Kodachrome 64 being withdrawn???

Does anyone know if k64 is being discontinued? I have a sneaking

suspicion it is, as it was dropped by a large midwest chain store in

May, and now it appears to be disappearing from the online retailers

also (none at BH, Adorama, Ritz, etc - only k200)

I know Kodak plans to close their Fairlawn facility in Ausgust, so I

was wondering if maybe they have a "silent recall" going on this

stuff. Does anyone know anything about their future plans (guy at

Kodak didnt know, except that it was supposedly still available)

Troll

?? After a quick search, I find Kodachrome 64 still in stock and being sold at both B&H and Adorama.

Sales of Kodachrome and other films at Fuji and EK both are declining at a rapid rate in the US. Sales in 3rd world countries remains brisk.

 

Ron Mowrey

Kodak would like Kodachrome to go away quietly, but don't want to discontinue it outright just yet as it still has quite a few loyal supporters. Obviously Kodak is not one of those "supporters" as evidenced by the nearly complete withdrawal of processing support throughout most of the world. Make processing difficult to find or inconvenient, and people will move on to other films. Good strategy (worked for me) for killing a product.

 

Of course the above is purely my speculation. Draw your own conclusions.

 

Mike

Kodachrome has been "dead man walking" for some time now. I suspect it will linger in Japan and Europe longer than in the US, but the specialized machinery for the complex development process is not made anymore, and the 3 labs worldwide that still process it will eventually be forced to close down when their machines wear out or the chemistry is no longer made. Enjoy it while you still can.

I have said it before, but Ek had a complete line of upgraded Kodachrome films including a 400 speed film in-house, but sales were so poor that they were never brought out on the market.

 

You all may be fanatics and it is a good product for some purposes, but regardless of your faith in it, sales are extremely poor and warrant the cutbacks.

 

If the sales were there, I assure you, you would see a Kodachrome that would 'knock your socks off'.

 

 

Ron Mowrey

The famous Marilyn Monroe calendar photo was done on 8 x 10 Kodachrome. If they have a new Kodachrome that would make my wife look like that, I would buy it.

Ron,

I understand what you mean about sales; however, isn't this a vicious circle?

 

Kodachome hasn't been improved in years, Kodak doesn't even process it anymore, so sales are poor. Sales are poor so Kodak doesn't advertise, improve, or process Kodachrome. Repeat ad infinitum.

 

I imagine if Kodak put a marketing blitz out for a new Kodachrome, along with n announcement that it would be processed ina t least one lab in every state.... Boom sales would go up.

 

It's kind of a chicken and egg argument. Do low sales fuel Kodak's lack of support.. or does Kodak's lack of support fuel poor sales?

 

One problem is almosty no casual shooter I know, knows how Un-archival most color film is, and how archival Kodachrome is. Even a raising of public awareness on that would make a difference.

 

Lastly there is Kodak's refusal to follow the laws of supply and demand. If demand is low, than the price of Kodachrome would naturally fall; however, Kodak flies in the face of the only universally believed economic theory and keeps making it more expensive. This can only perpetuate the problem. I perwsonally know at least 10 people who stopped using it because it costs so much.

 

Anyway....... My hope at this point is that when Kodak stope making it they sell the technology for a song to someone else. I don't know what to do about film anymore. I dislike most Fuji's (not really a knock at Fuji, I see many pictures taken with their films I love, they jsut don't seem to mesh with me). Kodak discontinues or tries to kill everything I like, or makes it hard to get consistancy across formats ( I like TMZ better than Delta 3200, bur no TMZ in 120. ) Agfa makes films I love, but seems to be about to go under......

 

SIGH

<i>Kodachome hasn't been improved in years, Kodak doesn't even process it anymore, so sales are poor. Sales are poor so Kodak doesn't advertise, improve, or process Kodachrome. Repeat ad infinitum.</i><p>

BINGO! It's a chain reaction spiral. I can't remember seeing ANY marketing for Kodachrome for YEARS ...<P>

I would probably still use it if it was still processed within my own nation's borders (Canada), but the hassle of sending it to the USA and the long turn-around times just aren't worth it to me. I stopped buying, sales fell ...

Can't scan it worth a damn, it's doesn't R-type worth beans, so what good is it?

Scot,

It doesn't scan easily, but with work it can be done.

What good is it? How about the archivability?

 

How about the fact that some of us just like it?

 

I can't stand most Fuji offerings particularly Provia; however, I would never suggest it was no good, or that people shouldn't use it based solely upon that.

 

Like all visual arts people have different tast, so what. So here's a deal; I wont complain at people using Provia, and you let us Kodachrome users alone.

 

Truce :)

I would imagine the name itself has value as a marketing tool. It sure sounds a heck of a lot better than "Ektachrome." "Agfachrome," and, in particular, "Fujichrome," sound stupid (is there a "Konicachrome"?), but to have an eponymous product has got to be valuable for a company, and "Kodachrome" has a nice ring to it, and is part of Americana as well. Maybe they should repackage their Ektachrome stuff as "Kodachrome II."

On July 8th, I received an e-mail from Charles Smith, Kodak Public Relations spokesman, concerning the Fair Lawn lab closing and Kodachrome film in general. I am attaching it below. I would suggest that if you have any questions whatsoever on Kodachrome, you e-mail, call or write Mr. Smith!

 

*******************************

 

Robert,

 

I got your e-mail address from Ben Rand of the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. Ben's recent article on some Qualesx(sic) lab closings was accurate, but we did not provide him with the complete information. Although Fair Lawn will close, we will still offer processing for Kodachrome... we are entering into an outsource(sic) agreement with a qualified lab that already processes Kodachrome. Photographers will see no change in the normal service time and will receive continued excellent processing. On the issue of Kodachrome in general, we continue to sell and support the product.

