Kodachrome processing finished 12/31/2010?

<p>Is the date that Dwayne's has set for the end of Kodachrome processing (12/31/2010) one that is set in stone? Any possibility of it being extended? Any word on how much business Dwayne's has in Kodachrome processing with 6 months remaining?<br>

I still have a bunch of rolls and doubt I'm going to finish them by the end of the year.</p>

<p>It may happen if Obama drops taxes or it snows in Miami in August; or Royal-X comes back.</p>

<p>Dwayne's Kodachrome line isn't running at full capacity yet, so theoretically, they could extend the date. However, Kodak hasn't made the color couplers for years; at this point Dwayne's is using leftovers from the close of the Lausanne lab. Once the couplers are gone, Kodachrome processing is gone. Don't plan on being able to get processing after 12/31/10. There have been a few people that have puportedly process Kodachrome in color at home, but no samples have ever been posted.</p>

<p>You will find opinions here:</p>

<p>http://kodachromeproject.com/</p>

<p>About to load my last roll ever, sigh.</p>

<p>Best regards,</p>

<p>/Clay</p>

<p>I have three rolls I bought new from B&H the day I read Kodachrome was being discontinued. Plan to shoot them this summer! I hope I can get them processed before December 31st!! Kodachrome is my all-time favorite film. My favorite Kodachrome was Kodachrome 200. An amazing film that had superb color balance. </p>

<p>The best you can possible hope for is a short extension of the deadline. The last batch of Kodachrome expires in November. Of course it will last for decades in the freezer, but after expiration, Kodak has no obligation to provide processing. As Franklin pointed out, there aren't enough of the couplers to extend the deadline very far. It is in Dwaynes interest to get the processing done as soon as possible. There are some fixed costs for keeping the processing macing running each week. We will get more consistent processing if we get our film in by the end of the year. K-14 machines like to be fed. They run much more consistently when large volumes of film are processed. If the deadline were extended, the daily volumes would drop and consistency would suffer. </p>

<p>Plan on shooting your last roll on Christmas day and submitting it the following day.</p>

<p>Yesterday, one of my friends who works at the photo shop in town, found a roll of Kodachrome 25 in the shop's basement, expired in 1999. It wasn't refrigerated, but the basement is cool. Any chance this stuff is still good or is it magenta heaven?</p>

<p>Unless the basement is very cool (50 F or lower) the film will be rather magenta.</p>

<p>Even the last Kodachrome 25, unless frozen, is magenta by now. Heck, the last Kodachrome 200, as sold by Kodak through Calumet, was already a bit magenta.</p>

 

<p>I blame that on the processing. :) remember when Kodak tried 1 hour Kodachrome processing? Kodachrome was not perfect but there was one thing it was Kodachrome. And we have 180 days left to shoot and process it so we should enjoy the last 180 days so our relatives can enjoy what is on those slides for the next 100 years. if there is a next 100 years.</p>

<p>I wish the claims of long life for Kodachromes were true.<br /> I am in the process of scanning old slides taken by myself and my late father. They were not stored in ideal conditions;in an attic at the family home; so many were in poor condition and unusable due to mould growth. Some of these were over 40 years old; but the worrying thing is even some Kodachromes from 10-15 years ago have mould spots.<br /> Digital ICE doesn't appear to work with Kodachromes. Even using alchohol swabs to clean them had no effect. <br /> My Fujichromes stored under the same conditions are generally much cleaner and usable. Some of the worst were Ektachromes; but this seems to vary. Some batches from the same processor were good but others bad.<br>

My personal conclusion is that Kodachromes are no better than other films for longivity and are worse if stored badly.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>If stored in a decent environment, Kodachromes should certainly maintain their color much better than other films of the 60s and 70s. Can't blame the Kodachromes for mold... it's the environment.</p>

<p>I BEG Dwayne's to EXTEND the deadline - because I may not be able to use up all my Kodachromes. But then and again, I'm sure the deadline was set in stone by Kodak, not Dwayne's.</p>

<p>Dwaynes has no idea how much undeveloped Kodachrome there is out there.</p>

<p>f it is a typical human activity folks will wait to the last moment.</p>

<p>Dwaynes could get hit by a tornado or fire. They could run out of chemicals.</p>

<p>There is no way to say if they will extend processing for even *one* more day.</p>

<p>If they publically state it is now Feb 1, 2011 folks will just wait; just like stalling to leave Walmart on Christmas eve for shopping.</p>

<p>If Dwaynes extended it for one more year they would have to double the processing fees on Kodachrome and folks would whine even more.</p>

<p>The Gamble is if you wait past the deadline Dwaynes may or may not run one last batch or time period. They probably will ONLY if it makes sense from a business standpoint. Only they know the costs and inventory and cost per day to keep the line alive.</p>

<p>In one old printing process where I had the "last stuff" on the planet; I thought I had a 5 year supply. Then others ran out and my inventory got used up in about 4 months; once the "run" was on. Towards the end the yields went to pieces; some of the inventory had some sealing issues and there was more waste. I had to jack up prices at the end; folks bitched then; now the alternative process cost even more thus folks forget about increases.</p>

<p>Dwaynes probably will not even know were they stand until later in the year. What is the last batches are not the best?</p>

<p>This question is like asking if there will be beer and hotdogs available in the 4th quarter or 9th inning; some folks will fart around awaiting.<br>

<br /> Or it is like asking about buying a Nikon 9000 scanner; new old stock ones are still available but folks want to know if they can get one new in the box in the future; ie unanswerable</p>

<p>My money's on the beer and hotdogs unless it's a Raider's home game against the 49ers...</p>

<p>Delete - double post</p>

<p>I'm not going to trust that 12/31/10 date. Suppose they get hit with a glut of processing and run out before then? I'm going to shoot off my 20 rolls by Thanksgiving and get the last rolls in at least a month before the Christmas rush. I wouldn't wait until the last minute, too risky.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>Unless the basement is very cool (50 F or lower) the film will be rather magenta.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Not necessarily. A couple of years ago I used some Kodachrome dated 1986 which had been stored at room temperature. The slides had a just noticeable cool blue colour cast. Certainly not magenta.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>Plan to shoot them this summer!</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Summer?! Fall! You know - falls colors - Kodachrome - awesomeenss!</p>

<p>ICE 4 (eg Nikon V) works perfectly on many of the types/vintages/batches of Kodachrome...perhaps 1/3 or more of mine and my family's going back to WWII. Not sure, but I think the best way to know if it'll work with a particular Kodachrome is to try.</p>

<p>Fungus literally eats emulsion so there's no way to totally fix it. Try Tiger Cloth (google)...it does help and doesn't scratch. Scan and clone if the image is important.<br>

</p>

<p>The main reason I asked this question is because I need to decide what to do with the Kodachrome rolls that I have.... can I shoot it all by December or do I need to sell some off? If the deadline were extended, I wouldn't sell the film.</p>

<p>I would plan on the date of it being stopped as written in stone. Shoot what you can and offer some to friends that you know will shoot it then ebay the rest.</p>