KODACHROME Film: Interview with Kodak's President Jeff Clarke 2/20/2017

laser · Feb 21, 2017

http://wxxinews.org/post/kodak-ceo-says-company-competitive-and-hes-looking-forward-growth

Interviewer: "And there have been rumors Kodak might want to bring back the iconic Kodachrome."

Mr. Clarke: “If we do bring back Kodachrome, it will be very similar to the original, but it will be different because one of the reasons Kodachrome did stop getting made is because of some of the chemicals associated with it that really aren’t appropriate in the labs anymore. And so if we come back with Kodachrome, it will be a different Kodachrome, but it will be pretty close.”

Mr. Clarke is keeping the possibility alive.

See how film is made:

www.MakingKodakFilm.com
The price has been reduced on the 1st edition.

RattyMouse · Feb 21, 2017

laser said:
http://wxxinews.org/post/kodak-ceo-says-company-competitive-and-hes-looking-forward-growth

Interviewer: "And there have been rumors Kodak might want to bring back the iconic Kodachrome."

Mr. Clarke: “If we do bring back Kodachrome, it will be very similar to the original, but it will be different because one of the reasons Kodachrome did stop getting made is because of some of the chemicals associated with it that really aren’t appropriate in the labs anymore. And so if we come back with Kodachrome, it will be a different Kodachrome, but it will be pretty close.”

Mr. Clarke is keeping the possibility alive.

See how film is made:

www.MakingKodakFilm.com
The price has been reduced on the 1st edition.

It will be an E-6 film is what he is saying.

Kodak no longer has the R & D capability to develop a whole new process to replace Kodachrome.

flavio81 · Feb 21, 2017

RattyMouse said:
It will be an E-6 film is what he is saying.

He has not said this nor implied this. He implied that the formulation will have to change, though.

RattyMouse said:
Kodak no longer has the R & D capability to develop a whole new process to replace Kodachrome.

I agree with you.

faberryman · Feb 21, 2017

So one member of management says in January at CES when they announced that they were reintroducing Ektachrome that they were also looking into bringing back Kodachrome; a few weeks later a different member of management said that they really were not bringing back Kodachrome; and now yet another member of management says that they are looking into it. I think they are just ginning up speculation to stay in the public eye while they are working on reissuing Ektachrome. Pretty lame if you ask me - Vaporchrome. The worst will be if they reissue Ektachrome and call it Kodachome.

Did I read here (perhaps from PhotoEngineer) that Kodak did not discontinue Kodachrome because of environmental concerns, but rather purely financial concerns?

Wallendo · Feb 21, 2017

RattyMouse said:
It will be an E-6 film is what he is saying.

Kodak no longer has the R & D capability to develop a whole new process to replace Kodachrome.

I don't know about their capabilities, but I suspect the truth is that it is not cost effective to create a new film that requires a proprietary development process which is complicated and expensive. Especially if infra-red cleaning functions cannot be used in scanning for that film. Even if Kodak would make such a film and offer development services, how many people would purchase a film that could only be developed by one company?

I agree it would likely be an E-6 film with Kodachrome-like dyes.

RattyMouse · Feb 21, 2017

flavio81 said:
He has not said this nor implied this. He implied that the formulation will have to change, though.

He very much implied a big change. "... it will be very similar to the original, but it will be different because one of the reasons Kodachrome did stop getting made is because of some of the chemicals associated with it that really aren’t appropriate in the labs anymore."

There is no doubt in my mind that what will be "different" is the development process. It will be an E-6 film.

Kodak will "bring back" Kodadachrome via E6 because that's all that they can do. They can't go back to the old process. All the reasons that Kodachrome failed still exist, and then some.

It's E6 or nothing.

RattyMouse · Feb 21, 2017

Wallendo said:
I don't know about their capabilities, but I suspect the truth is that it is not cost effective to create a new film that requires a proprietary development process which is complicated and expensive. Especially if infra-red cleaning functions cannot be used in scanning for that film. Even if Kodak would make such a film and offer development services, how many people would purchase a film that could only be developed by one company?

I agree it would likely be an E-6 film with Kodachrome-like dyes.

Exactly right.

Lionel1972 · Feb 21, 2017

They'd better not bring it back as an E6 film lest the backlash could be quite damagable among the photography comunity and then the general public. I would advise them to avoid the "LieMax" syndrome that affected the new digital IMax theaters.
If I were Jeff Clarke, I would revamp the Kodachrome minilab concept, make deals with minilab shops (make it a rented piece of equipment, free installation and service, then sell the specific Kodachrome chemicals). This way supporting the chain of local labs which would then have more potential customers to whom Kodak could sell more film, C41 and E6 chemicals. If they make the K-labs capable of processing 120 Kodachrome, it could make an even bigger buzz among analog shooters.

bvy · Feb 21, 2017

It sounds like they want the name but not any of the baggage.

