Can we save Kodachrome?

[dave lackey]

Silly question? Perhaps, but it seems that we, as active film users, could order and shoot as much Kodachrome as possible rather than sitting back waiting for the inevitable.

I wonder how many active film users there are around and if a substantial number ordered, say 5-10 rolls on a monthly basis, if it would help Kodak continue to manufacture Kodachrome?

I just ordered 6 rolls myself this morning.

[dmr]

Last time the numbers were posted, Dwayne's was still processing over 1000 rolls per day.

There's speculation that government/military use is what's really keeping Kodachrome alive, but I don't have anything solid to back this up.

I think most of us now regard Kodachrome as a "special occasion" film and shoot regularly with other favorites. As to your numbers, yes, I'm a Kodachrome fan, but I don't think I've purchased 5 rolls over the past year, and I don't think I would be one who would purchase and shoot 5-10 per month without some very meaningful reason to do so.

[oscroft]

Well, I bought 30 rolls to take to Thailand with me a couple of months ago and shot them all - I'm waiting for them to come back from Dwayne's now (the long way round, via Switzerland to the UK). It was my plan to buy the same for my next trip in September, but I just scanned a few older rolls and got a nasty magenta cast from them, so it all depends on how well the latest ones scan when I get them back.

[sepiareverb]

I go through about 10 to 15 rolls every year. Just got some back from Dwaynes today.

[SolaresLarrave]

Originally Posted by leicasniper

We couldn't save Kodak B&W paper, why would we think we could save Kodachrome? Kodak will simply switch off production one day without notice.

Alas, but true... The beancounters run this world now, and they decide, not the consumers. They already did away with the ISO 25 and 200 K-chromes, so the more traditional one has some time to go, but not much.

I've gotten a bluish cast from K-chrome. PS can remove it, but in reality, it's something that old film shows. You probably were shooting some vintage stuff (from the mid eighties or so). At least, that was my case. I've learned now, and will buy fresher film in the future.

[varjag]

Just shoot it while you can and hope for the best. That's what I do.

[oftheherd]

I haven't shot Kodachrome in many years. It used to be my favorite film. Kodachrome 25 could be enlarged to mural size and you could pick out minor details. Especially if used on a tripod.

I once shot a large poster board, probably 4' by 5' that was covered with 3x5 prints. The prints had hand printing in the lower margins. You could project that on a screen larger than the poster board, and read the printing clearly. No distortion from the enlargement. The pictures could be seen clearly as well. Impressive.

But, I lost my projector in a fire that also damaged my 8-10 K slides. Over the years, the paradigm changed. Now we have monitors and digital with ink jet printers. Kodachrome, as great as it is, doesn't fit in that paradigm. And only one place in the world processing that film, and it isn't Kodak. Sad.

[sepiareverb]

CLE / 40 Summicron / K64
I love this nostalgic look. Run & scanned by Dwayne's.

[wlewisiii]

No, we can't. Shoot it while it lasts & mourn it when it's gone. The only thing that could possibly save it is if Kodak spins off the film division before it's cancelled and the machinery scrapped. And we can't do anything about that absent several billions of USD.

William

[35mmdelux]

i just processed 25 rolls of k-200 from dwayne's. my mp is loaded with k-64 right now.

[dmr]

Originally Posted by leicasniper

Kodak will simply switch off production one day without notice.

They tell me (the ubiquitous "they") that Kodak is now doing one coating batch of Kodachrome per year. My speculation is that something will go wrong somewhere in the process one year, and that Kodak will consider it too expensive to work through and abandon the line at that time ...

... assuming ...

... that they don't have contractual obligations which we, the Teeming Millions, do not know of, which might be extending the life of Kodachrome.

[shadowfox]

- "Shoot with Kodachrome"- Day

- Annual Kodachrome Convention (somewhere in Las Vegas )

- Kodachrome Contests, sponsored by boutique camera retailers, prize? an RF lens/camera with a fresh batch of K64 of course.

[mackigator]

@oscroft: I have to use different settings on my Coolscan 5000 to get it scanned without the cast. But it does scan for me once I remember to treat it differently.

[dmr]

Originally Posted by shadowfox

- Annual Kodachrome Convention (somewhere in Las Vegas )

(>>PERK!<<)

Oh really?

Any info?

[Harry Lime]

What I really would like to see is the return or older versions of Kodachrome from a few decades ago... gorgeous looking stuff. Reminds me of 3-strip Technicolor.

[kdemas]

My best advise, if you love K64, is to shoot shoot shoot. The more film they sell the more likely it is to stick around longer. I too love Kodachrome, I have a 50 pack in my frige right now, but I haven't been shooting it much as I have become so accustomed to using my M8 and the instant gratification digital provides.

This weekend, it's Kodachrome! Lets all keep Dwaynes good and busy!

