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Kodachrome

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This article is about the brand of film. For other uses, see Kodachrome (disambiguation).
Kodachrome
MakerEastman Kodak
Speed25/15°, 40/17°
TypeColor slide
ProcessK-14 process
Format16mm, 8mm, 35mm
Introduced1935
Discontinued2002 (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.

Characteristics

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.

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.

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.[6]

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. 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. This would suggest that a Kodachrome scan is superior to even the best digital cameras, but things are not that simple. Because the uneven grain structure of film has to be 'translated' into square pixels, the pixels from a film scan cannot be compared with the pixels from a digital camera just like that. A scan needs more pixels to show the same amount of detail, because several pixels are needed to record one grain particle. Consequently, a DSLR image can be sharper and more detailed than a scan, even if it contains fewer pixels.

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.

Current status

Kodachrome 25 discontinuation (2002)

Kodachrome 25 ASA was discontinued in 2002. Many point to Velvia as the culprit in its demise[7].

Kodachrome 40 discontinuation in Super 8 (2005)

In May of 2005, Kodak discontinued the manufacturing of Kodachrome in the Super 8 movie format[8], despite more than 5000 petitions worldwide to keep the film[9]. 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[10]. 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[11], the other one for Internal Market and Consumer Protection[12] 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 quantities, even re-labeled under different brand names, were sold out by mid-to-late 2006 due to rushed panic buys. Kodak officially replaced Kodachrome in Super 8 with Ektachrome 64T. While Ektachrome 64T does not emulate Kodachrome 40, it does have it's own distinctive look and true to life color reproduction. The Kodachrome Void has been filled with the emergence of Fuji Velvia 50 and Kodak Ektachrome 100D. Both of these products can be purchased through Second Party Resellers who load the film stocks into Kodak Film Cartridge Shells. As sad as many were to see Kodachrome go, it is actually easier for smaller labs to process the remaining Kodak film stocks. What to many mistakenly seemed to be a destructive move by Kodak has actually allowed small film labs to begin to offer a versatile array of Super-8 film stocks that can all be processed same day via the E-6 processing method.

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[13].

See also

References

  1. ^ Leopold Godowsky, Jr. on invent.org's Hall of Fame
  2. ^ Leopold Mannes on invent.org's Hall of Fame
  3. ^ Image Forming Materials - Tint, Tone and Other Colour Processes (search a bit down the page in order to find Dufaycolor)
  4. ^ Alex Webb on www.magnumphotos.com
  5. ^ http://www.stevemccurry.com/
  6. ^ "The permanence and care of color photographs" (PDF) (PDF). Wilhelm Imaging Research. Retrieved 2006-12-27.
  7. ^ Comment on the discontinuation of Kodachrome 25
  8. ^ Kodak News (July 2005) Kodachrome 40 Movie film (Type A)/Super 8 Discontinued Retrieved July 10, 2006.
  9. ^ Kodachrome 40 petition on petitiononline.com
  10. ^ Slide Film Processing at Dwayne's Photo
  11. ^ Culture and Education Committee of the European Parliament
  12. ^ Internal Market and Consumer Protection of the European Parliament
  13. ^ Christgau, Sally (June 30, 2006). "Kodak announces end dates for Kodachrome motion picture film processing" Press release. CCPR.

Official Kodak information

Other resources

Processing of older Kodachrome including Processes K-11 and K-12:

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