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First roll of Kodachrome back! :-)


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Well, thanks to the discussion here last month, I finally broke down and tried

some Kodachrome. K64...and just got it back. For the record, I had to try it -

a test roll, so I sent it through Walmart to Dwaynes. $4.88 total for

processing and it came back in perfect shape. I was amazed to say the

least. :-)<BR><BR>

I have to say that overall, this film has a very pleasing palette. It's much

less garish than Velvia, but also a little more grainy. I have the feeling it

could use a warm-up filter in most scenic shots, or possibly a polarizer more

often than Velvia. While it seems to have more grain than Velvia 100, it also

has a very sharp look to it that I like, without looking over contrasty. I was

also pleasantly suprised at how it captured higher contrast scenes. To my

mind, it seems to have a bit more exposure latitude than Velvia, but then

again, it could just be that I've never shot Kodachrome and it

looks "different".<BR><BR>

At any rate, here's a small file from one I scanned in off the roll. I posted

it in my gallery here.<BR>

All the best,<BR>

Jed<div>00Mrg5-39013584.jpg.fe14478f13582b3b76d3f9b1d696e61b.jpg</div>

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Kodachrome 2 from 1960 was even nicer. K 25 was not bad either. Don`t get too excited about this as it will not last long as the life cycle of films goes. I would tell you to stock up, but the processing is so specialized it will not help.

There was even a pro Kodachrome 25 and 64 that Kodak aged to perfect color balance before it was sold. Before that pros used to buy hundreds of rolls and process one ocassionally until the batch was perfect, then freeze it all. Fresh Kodachrome is green, old is magenta.

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Jedidiah,<P>

 

It has been discussed but the feeling is that allowing user editing could lead to abuse or confusion. A person could start a troll/flame and then after the discussion gets heated, change the original post and say, "Who me? I never said that." <P>

 

Even correcting innocent errors could lead to a disruption of the flow of a thread. "Try Velvia, it gives much more muted colors than Astia" would lead to several responses pointing out the error. If the user were to correct the error, "Try Astia, it gives much more muted colors than Velvia" then someone coming to the thread would be confused about all the following posts. <P>

 

A moderator can correct a typo or other error in a post and then edit following posts to eliminate any confusion.

James G. Dainis
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Another favorite subject of mine! I've been shooting Kodachrome since Kodachrome II in the 60's. After waiting a week for processing, I still have to open the box of slides immediately to see what I have.

 

I've repeated this many times, but I'll say again here: I'm planing to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Kodachrome in 2010 by shooting a few rolls. I'm betting I will still be able to get them processed. (I have no inside information on this question.)

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Unlike many people, I absolutely loved Kodachrome 200 and for years it was the only thing I shot. I even like the grain. Unfortunately, while Kodak has a huge factory here in Guadalajara where I live, Kodachrome isn't sold anywhere in Mexico as far as I can tell, and I think it would be a royal pain to send it to the US for processing. Ahh, what I would give to return to the good old days (sometimes).
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As a long time lurker and first time poster I too will be sending off my firt roll of Kodachrome 64 and 200 for processing next week. It is actually cheaper for me to send 3 rolls to Dwaynes and buy another 3 rolls from him than to process E6 film locally.

I am really looking forward to seeing the results of this film when processed in a few weeks time.

 

Jim

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Due to the very thin emulsion, Kodachrome has very high resolution. It also has less tendency to bleed or flare around bright spots. Locomotive headlights are a known weak spot reported in E-6 films by railfan photographers.

 

It has a pleasing, but not accurate color balance. The cyan dye doesn't scan the way it looks to the eyes.

 

Professional Kodachrome isn't aged to correct color balance, it's made to correct color balance. The "aging to correct color balance" is an ancient urban legend. (Confirmed by Kodak veterans here.)

