Kodachrome in Canada

Kevin Kehler · Apr 10, 2009

I don't use Kodachrome but thought I would give a heads up to a memo that came across my email yesterday (I work at Don's Photo in Regina). It was from the president of the company, explaining that our chain would no longer be accepting Kodachrome for processing since the company we dealt with to get it to Dwayne's in Kansas had gone bankrupt and we could not find a suitable alternative. Given the low volume of orders, they decided to just stop accepting it.

However, on the 2nd half of the email, the president said that his recent conversations with Kodak indicated they had decided to stop supplying Kodachrome film to Canada in the next 12 months. This meant if we wanted to order any stock, we had to do so in the next 3 months to ensure delivery otherwise inform the customer we could not get it. This does not mean Kodachrome is officially a discontinued film but as of next year, it will have to be ordered out of the US from a non-Canadian company as there will be no official Canadian supplier.

Toffle · Apr 10, 2009

Thanks for this information... (I really have to read more carefully... when I first saw this I thought you said Dwayne`s had gone bankrupt... It`s ok... I`m breathing again. )

Still, this is a sign of what will be happening to Kodachrome in the near future. Change is on the way. Hopefully the film itself will survive.

Regards,

calexg · Apr 10, 2009

Thank you for the heads up! I'll have to place an order through Don's and stock up on Kodachrome!

TerryM · Apr 10, 2009

Kevin,
Are you sure that it won't be possible to order directly from Kodak Canada via Phone? That's how you order Movie Films like Super8.

Ektagraphic · Apr 10, 2009

You can always order it from the US and send it back directly to the US.

Kevin Kehler · Apr 10, 2009

Terry, I am unsure if you could order it as such. We do have people who order Super8, with a minimum order of 2-3 reels but the way the memo was worded, it said Kodak was going to discontinue supplying Kodachrome to Kodak Canada, which implies Kodak Canada (a separate entity than Kodak USA) is going to be unable to get the product. Would someone be able to order a shipment if it was sufficiently large? Possibly but that was not my read.

I have noticed (and confirmed by the store manager who has been a camera store manager/operator for 30+ years) it is getting harder to get Kodak products, even basics like TXP or 4x5 film. Unless you want T-Max (readily available), it seems a longer wait for products than it was 4-5 years ago. In January, I wanted to order some raw chemicals for mixing my own developers and found a 7-year old Kodak catalog of supplies; none are now available from Kodak Canada.

cmacd123 · Apr 13, 2009

Kevin Kehler said:
In January, I wanted to order some raw chemicals for mixing my own developers and found a 7-year old Kodak catalog of supplies; none are now available from Kodak Canada.

Kodak USA has apperently outsourced the packaged chemicals, so perhaps they (kodak USA) no longer stock those products? or perhaps Kodak Canada no longer has the volume to relabel the chemicals for retail sale in canada what with the requrements for bilingual labels and WHMIS labeling.

when they had a canadian factory it was easy to get someone to fill a few jars and run off some labels, now that 3500 is gone they probably have to import or contract out any logistics.

Uncle Bill · Apr 13, 2009

I heard through the grapevine the Qualex (SP?) was responsible for collating Canadian Kodachrome for shipment to Dwaynes, hence when Qualex went down, so did the pipeline.

I got a stash of E-6 and even then that might be a bitch to get processed, not cool.

Colin Corneau · Apr 13, 2009

Thanks for the headsup. I recently picked up a dozen rolls of K64 from Don's (the only place, unfortunately, to get it presently where I live) and may get some more before this takes effect.

And I'll once again take the opportunity to lambaste Kodak and chain owners for not promoting or even mentioning this stuff. I'm not unrealistic about market conditions but to not even have a simple card up in a store sort of creates a self-fulfilling prophecy.

gordrob · Apr 14, 2009

You can check the web site for Mondrian-Hall, the successor to Treck Hall, they seem to handle a lot of the Kodak products - film, paper and chemicals including Kodachrome. There web site is at
http://www.treckhall.com/page.asp?intNodeID=3576&switchlang=true
The unfortunate part is that if you are ordering chemistry you have to buy it in case lots which makes it expensive.

Gord

Terrence Brennan · Apr 14, 2009

gordrob said:
The unfortunate part is that if you are ordering chemistry you have to buy it in case lots which makes it expensive.

Gord

Which is why I now buy only bulk chemicals (powders, mostly), and mix all of my own.

mabman · Apr 14, 2009

Well, that stinks - thanks for the heads up. Not that I use much of it, but my local Don's is the only place in town to get K64 sent away.

The other photo store in town (Photo/Darkroom Central, APUG Advertiser, shameless plug doesn't deal with it, so I guess it's sending directly to Dwayne's from now on...

Kodachrome in Canada

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