Kodachrome

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This article is about the brand of film. For other uses, see Kodachrome (disambiguation).

Kodachrome
Maker:	Eastman Kodak
Speed:	25/15°, 40/17°
Type:	Color slide
Process:	K-14 process
Format:	16mm, 8mm, 35mm
Introduced:	1935
Discontinued:	2002 (ASA 25), 2005 (ASA 40 in 8 mm)

Kodachrome is a brand of color reversal (slide) film sold by Kodak. Kodachrome was invented by Leopold Godowsky, Jr. and Leopold Mannes (hence the humorous saying that "Kodachrome was made by God and Man") ^[1]^[2]. It was first sold as 16 mm movie film in 1935, and as 8 mm movie film and 135 film in 1936. Kodachrome is the oldest successfully mass-marketed color still film using a subtractive method (see color photography for details of earlier additive/'screenplate' methods such as Autochrome and Dufaycolor^[3]). Kodachrome has been through many incarnations and undergone four major developing process changes over the years; the current is the K-14 process.

Kodachrome is widely regarded as one of the best films available for the archival and professional market because of its colour accuracy and dark-storage longevity. Therefore, and because of the tonal range of Kodachrome colors, Kodachrome is the film of choice of top photographers like Alex Webb^[4] and Steve McCurry^[5], both belonging to the Magnum photo agency. McCurry's famous Afghan girl portrait, taken in 1984 for the National Geographic, is a Kodachrome.

1 Characteristics
2 Current status
- 2.1 Kodachrome 25 discontinuation (2002)
- 2.2 Kodachrome 40 discontinuation in Super 8 (2005)
3 See also
4 References
5 External links
- 5.1 Official Kodak information
- 5.2 Other resources

[edit] Characteristics

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[edit] Emulsion

The structure of the Kodachrome emulsion is fundamentally different from that of other slide films in that it is non-substantive. The film is also known as an Integral Tripack. Nearly all other color films have dye couplers incorporated into the three emulsion layers to ensure that the correct dye forms in the correct layer when all three are developed at the same time. In Kodachrome, however, the dye couplers are introduced during the development process. This makes its rendering of color and response to light unique. Furthermore, the dye couplers in other color films require thicker emulsion layers that allow light to scatter, whereas thinner layers are generally sharper. A Kodachrome slide is quickly detectable when reviewing a series of slides of indeterminate origin: Kodachromes tend to exhibit a visible "relief" image on the emulsion side.

[edit] Developing process

The Kodachrome developing process is very complex, exacting, and proprietary to Kodak; it precludes its use by home amateurs. Kodak offered the "K-Lab" process to small labs in an attempt to increase the availability of the process. Ultimately, this was not successful. Similar to other reversal films, Kodachrome is first developed into black and white negative layers and stopped but not fixed. Then the correct color dye couplers are added by performing a light exposure or a chemical "fogging" step, followed by development of the subtractive layers, one at a time, adding the dye couplers during each of the three individual color developments.

Due to this complexity, Kodachrome films were sold at a price which included processing in a Kodak lab, except in the United States where this was prohibited as anticompetitive. The film was designated with the letter "P" and included a mailing envelope. Mailed to any of the designated Kodak laboratories, the film was returned by mail, processed and, in the case of 35mm stills, slide-mounted. With the close of the last Kodak lab, pre-paid processing is no longer available.

[edit] Legendary stability

The long-term "dark-keeping" stability under ordinary conditions has long been superior to other color film. (Some E-6 films now rival Kodachrome for image stability.) Kodachrome slides over fifty years old still retain accurate color and grain. It has been calculated that the least stable color, yellow, sufferes a 20% loss in 180 years. This is mostly attributable to the fact that Kodachromes have no unused color couplers remaining after processing, unlike other color slides. However, Kodachrome color stability under bright light, i.e., projection, is quite inferior to E-6 process slide films (mentioned below), at least in actual still film.