 

....Please write or call if you have any questions.

 

Charles Smith

Kodak Public Relations

585-724-7450

(charles.s.smith@kodak.com)

Kodachrome already knocks my socks off! Just because Kodak is not going to process Kodachrome in the U.S. anymore doesn't mean they're killing it off...they haven't processed Kodachrome Super 8 for at least 10 years in the U.S., and it's still around. Kodak itself is in big trouble, not just Kodachrome, and the recent cutbacks reflect that...I will be satisfied if they just offer the film, and Dwayne's does the processing, just like it's been for super 8 for years...Kodachrome is now a niche film I guess, apparently through Kodak's lack of support, but I feel it will still survive, as Kodak has just reduced their operating costs for it by not processing it.

Randall:

 

I attended the PMA in Las Vegas this past February. I spoke with a Kodak representative about the new E100G/GX film. While discussing the film, I lamented the fact that the Kodachrome emulsion had not been updated. The rep sighed, and basically noted that the 64 ASA Kodachrome has had its day, but the the 200 ASA Kodachrome was still going strong (from a sales viewpoint).

 

Initially, I took that to mean that the 64 ASA Kodachrome would be discontinued and that the 200 ASA variety would continued to be manufactured.

 

Upon further thought, I reconsidered my conclusions. I now believe that both Kodachrome emulsions will be marketed for the forseeable future (unfortunately, I cannot define the word "forseeable" re time frame). I would bet that you will have at least a few more years to purchase and use the film.

Kodachromes problem is that a custom Kodachrome Lab is expensive to maintain. It is NOT a film problem; but a LAB cost problem. It costs XXXX dollars a day to keep the lab tuned up; whether any rolls are being processed. As the number of rolls peters out; labs dissappear; so only a few do enough volume to stay open.This has been going on for 2 or 3 decades; and not anything really new. Go back even further and there really alot of Kodachrome labs. Before Ektachrome; Kodachrome was available in sheet form up to 11x14 INCHES. Today few folks use Kodachrome for slides; and the movie film usage is microscopic. Thus processing will contract into maybe one or two labs in the world; then the plug must be pulled when there is a massive negative cash flow .....

In the early 1980s I eagerly awaited the arrival by mail of my processed Kodachrome from the lab in Dallas. More yellow boxes in my bag than anything else when I headed out in search of another magnificnet landscape. Then the processing in Dallas went to pot and I waited even longer to get my Chromes back from Palo Alto or Fairlawn. Then Qualex took over and messed things up. Gone were the luscious Kodachromes colors I drooled over on the light table. Salvation appeared when I learned about the New Lab in San Francisco. The glory days were back until the jolly green giant changed the landscape with new, eye-popping (sometimes almost garish) slide films.

 

I confess that I still get a thrill when I look at some wonderful old Kodachrome on the light box. Some great colors for its day. There is also "something" about that etched look when teh back is viewed at an angle.

 

I don't shoot much Kodachrome now, but it does bring back this sense of nostalgia. I think I hear Simon and Garfunkel . . . . .

 

Everyone sing along . . . "don't take my Kodachrome away."

 

I can't help it, I just like the stuff. When I want to buy it, I want it to be there.

 

Ok, Spock, so I am illogical. If I want it to always be there, I should buy it more often.

 

Jim

Kodachrome's problem is that the last really great emulsion, Kodachrome II, was discontinued 30 years ago. K25 was a less-saturated higher-contrast film that could not match its predecessor in any way other than grain size. But once again Kodak killed of the best Kodachrome they had, and what was left was K64, an even less saturated and even higher contrast film; and K200, with grain about even with a 1600-speed transparency film of today. Other than Leica guys who live in their own nostalgic world and want both their film and their cameras to evoke the 1950's, there won't be that many tears shed over Kodachrome's demise.

To paraphrase the brilliant Paul Simon:

 

Kodachrome -- They give us those nice bright colors -- They give us the greens of summers -- Makes you think all the world's a sunny day, Oh yeah -- I got a [Minolta] camera -- I love to take a photograph -- So mama don't take my Kodachrome away

The local dealers here in Orlando don't stock Kodachrome anymore. Reason? They were tired of it going out of date and taking a loss on it. They didn't have any sales so why stock it?

 

Kodadchrome will die in the next 3 years or so. Enjoy it while you can.

I'm going to be sad when Kodachrome 64 goes away. It will be the end of an era. Still, I'm so grateful that it has been around for so long. At the moment I am scanning 44 years worth of slides (2000 of them roughly). Thank goodness my father had the sense to take all our family pictures with the stuff because now we can relive our best times together. As for scanning, I don't have any trouble with Kodachrome with my Minolta slide scanner. I think what I like best about Kodachrome 64 is the way it looks. I've tried alot of the new films like Velvia 50, Provia 100 and Kodak E100GX, but none of them quite gives me that look that I've come to appreciate. I'm not saying that Kodachrome is better just different, very much like digital photography gives you a different looking picture than film photography. Well, maybe I should go out and shoot some more Kodachrome before it's all gone.

<<To paraphrase the brilliant Paul Simon:

Kodachrome -- They give us those nice bright colors>>

 

Even the brilliant Paul Simon agrees with me! That song is off the Rhymin' Simon album which was released in 1973, when Kodachrome II was still in production.

And it was a protest song, which unfortunately didn't work, because a year later Kodak did in fact take his Kodachrome away.

Keep it alive as long as you can...<div></div>