Kent

[varjag]

I shoot Kodachrome because it's the best way to get Kodachrome color. Afterwards I scan it. Not any harder than E6 really, I don't know where this "hard to scan" line comes from. Try disabling ICE maybe?

[35mmdelux]

Originally Posted by leicasniper

What are folks shooting Kodachrome doing with it these days? Back in the 60's and 70's we were big on slide shows, and of course it was the gold standard for magazine reproduction, but I've not seen anyone with a projector in years and magazines want digital now.. It's difficult to scan well, so I would think color negative film would be easier. I know I stopped shooting it to any degree years ago. Just kind of curious.

Archival purposes, the beautiful color, film at edge of history, legacy. Today its more about documentation and an effort to leave a body of work in Kodachrome and Ilford HP-5. My decendents will appreciate it long after the other film types have faded.

A hundred years from now...

[Dante_Stella]

Kodachrome was the best slide film of its day (and even was when I started taking serious pictures in the mid-1980s). But today, it's an expensive film with a narrow dynamic range and low tolerance for exposure errors. It's not surprising that pros have fled for digital - you can get all the benefits and burdens - just faster and cheaper.

The archival aspect isn't going to mean anything when there is no equipment to read a piece of Kodachrome film as anything other than a 24x36mm curiosity.

-- Cibachrome is a lost process.
-- Ektalure is out of production.
-- Serious slide projectors are out of production.
-- Old slide projectors go bad - and no one fixes them.
-- Slide scanners won't be made forever.
-- Labs are abandoning film processing. Ask your Frontier operator.

Yesterday, on a plane, I saw in the in-flight magazine an ad for a cheap ($99) machine to "scan" slides and negatives. Once a bunch of these are sold, you can bet that tons of slides are going to end up in the trash. Less market for printing or scanning in the future... and no demand means no service. Or really expensive service. It will be like printing daguerreotypes today.

And these are problems that can arise with no abuse (or action by Kodak) whatsoever. You can also get latent fingerprints that etch in - as well as fungus. Slide mounts warp and separate over time. Are you going to sit there with a huge box of Pakon or Gepe mounts and remount everything? Do you even know where you are going to get those mounts 20 years from now?

I recently had the overwhelming task of assembling the thousands of Kodachromes (which aged well), Ektachromes (aged poorly), and Eastman Color transparencies (forget it...) within my family to assemble them for electronic archiving. There were more than 8,000 slides. As a practical matter, I realized that unless these were digitized, there was no realistic likelihood they would ever be seen again. It was sad (and felt like the end of an era), but true to Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa's observation that to stay the same, things must change.

Dante

[varjag]

All true Dante, but a slide projector is very low tech. Certainly inside the realm of 21st century garage technology.

[35mmdelux]

Originally Posted by leicasniper

I'm afraid a 100 years from now, our descendants will find film little more than a curiosity, of no practical value. Especially negatives, which can't be held up to a light and enjoyed.

I am sure they said this 150 years ago when they were shooting glass plates. I am glad Brady plowed ahead and recorded the American Civil War and captured images of the great Abraham Lincoln. We owe his vision and preserverance a debt of gratitude.

[wayneb]

I'm going to disagree here - I'm currently using a desktop scanner to get old kodachromes into flickr, etc and make small prints and it's fine quality. I assume there will always be flatbed scanners as long as there is printed material, which I think there will be for a very long time.

There are so many negatives and slides in existence that there will be a market for equipment to scan this media. I was in Sears recently, they still sell turntables in the electronics section.

Originally Posted by Dante_Stella

The archival aspect isn't going to mean anything when there is no equipment to read a piece of Kodachrome film as anything other than a 24x36mm curiosity.

[varjag]

So, there is no way 22nd century technology would be up to projecting or scanning a 35mm frame? Depressing thought.

[35mmdelux]

Originally Posted by leicasniper

.. little more than a curiosity, of no practical value. Especially negatives, which can't be held up to a light and enjoyed.

since when does art, any art, have practical value? We shoot because we want to and if in this journey we are lucky to capture one beautiful image to some of us it was worth it.

I shoot Kodachrome because of what I said above. You may chose to shoot Walmart Gold. You may also chose to wear polyester suits and dine at McDonalds or your local fast food establishment. Life is about choices in an uncertain span of time.

When my parents died, having the ability to archive some fotos became more important to me. When I meet famous leaders, archival ability is important to me. Some of course may chose to argue the nuances of digital and what may/may not occur in the future. I do not have such a crystal ball. I only try to do my best here and today. Whatever the pessimism, Kodachrome renders beautiful colors and this is all I really care about.

[gdi]

Look what just happened to us with HIE - a much greater loss than Kodachrome will be in my opinion. But at least you could have stocked up on HIE and still develop it - when Kodachrome is gone, Dwayne's will shut down the line as well.

Kodak will not be swayed. But Hopefully there will always be MangoFalls...