Kodachrome 120

Craig · Mar 31, 2007

I have a Kodak Reference Handbook from 1944 that talks about the new Kodachrome, and all the sheet sizes that Professional Kodachrome was available in (up to 11x14"), and 35mm and 828 for the regular Kodachrome.

That got me thinking that 120 Kodachrome wasn't mentioned. Was it available later in the 1950's, or was the offering in the 1990's the only time Kodachrome was available in 120?

Pinholemaster · Mar 31, 2007

Kodachrome was only available in 135 in the 1950s. Kodak considered it an amateur film, where as Ektachrome was a professional film. Why? Because Ektachrome was pretested, and Kodachrome was not. Not until much later was Kodachrome offered in 120 format.

PHOTOTONE · Mar 31, 2007

I completely disagree that Kodak considered Kodachrome an amateur film in the 1950's. It was the 35mm film of choice even then for such magazines as National Geographic. While, yes, 35mm Kodachrome was shipped and sold at room temperature, that in itself does not indicate inferiority, and Kodachrome was superior to the Ektachromes of the 1950's, except in ease of processing. There were larger forms of Kodachrome available to professionals in the 1940's.

Sparky · Mar 31, 2007

'Professional' does not mean better. It's very possible Kodak did not consider it 'professional' even though it yielded better results - even if the national geo photogs used it. 'Professional' generally means 'predictable' - and extremely consistent, batch to batch. A professional can work with a (slightly) inferior product - as long as it has consistency, and probably get a better result.

Alex Bishop-Thorpe · Apr 2, 2007

I saw a few rolls of Kodachrome in 120 go on eBay a few weeks ago...the nerd in me was tempted, but I don't think you could get 120 format processed now anyway.

climbabout · Apr 2, 2007

I have a large collection of old family photos from the late 50's through the early 70's, that my father shot - some on ektachrome and some on kodakchrome - the kodachromes look like they were shot yesterday, - the ektachromes are barely visible - no doubt which was the better film.
Tim

Stan160 · Apr 2, 2007

I have a box of 6x9 colour transparencies taken by my grandfather in 1942, probably with his Zeiss Super Ikonta.

There is physical damage to the emulsion on some, but the unscratched ones have very good colour still. What film are these likely to be? I assumed Kodachrome, but now not sure if 120 format wasn't available so early.

Ian

naturephoto1 · Apr 3, 2007

Kodachrome 120 64 Professional was certainly available in the 1980s and 1990s.

Below is an image taken on Kodachrome 120 64 Professional in 1988. It was taken in November from Weehawken Park, Weehawken, NJ and directly opposite the Empire State Building (which can be seen in Christmas colors). Linhof Technika IV 4" x 5", Rodenstock f5.6 150mm Sironar N MC, Horseman 6 x12 Back.

The image is also in my gallery:

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

Rich

Craig · Apr 3, 2007

Stan160 said:
What film are these likely to be? I assumed Kodachrome, but now not sure if 120 format wasn't available so early.

Ian

An easy way to tell is to look at the back (emulsion) side. If its Kodachrome you'll be able to see a relief image as you tilt it to the light and get it just right. That is unique to Kodachrome.

Your slides may still be Kodachrome, but sheet film. It was available in 2 1/4 X 3 1/2" sheet film, among a bunch of other sheet sizes.

Matt5791 · Apr 4, 2007

Craig said:
An easy way to tell is to look at the back (emulsion) side. If its Kodachrome you'll be able to see a relief image as you tilt it to the light and get it just right. That is unique to Kodachrome.

Your slides may still be Kodachrome, but sheet film. It was available in 2 1/4 X 3 1/2" sheet film, among a bunch of other sheet sizes.

How fascinating - I have often looked at that relief image.

Matt

Brac · Apr 12, 2007

Kodachrome has a reputation for being excellent in long term storage if kept in the dark, but apparently projection can lead to a reduction in its longevity. Most of the other reversal films of the 40's & 50's don't seem to have lasted so well.

Eric Rose · Apr 12, 2007

I shot KC 120 when it was available. In fact I did some testing for the yellow God when they were trying to perfect it. Just think beta film. And it didn't crash my Blad!

Photo Engineer · Apr 12, 2007

Pinholemaster said:
Kodachrome was only available in 135 in the 1950s. Kodak considered it an amateur film, where as Ektachrome was a professional film. Why? Because Ektachrome was pretested, and Kodachrome was not. Not until much later was Kodachrome offered in 120 format.