Wayne · Feb 21, 2017

It will not come back.

keenmaster486 · Feb 21, 2017

Oh come on, naysayers. Of course there's a 98% probability that we'll never see Kodachrome again! But you've got to let us have our bit of fun and dream a little bit.

Photo Engineer · Feb 21, 2017

My bet is an E6 film with modified couplers and perhaps a modified CD step.

PE

pentaxuser · Feb 21, 2017

Photo Engineer said:
My bet is an E6 film with modified couplers and perhaps a modified CD step.

PE

Can I ask what qualities this E6 film might have that the likes of Ektachrome will not and will it be capable of being produced at home? Isn't there a real possibility that if it is E6 with the modified couplers and a modified CD step then it won't be Kodachrome as the aficionados desire?

pentaxuser

Wayne · Feb 21, 2017

keenmaster486 said:
Oh come on, naysayers. Of course there's a 98% probability that we'll never see Kodachrome again! But you've got to let us have our bit of fun and dream a little bit.

Sure, but I'd wish you'd do it all in one place instead of multiple different threads in multiple forums. This one should be merged with one of the others.

Photo Engineer · Feb 21, 2017

As the quote states, there are reasons that the Kodachrome process will not come back. So, it wont! But, there are ways to duplicate the look by changing the couplers and perhaps the CD. This, along with a Kodachrome type sensitization and curve shape will yield a Kodachrome look to an E6 film.

PE

Cholentpot · Feb 21, 2017

I'm no pro nor prophet but I did predict we'd see an E-6 Kodachrome.

In all honesty, Kodachrome has changed processes in the past and was still Kodachrome. If an E-6 Kodachrome is released and looks like Kodachrome then in my books it is Kodachrome. And if that happens I don't want to hear from nay-sayers that 'It's not reaaaaaaal Kodachrome!' That would be like saying nothing that was ever revised can carry a name and a legacy.

So hurrah for a new film!

bdial · Feb 21, 2017

Kodak apparently thinks there is a solid market for Ektachrome, and thinks there may be a market for Kodachrome too. What's not to like in that? It's a huge commitment on Kodak's part and we should be happy that they are willing to take the risk. I certainly miss the original Kodachrome, but if it has to come back as an E-6 process film, so be it, I won't complain. Actually the notion of a Kodachrome that I could process myself with a standard process is very appealing.
IF they do it, though, I REALLY hope that they make it in 120 as well as 35.

EarlJam · Feb 21, 2017

Aside from its unique color gamut, what makes Kodachrome special is its stability over time. Here's an early Kodachrome of my dad and his cousin, taken by my grandfather in 1940; pretty much a straight scan with no color correction. If whatever process Kodak develops (no pun intended, but hey, it works) allows my grandchildren to find my photos of them in the same condition, 75 years from now, I'm in.

Sal Santamaura · Feb 21, 2017

RattyMouse said:
...Kodak will "bring back" Kodadachrome via E6...

Is that a Freudian misspelling? Are you predicting a Dadaist E-6 film that rejects the logic, reason and aestheticism of K-14?

Theo Sulphate · Feb 21, 2017

Sal Santamaura said:
... a Dadaist E-6 film that rejects the logic, reason and aestheticism of K-14?

The Kodadachrome will be on the shelf right next to the Cubichrome - a film that will simultaneously show all facets of the subject.

mike c · Feb 21, 2017

I wish they would bring back 120 T-max!!!

Andrew O'Neill · Feb 21, 2017

Sal Santamaura said:
Is that a Freudian misspelling? Are you predicting a Dadaist E-6 film that rejects the logic, reason and aestheticism of K-14?

Andrew O'Neill · Feb 21, 2017

Theo Sulphate said:
The Kodadachrome will be on the shelf right next to the Cubichrome - a film that will simultaneously show all facets of the subject.

You could call it Hockneychrome!

Craig · Feb 21, 2017

Photo Engineer said:
As the quote states, there are reasons that the Kodachrome process will not come back. So, it wont! But, there are ways to duplicate the look by changing the couplers and perhaps the CD.

Perhaps I am misunderstanding what you said, but would that still be a standard E6 process? Is a changed colour developer ( I assumed that's what CD is) mean a modified (i.e. non-standard) E6 process?

Cholentpot · Feb 21, 2017

mike c said:
I wish they would bring back 120 T-max!!!

It's gone?

KODACHROME Film: Interview with Kodak's President Jeff Clarke 2/20/2017

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