at the Houston Examiner. He's posted an appropriate playlist:

Paul Simon mourns the loss of his beloved Kodachrome (listen to playlist)

[manaheim]

What is this thing you speak of? Film?

It is sad, though. I marvel at how much of an impact digital media has had on film photography. So few things come so close to outright replacing something else. Granted, there are still a lot of films out there, but still... impressive.

[KevinDks]

Kodachrome will continue to be part of my photographic life for some time. I have a mountain of old family images that I'm archiving. Amoung the pile are quite a number of Kodachromes. 50-60 year old Kodachromes are much more pleasant to scan than any other color films of that age. The still have their "greens of summer", to borrow Paul Simon's phase.

I have many hundreds of Kodachromes from the mid-1950s right through to my own taken in the last year or so. I seem to get the best results with those from the '60s, especially the Kodachrome II period, which I find much easier to scan than modern K64. Don't know why, could just be familiarity, because most of what I've scanned so far is from around then.

Check out some scans of some 63 year old Kodachrome dupes (yes, dupes on Kodachrome Duplicating Film made from Kodachrome originals, both done in 1946) at:

Dwig & Karen » Tam & Richard's wedding July 12, 1946

These are great Dwig. They have a kind of glow that I've seen on a lot of scanned Kodachromes on Flickr from the '40s and '50s, like this from 1946. That example was scanned on a Canon 8800, and I wonder if somehow the flatbed has something to do with the look, or if it is just the Kodachrome formulation of that period. I use a Nikon Coolscan V 35mm scanner and I don't get that with my '60s K'chromes.

Kevin