All films at Kodak are pretested in what is termed "Release Testing" before it is sent out to be sold. The test is carried out before it is slit, chopped and packed, and then random packages are selected and tested as well.

In the pretest, a 42" wide piece of film or paper was cut off to a length of about 10 feet or so and then slit to 35mm. These pieces were boxed and shipped internally to several labs for process checks and then the groups met to compare results. I have often just gotten a hunk of the 42" material and was expected to slit and chop the sample in the lab to suit my tests. This is more often done for new products, as all processing stations in the plant don't have the capability to run a new process, if one is involved, nor do they have all of the historical data on this new product.

PE

lifein2x3 · Jun 3, 2007

Fleath said:
I saw a few rolls of Kodachrome in 120 go on eBay a few weeks ago...the nerd in me was tempted, but I don't think you could get 120 format processed now anyway.

I was also tempted by some not too long ago, so I called Dwayne's to see if they process it; they don't. I have no idea if it could be sent to Japan for processing, but something tells me it's not possible.

Robb Scharetg · Jun 3, 2007

Kodachrome Processing

Tom

There is currently one lab in the US still processing K-14. Just google 'kodachrome processing'. It's in the Midwest somewhere.

If ONLY we could get LF K-14!

Cheers

Robb

lifein2x3 said:
I was also tempted by some not too long ago, so I called Dwayne's to see if they process it; they don't. I have no idea if it could be sent to Japan for processing, but something tells me it's not possible.

MMfoto · Jun 3, 2007

I've got some of my grandfathers 4x5 K-chromes from the 1940's. I doubt many amateurs shot it, and I'll bet it was probably fairly expensive at the time.

digiconvert · Jun 3, 2007

MMfoto said:
I've got some of my grandfathers 4x5 K-chromes from the 1940's.

They must be a reall joy to look at , not many things make me jealous but in this case .....

eddym · Jun 3, 2007

I used to have some PKR120. Last time I shot it was at least 5 years ago, and I had to send it to England for processing. Don't know if it's still developed there or not.

benjiboy · Jun 3, 2007

I remember once seeing a portrait of Clark Gable shot in England in WW11 when he was a captain in the USAAF, shot on 10x8 Kodachrome.

Earl Dunbar · Jun 3, 2007

Eastman House had some 8x10 Kodachromes as part of the Weston exhibit recently. IMO Weston wasn't too comfortable with colour, at least in those shots. To be fair, these were part of Weston's testing of Kodachrome, IIRC, so I really can't judge them for artistic merit. The colour balance was good, but overall the film was not up to current Kodachrome standards, but I don't know if that is due to the particular emulsion, Weston's exposures, or some fading.

In any event, it was great to see 8x10 Kodachromes.

Michel Hardy-Vallée · Jun 4, 2007

In another thread I posted a link to a photo blog that shows only old photos, and many of these are 4x5 Kodachromes. Stunning! (search for Shorpy)

lifein2x3 · Jun 11, 2007

Robb Scharetg said:
Tom

There is currently one lab in the US still processing K-14. Just google 'kodachrome processing'. It's in the Midwest somewhere.

If ONLY we could get LF K-14!

Cheers

Robb

Robb,

Said lab is Dwayne's Photo in Parsons, Kansas. The lab attached to the camera shop where I work sends out all of our Kodachrome there (since it's the only option now that the lab in Maryland is closed), with about a two week turnaround. I called them about medium format, they only process 35mm these days.

dmr · Jun 13, 2007

lifein2x3 said:
Said lab is Dwayne's Photo in Parsons, Kansas. ... with about a two week turnaround.

I get much better turn-around than that. If I get a roll out to them in the morning mail pick-up on Monday, it gets back to me that Saturday, and occasionally on Friday. This has been very consistent since I started using Kodachrome again. Granted I do live about 200 miles from Dwayne's, but anywhere in the lower 48 it should be better than 2 weeks.

tjaded · Jun 15, 2007

mhv said:
In another thread I posted a link to a photo blog that shows only old photos, and many of these are 4x5 Kodachromes. Stunning! (search for Shorpy)

Oh my GOD! Those are unreal. I swear, if Kodachrome were ever to come back in 120/4x5/8x10, I would never use any other color film again.

IloveTLRs · Jun 18, 2007

Craig said:
An easy way to tell is to look at the back (emulsion) side. If its Kodachrome you'll be able to see a relief image as you tilt it to the light and get it just right. That is unique to Kodachrome.

I've noticed that myself

Kodachrome 120

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