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Photo Forum / General Photo Topics / General Topics / May 2006Is Kodachrome dead?
The owner of my local camera store tells me that he, and most other dealers, no longer carry Kodachrome and it will soon be unavailable. Further, it will be soon be impossible to get it processed. If I want to take slides (and I do), I should use Ektachrome. So, he sold me a bunch of Ektachrome ASA200 rolls, and I went off to Ireland in April. However, I had two rolls of Kodachrome ASA200 left from last year, so I used these first, and then switched. Same camera, same film speed. No contest. I found a stationery store that sends Kodachrome out to somebody (not Kodak). The Kodachrome, which I've used for many, many years (I'm 69), were fine, bright slides, just like always. The Ektachrome were darker, with muted but still fairly good colors. The Ektachrome taken in bright sunlight were fine, but indoors, or on cloudy days (and Ireland has a lot of them) were just plain dull. To be fair to Ektachrome, my own store processed those slides locally. Perhaps they would have been better had they been sent out from the stationery store. What will happen? Must I abandon Kodachrome? Does it have a future? Thanx. Pete Brady > The owner of my local camera store tells me that he, and most other > dealers, no longer carry Kodachrome and it will soon be unavailable. [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > What will happen? Must I abandon Kodachrome? Does it have a > future? Thanx. Pete Brady Kodak will only make a film as long as there is enough demand. They are working their way out of photography, and have already announced that they will not develop any new films. Some smaller film makers have quit. Consider getting a digital camera. You aren't too old. I'm 81, and made the transition to digital years ago, when I was probably older than you are now. My wife has also made the transition. When I bought her a digicam, she said she would also continue to take pictures with film. She did that only long enough to finish the roll that was in her camera. The transition was easier for her because I chose an Olympus camera that looked similar to the Olympus film camera she was used to, and was used much the same way. Now she is developing skill in digital picture editing and has become proficient in making digital slide shows that we put on our Web site to share with friends and family. > The owner of my local camera store tells me that he, and most other > dealers, no longer carry Kodachrome and it will soon be unavailable. **************************************************************************** ***** Paul: As long as people talk about film being obsolete, it will have fewer people buying it and eventually it will be no more. The Fuji chromes are giving Kodacrome a run for its money. You can buy Kodacrome from the big NY stores if you can't get it locally. Perhaps if you find there are others in your area that would be willing to go in with you, you could order 20 rolls and sell them to the others in groups of 5 or so. I have a hard time just finding Fuji chromes and stores like K-Mart (now Sears) have not carried any slide film for a couple years. Wal-Mart does but I don't expect that to go on too long. The local Walgreens carrys some kind (of Kodak) but they want $8.00 for a roll. Ric. Hi Paul and NG, Like Mark Twain said: The news of my death has been greatly exaggerated. Of course, eventually Twain did die. The same will be true for Kodachrome. For now you can get processing at: http://www.dwaynesphoto.com/ They do a great job at a very reasonable price. I left slides a year ago after trying to do both digital and Kodachrome for a number of years. For my slide collection (7,500 of my slides and 8,500 of my late father's) I invested in a Nikon film scanner. I am only a "kid" at 63, so I can feel your pain. Good Luck, Bob  SignatureRobert Schuldenfrei S. I. Inc. 3450 So. Ocean Blvd. Palm Beach, FL 33480 bob@s-i-inc.com > The owner of my local camera store tells me that he, and most other > dealers, no longer carry Kodachrome and it will soon be unavailable. [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > What will happen? Must I abandon Kodachrome? Does it have a > future? Thanx. Pete Brady My parents always shot kodachrome I can hear paul simon singing... momma dont take my kodachrome away <LOL>) but I found the ektachrome process, E4 at the time I got into it, to be not too difficult or exensive- I always liked to do my own darkroom work... and found it quite rewarding. process is now E6, in tow versions I understand- one giving more control, one a littlesimpler and fewer steps. And I always noticed that the National Geographic Magzine in the sixties and seventies were usually ecktachromes.. just a though - you can seof process and take variables in you r control- you do have a limited shelf life, and nee to have enough slides to process at once. Just a thought... Im just a kid also- 57 here. :) > The owner of my local camera store tells me that he, and most other > dealers, no longer carry Kodachrome and it will soon be unavailable. [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > What will happen? Must I abandon Kodachrome? Does it have a > future? Thanx. Pete Brady I am just 64, and I cried when Kodachrome ll was discontinued. That was what the Paul Simon song was about. Think about it... The polution from that film's developement is giving us more to photograph with our polution free Digital Cameras, and chemical free, total control digital printing. I saw a print the other day that is what photographers have been trying to do since 1839, Someone combined 80 some odd layers of a scene to give one image detail in the Extreme Highlights And the Extreme Shadows. Film is probably going to be here for a while, but I think only Black and White will last for the next decade. IMHO I've been a "purist" all my life until I was loaned a digital camera. A roll of slide film with 36 exposures cost me $15., film and processing. My digital $750. camera is on exposure # 4800. Do the math. I am getting images after a quick trip through PhotoShop that are better than my 35 mm or 2 1/4 have ever given me. As I said "IMHO" ~Thom~ examples: http://www.thom-b-foto.com/ Some years back, when I began to think about my work flow, and the fact that most of the photos were ultimately used in digital form anyway, I bought a digital camera. It shaved hours off of my workflow, and gave me better images to use on my computer, rather than what I got from scanning. I didn't plan to abandon film, but Katrina changed all of that. SignatureStan Beck > From New Orleans to Brandon MS Good judgment comes from experience; experience comes from bad judgment. To reply, remove 101 from address. *** >I am just 64, and I cried when > Kodachrome ll was discontinued. That was what the Paul Simon song was [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > examples: > http://www.thom-b-foto.com/ >The owner of my local camera store tells me that he, and most other >dealers, no longer carry Kodachrome and it will soon be unavailable. >Further, it will be soon be impossible to get it processed. Paul, Use what you feel most comfortable with. Kodachrome is still with us. Kodachrome is still available thru big mail order houses like; http://www.bhphotovideo.com And processing can be done using Kodak's prepaid mailers purchased at the same mail order houses. Or gotten on Ebay with great savings. Or, processed at CVS pharmacy stores which sends out to Qualux Labs, which sends out to; http://www.dwaynesphoto.com/ Turnaround time is 7 days to New Jersey USA. Even if you send directly to Dwayne's. The Fuji E6 films are exceptional, and Kodak's Elite Chrome Extra Color has given me great results, but will not give the same longevity as Kodachrome. As the slides I took in 1975 look as if I photographed them yesterday. I would try finding a local pro processing lab in your yellow pages to process your Ektachrome's. You may be surprised with the results and price. And there's also Walmart which sends E6 film out to Fuji. Michael.... I figure this is probably inevitable... and it stands to reason that I have now finally gotten an old grahlex century graphic, 2X3 sheetfilm from J&C photo (aforementioned)... everything I seem to want at15 or 20 comes at 50 or 60... :) <sigh> >>The owner of my local camera store tells me that he, and most other >>dealers, no longer carry Kodachrome and it will soon be unavailable. [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] > > Michael.... |
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