Hello to all,
I still only read a lot on APUG, before I will post regularly, but here are some facts I can tell you all about now. Regular user's experience. My first experience with K64 was for my highschool trip to the UK in 1991 with my first 35mm camera. Then I started doing Kodachrome again in 2003 when I bought my first reflex. And I began using K40 Super 8 a year later.
So the facts I can remember are here. I will post again when I'll have translated and found again material I have about all that. That can be a little off-topic, but, well, all Kodachrome lovers read here, and it might help a little to understand. For the Renens/Lausanne (Switzerland) processing :
- they were running the old K-line until they closed down the lab, not the recent machine they use at Dwayne's.
- the process was made on a daily basis except for push/pull processing once a week. I had my films back in 7 to 14 days (France to Switzerland), the faster in winter, the busiest in late summer
- Super 8 was not on a daily basis, but it has always been faster than 35mm slides for me. I even had posted it on monday and got my film back home on saturday.
- When the lab closed down in 2006 I sent around 15 films by express mail, I wanted to get them "Swiss made" for the last time. The french customs didn't understand what it was and kept the package for a week and even called me to check, so it arrived too late in Renens. Kodak explained me the slides were sent to Dwayne's except the push/pull ones I would have to send to the US by myself, because Kodak cannot charge for the push/pull processing at Dwayne's. The Super 8 were processed in Switzerland, I guess they had received a large amount of film to process for this last time, so mine weren't too late
- as for the mounts used in Renens, in '91 i got them on paper, in 2003-2006 they were made of thin plastic. If I wrote "paper pls" on the corner of the process-paid enveloppe, I got them with paper mounts. When cutting this corner of the enveloppe you always got the slides in stripes, of course, that was written on the instruction sheet. We don't have this instruction sheet anymore in Europe since the film is packed in Mexico and the design of the cartridge has been lightly changed, so only experienced users of Kodachrome know about this "cut the corner to get it unmounted".
Now, Dwayne's sends back unmounted films only uncut and in a paper roll, in the "Europe 475" enveloppes you can see in the report. I haven't experienced yet about sending a single roll I want uncut, so I don't know if Kodak Renens adds another enveloppe or plastic around to send it back home. My last package was made of 17 films, next will be more. From time to time I send a single film, but I use to collect and save money for shipping. The postal turnaround now is 3 weeks for my big package, for a single film it is 2 weeks. Considering the previous time I waited when it was processed in Renens, I see no change except for winter which was faster. It is just the same turnaround time all the year now.
Dwayne's does a great job so I enjoy Kodachrome and I'll use it while it lasts, it is even more cheaper here in the country in France than to drive to a place where you can find slide film, and drive again to get it processed, or let it at the supermarket corner and wait the same time. I am just lucky I can buy and process everything I want in Germany, not far away. So Kodachrome is really a heart choice. On holiday I often take Kodachrome for archival, and other E6 for scanning, in the same time.
Thanks God Deep Frost, I can still enjoy K25 I bought on the big bid place to loyal professionals (K25 from '87, and K25 from last batches) or K200 I stocked (last brick ever from MX2 UK... unopened by them, with the sticker from Kodak France who shipped it to them). And I enjoy new stocks of K64, simply while it lasts...
Off-topic : as for K40 Super 8, folks, I think there is an issue. I just read on a french forum that Dwayne's might stop the processing of old K40 stocks in late 2008, the news comes from the french guy who deals with them. I will translate and quote him soon. He says he'll have news at the end of the year, about eventual processing in 2009. I will also ask them directly. Because maybe it is time for me for a big winterly Super 8 party with my last Kodachromes...
One year ago, on my road back home from south France, I drove to the Renens lab in the Lausanne Suburbs at night. No chance to let films here at night, the mailbox for films is closed forever. The lab is becoming grass and dust kingdom. On the entrance you can see the office opening times. I just took a pic of the historical mailbox... with my mobile phone. It was so cold I didn't came back to my car to take my tripod and my camera... Next time, maybe.
And from now, I will post my K64 on my website. Holiday and interest pics, stereo pics, but also everyday pics with a cheap camera. Share with friends, and others. Trying to create interest. That is the best advertisement I can try to do, we can try to do.
Thank you all for having read this long long stuff ! Good night
Stephane