kodachrome

[92135011]

Yeah, I'm talking bout the one everyone says is good stuff (the 64iso professional RMS-grain = 10)
I havent had any experience myself due to the price and processing.
Because it is discontinued now, I was thinking I should try it out since B&H has a little stock left. Guess I would need to do a mail in process deal too

Anyone have any experiences with this?

[another view]

Sure, give it a try - if you don't then someday fairly soon you won't be able to. It's got a unique look to it, heard it called the "Eisenhower Era look" which probably describes it better than I can. The big problem with the film is that it's a totally different process than E6 which is every other slide/transparency film (Provia/Velvia/Ektachrome/Agfachrome). The other films have taken over, labs have given up on KR, so people stopped shooting it because it was a pain to get processed. I'm sure someone will mention digital as a reason for it's downfall too - sure didn't help it.

I think there are a couple (literally) of labs in the US that still do it, possibly not even Kodak themselves. I understand that the processing is pretty toxic, so that's probably another reason. Maybe I should pick up a few rolls, I've only shot it a couple of times! It would look pretty cool at something like an air or car show on a sunny day this summer. Keep in mind that if you're scanning, you can't use digital ICE on it.

[Michael Fanelli]

Yeah, I'm talking bout the one everyone says is good stuff (the 64iso professional RMS-grain = 10)
I havent had any experience myself due to the price and processing.
Because it is discontinued now, I was thinking I should try it out since B&H has a little stock left. Guess I would need to do a mail in process deal too

Anyone have any experiences with this?

I used to shoot Kodachrome 25 and 64 exclusively. I loved the color and its longevity is legendary. To be honest, however, I really feel that modern E-6 films surpassed Kodachrome a long time ago. Playing with KR might be fun but it is no longer near the head of the pack.

[GB1]

I've been using it since '84 and Kodachrome still rules when it comes to sharpness, deep rich blacks and skin tones. I still shoot it about half the time, using Velvia and Ektachrome VS the rest.

View, the new(er) version of Digital ICE can scan Kodachrome. Matter of fact, I've forgot to specify it was Kodachrome a few times with my ICE-4 scanner, and it still looked Ok to me.

Btw - upon reading this, I checked on-line including Kodak.com and no mention of them discontinuing Kodachrome 64, though the 25 version has been gone for a few years now But processing is an experience in patience... it used to take a week from California and it's now about 2 weeks. I've heard that there's only a couple labs left that develop it, none being here in Cali due to the environmental laws of dealing with the toxins. To me this is a shame, for it eventually means they'll eliminate it, even if it's a great film.

[Ryguyinlj]

I worked in a camera shop in san diego, CA this summer and we had to specially send Kodachrome to a lab in NEW YORK to get it processed. It would usually take 7-10 working days. It was not fun.

[drg]

Remember the song about "Please don't take my Kodachrome away, those nice, bright colors..."
Oh, well it hasn't REALLY been Kodachrome for about I think 30 years or so. When they took the Cadmium Sulfide out of the process it changed the Yellows tremendously. There was this horrible intermediate stuff called Kodachrome II that then morphed back into Kodachrome. The old slides are a physical medium. If you hold an old slide up at an angle you'll see this 3D image on the surface of the slide, it is a very different and special thing now long gone.

And yeah, this stuff was terribly toxic as well. Too much heavy metal in the process which is why it has faded as there are no more EPA permits for processing anything in this stuff, also why the manufacturing of a lot of leather goods, including shoes, went off shore years ago.Chrome was the primary tanning ingredient. Probably more info than you wanted.

-CDP

[freygr]

Yeah, I'm talking bout the one everyone says is good stuff (the 64iso professional RMS-grain = 10)
I havent had any experience myself due to the price and processing.
Because it is discontinued now, I was thinking I should try it out since B&H has a little stock left. Guess I would need to do a mail in process deal too

Anyone have any experiences with this?

Great Film, but make sure you can get it developed. I believe the last processor which did Kodachrome stopped, so check before you buy! The Kodachrome process was never available for home processing, you needed a Kodachrome processor (machine).

[wfooshee]

Wow. Popped a nearly seven-year-old-thread!

So now it's a Kodachrome memories thread, right?

I recently went through about 4500 slides when my dad passed away, and scanned about half of them. They dated back to the early 50s through the late 70s. All but three or four rolls were Kodachrome.

After scanning, I posted the family pics and sent cousins and other relations links. All were appreciative, because most of their families shot prints, and at the time, most of those were B&W. Many of them didn't even have color shots from childhood. And the color is still good, up to 60 years later.

The few Ektachrome slide he had were awful, though, completely magenta. Most were unsalvagable, although a goodly number recovered surprisingly well with a lot of Photoshop work on levels and color balance. I know that's very early Ektachrome, but I certainly hope the newer stuff is a little more stable!

BTW, picked up a refurb Nikon film scanner on eBay for less than 300 bucks to do these with.

1957 shot of the house my parents bought when they married:


My dad in north Africa, 1952:


By contrast, a 1958 Ektachrome of Yours Truly:


and a bit of 'shop work:

[freygr]

Wow. Popped a nearly seven-year-old-thread!

So now it's a Kodachrome memories thread, right?

Clip........................

It was marked as new when I posted my reply..............

[Chris350]

It was marked as new when I posted my reply..............

It most likely got spammed (and cleaned up) which would explain why it bubbled to the top after all this time.

[mattgenton]

hi to all at forums.photographyreview.com i thought i had sent this newyears eve but it didnt send so i have sent it again all best for 2012 to every one
- gentas