Reference: http://www.wilhelm-research.com/pdf/HW_Book_05_of_20_HiRes_v1a.pdf

[edit] Digital scanning & resolution

Due to the unusual structure of the emulsion, some film scanners have difficulty scanning Kodachrome slides. However, those that can handle Kodachrome well (like the Nikon Super Coolscan 5000 ED and especially the 9000 ED) turn Kodachromes into brilliant digital files of stunning sharpness.

At 4000 samples per inch a Kodachrome scan produces roughly 21 megapixels from a 35mm frame, outperforming all current 35mm DSLRs. Going even further, professional scanners capable of 8000 or 12,000 spi turn a Kodachrome's native resolution into a sharp 85 to 192 megapixel file.

Kodachrome files of such scanning resolution are needed for sharp prints three metres wide and beyond, something which can't be done with a 16 megapixel digital photo. A 16 megapixel file is about 4900 pixels wide, and at a minimum print resolution of 100 pixels per inch, the print of a 16 megapixel camera can only be 49 inches (1.25 metres) wide. An 8000 spi scan of a Kodachrome is approx. 11,300 pixels wide, and can be printed at a width of 113 inches (2.9 metres).

Because the prices for large size prints have been dropping steeply since 2005, Kodachrome is enjoying renewed popularity for photo exhibitions as well as commercial purposes. Some other 35 mm films like Fujichrome Velvia can also be used for prints of several metres wide.

[edit] Current status

[edit] Kodachrome 25 discontinuation (2002)

Kodachrome 25 ASA was discontinued in 2002. Many point to Velvia as the culprit in its demise^[6].

[edit] Kodachrome 40 discontinuation in Super 8 (2005)

In May of 2005, Kodak discontinued the manufacturing of Kodachrome in the Super 8 movie format^[7], despite more than 5000 petitions worldwide to keep the film^[8]. Kodachrome Super 8 films that reached the Kodachrome lab in Lausanne, Switzerland, before 25 September 2006 were developed at the facility, the only place for authorized processing of Kodachrome 40.

On June 30, 2006, Eastman Kodak announced the closure of the Lausanne Kodachrome lab, the world's only remaining lab for Kodachrome processing owned by Eastman Kodak itself. Since September 30, 2006, only Dwayne's Photo in Kansas and the Horiuchi Color Lab in Tokyo remain: two private Kodachrome laboratories, both monitored by Kodak. Although Kodachrome 40 Super 8 processing by Dwayne's is not authorized by Kodak (something amiss with the machine, Kodak says) the processing of the slide films by Dwayne's has Kodak's full blessing^[9]. From October 2006 onwards, all Kodachrome processing for Europe and North America will be consolidated to Dwayne's.

On 25 July 2006 extensive documentation about the impending closure of the Lausanne Kodachrome lab was sent to the European Parliament by the Dutch office of the European Parliament. Although Lausanne lies in Switzerland, not an EU-member state, the lab serves all of Europe and its discontinuation would seriously affect photography in Europe. Two parliamentary committees, one for Culture and Education^[10], the other one for Internal Market and Consumer Protection^[11] will study the matter and may come up with solutions, with or without EU-subsidy.

Kodachrome 40 in Super 8 has however been discontinued and all available first-hand quantitites, even re-labeled under different brand names, were sold out by mid-to-late 2006 due to rushed panic buys. Kodak officially replaced it in Super 8 with Ektachrome 64T, however lost Super 8 market shares to Fuji's Velvia 50 D (also sold as Cinevia) as well as to Ektachrome 100D (unofficially marketed by two independent companies in the US and in Europe under different brand names) due to the 64T's coarse grain and difficult to poor handling in most cameras in comparison.

For 16 mm customers who pre-paid for processing of Kodachrome motion picture film with the purchase of the film stock, Dwayne's Photo will honor that processing at no additional charge until December 31, 2006. After that date, Kodachrome 16 mm film processing costs, as well as the responsibility for shipping that product to Dwayne's, must be borne by the customer. On 30 June Kodak also announced that the manufacture of Kodachrome 16 mm film will be discontinued, although there may be one last production run at the end of 2006. Dwayne's will continue to process 16 mm^[12].