 

They still make Professional Kodachrome 64. Of course, the current formulation of Kodachrome 64 doesn't color shift in storage before exposure the way the older version (and Kodachrome 200) did. So perhaps the current Professional is just the master roll that came out best from the current production run. Of course, the other advantage of the Professional films is that they are stored cold.

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A edit/delete post that is available for only 15 to 30 minutes after the initial post/reply would help a lot of us fat fingered typist thet cant speel correctly clean up our act. :) <br>I must pull that roll of Kodachorme 200 out of the freezer one of these days, shoot it, and drive 25 miles one way to Wallymart and get it processed by Dwanes before it goes obsolete.
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Kodachrome processing will be available for at least 2 more years per Dwaynes (the last remaining Kodachrome processor in the world). They have a contract with Kodak, so should be in a position to know.

Perhaps longer, given the loyal following it has, as well as the influx of newcommers from the digital world who become interested in it.

If you shoot film, and have never tried a roll, it is sort of like being into music in the 1970's and never going to an Elvis concert. Do it before its too late. You may find you like it. And one day, when it is long gone, and that Paul Simon song comes on the radio, you can say that you too once shot the King of Film;)

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Great examples of a wonderful film. Can't wait to shoot some through my old manual Minolta Rokkor prime lenses. Seeing how I got the slides back in perfet shape, in 10 days for less than $5 - that's not too bad - I just might have to purchase a few more rolls and get to know K64 a little better! :-)<BR>

Of course I've only just shot one roll, but it really does seem to have a different look than modern film emulsions or digital.<BR>

Jed

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When I began shooting Kodachrome in 2004 there were some people here on this forum who said I should not bother with this film, it would be gone very soon anyway. Well it has been more than three years and Kodachrome is still alive, and I am very happy about the tens of rolls that I shot. So, for those of you who are interested in trying Kodachrome, or Kodachrome beginners (I should also include myself in this group), nevermind the discussions about the mortality of Kodachrome and just shoot the stuff. It is a weird film that seems to have a very natural look until you compare the slide with the real scene! Than you realize how far off it is at times. But it is the ultimate film to use in low contrast cloudy days that we have so often in Scandinavia. You get to bump up the contrast to a pleasing level, and get good skin tones.
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Think also to the stability of images on Kodachrome, my grandfather's slides are still perfect although they are almost 60 years old and were kept simply under normal house conditions ! However the E6 slides die young from the fading of their dyes! Does anyone has experience of Fuji's archival properties ??
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I'm one of those who was able to use K-25 late in its production, and just as I came to

appreciate its unique, wonderful qualities, it was gone. I called Kodak like others, and

while they were very understanding (they are film buffs, too), the explanation they gave

was that it simply wasn't selling enough.

 

It took me reaching a sort of "intermediate" level of skill and knowledge in photography to

be able to appreciate this wonderful product. That said, I have a strong suspicion that

because of my age at the time K-25 was discontinued, and the huge numbers of others in

this demographic, that had this film been made for just another couple of years, sales

would have picked up and it would still be in production.

 

K-64 is the closest emulsion to 25, in terms of the Kodachrome qualities that we love I

think, and I for one, plan to shoot more. Hopefully, others will also, and new users will

learn of its unique qualities; enough to keep it in production. But, there really seems to be

a place for K-25 in photography, and I mourn its loss like many. Kodak, if you're listening,

please bring it back, if only in limited production runs at first!

 

J Sevigny,

 

You might want to give Dwayne's a call on their toll free number.

http://www.dwaynesphoto.com/newsite2006/slide-film.html

I think another poster in this thread alluded to possibly being able to purchase

Kodachrome from them as well as have it processed via mail order. While I didn't know

about obtaining the film through them (you should definitely be able to order it through

B&H in N.Y.), I can say that their processing is excellent, and they seem to care very much

about doing a good job.

 

I've had several rolls processed through Dwayne's and the quality has been excellent. The

turn around times seem to have improved, too. Although it would be travelling much

further for you of course, I am getting it back in one week from date of mailing-I am about

350 miles from them.

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