Kodachrome, whats the difference between KR and PKR?

[andy_hebert]

I'm looking at BHphotovideo and is there any difference between these two

Kodachromes other than about $5 a roll? One is labled professional and the

other is I guess a consumer film. Thanks

 

Andy

[robert himmelright]

aging and cold storage. PRK is aged then fridged, KR ages on your local drug store's shelf

[keith_van_hulle1]

. . . which results in more consistent performance between rolls in the same lot #.

[andy_hebert]

Would this be a huge difference in purchasing from a place like B&H?

[john_shriver]

<p><i>Urban Myth Alert!</i></p>

 

<p>Kodak does not "age" Professional Kodachrome (PKR). They manufacture it dead-on in color balance. The myth about "aging" was originally perpetuated by some bonehead at one of the photo magazines, and it won't go away. It would be a stupid and expensive way to make film to have to "age" it. It's an insult to Kodak to say that they don't have enough process control to make their films at any color balance they like.</p>

 

<p>There is no question that consumer Kodachrome (KR) is manufactured a little off in color balance (green), so that as it sits on the shelf and color shifts towards magenta from aging, it will hopefully get used when correct in color balance.</p>

 

<p>When I routinely used Kodachrome, I didn't have any color balance problems buying the consumer Kodachrome 64 at a store, and using it. On the other hand, that was many years ago, when Kodachrome didn't linger on the shelves. But I did find a real advantage in buying the Professional verion of Kodachrome 200 (now discontinued). Much more fragile film.</p>

 

<p>On the plus side, there have been some changes in Kodachrome 64 such that the color shift in aging is much reduced. On the other hand, the volume of Kodachrome 64 sales is really low, so you might get rather old stock. Certainly, a roll of Kodachrome 200 I bought recently was clearly "aged out", quite a let-down.</p>

 

<p>From a high volume store like B&H, I don't think you would get overage KR. (Indeed, it might be a bit green.) On the other hand, you would be very certain that PKR would be dead-on in color balance. Of course, Kodachrome color is a bit "subjective" compared to the E-series Ektachromes.</p>

[terence_spross1]

When E6 Ektachromes were first introduced the change in color balence was predicted by Kodak but the demand was greater than Kodak anticipated and some green Ektachrome was shipped with enough color shift that users (and magazine reviewers) complained, and so Kodak stored it for a while before shipping so it wouldn;t get used too soon. I believe it was then that the term "aging" film had its start. As a Kodak employee at the time I had purchased pre-release Ektachrome (and Kodachrome) at a significant discount at the company store and was pleased with the color of both films. When Ektachrome was first released and I bought my first rolls in a regular store the color was significantly off. It was at that time I started processing my own E6 and thought the home process was to blame but then had the same thing with Kodak processed films. After a month or so of shortage on the store shelves, things returened to normal.

 

Now, when I buy Ektachrome, I try to use it halfway between the manufacture date and the exp, date. But I also have noticed KR doens't seem to matter as much.

 

I've heard different things from people I know within the film division that seem to conflict with each other. Apparently, occationally a lot does require aging as they missed the taget a little, but that is not standard practice other than the ideal target allows for a minimum time between manufacture, spooling and sale.

 

It is assumed that professional photographers will not leave a half used roll in their camera for a couple months. So, if that typically happens to you don't waste your money on the PKR.

 

Even if you do use rolls up within the week of purchase, watch the temperature, even pros who shold know better sometimes leave their dark camera bag in the summer sun causing far greater shift than any difference between KR and PKR.

[randrew1]

When the professional Kodachromes were introduced in 1984, the practice was to select a batch of the amateur film with excellent curve shape and then "filtercoat" it to match the professional aim color balance. Fresh amateur film was a little on the green side. After a formula change in 1987 to improve keeping, the color balance shift with aging was reduced, but there was a subtle contrast shift in the toe of the curve that made the amateur curve shape unacceptable for professional use. It was at that time that Kodak started coating the professional film in separate designated events. PKR and KR use all of the same components, but the amounts of some components are a little different between the products. The effect is that fresh KR is slightly green (not as much as the older version). After 6 months of age, KR SHOULD be near ideal color balance IF it was stored at reasonable temperatures (Kodak uses 78F to represent "room" temperature). KR that is approaching its expiration date will be a little magenta. KPR should be very near ideal color balance IF your dealer kept it refrigerated.