To your point, I (like others) scan my chromes because you can't print them anymore, so I only really shoot color chromes in 120 or 4x5. Shooting color chromes for scanning and printing, and not paying for a drum scan, severely limits my size capabilities. As is I only shoot maybe 6 ROLLS of 35mm color film a year. If Kodachrome really came back, (and in theory if I didn't have the store of 100 rolls already) I might shoot 1-2 rolls "just because" but I value E-6 too much, as is it's almost already into extinction, and I wouldn't want to jeopardize the longevity of Velvia50/100 and Provia100f by buying Kodak's limited run of K-14
I'm sure others might recognize this danger too.
All color films have at least three silver halide light-sensitive layers.
Good point. So even if it uses a bit more silver per layer I still see no reason for it to cost much more than E6 films. It's the processing that's the rub. Always has been, for that matter, as I suspect that was largely behind the preference for E6 at least at first, and a lot more Kodachrome would have been shot if people could have processed it at home as easily as E6.
I see your point about not jeopardizing something more sustainable, but I'd continue to shoot both.
Ironically, with the price of 35mm film scanners, if you do your own scans and inkjet prints you can probably print about as large and about as well from 35mm as from medium format, if one compares a good dedicated 35mm film scanned output to a good v700/750 scanned medium format neg, though I've seen some really good 16x20s from v700 scanned 6x7 negs.
As I said, I shoot E6 mainly for projection, and also scan at low res for web sharing. I can have the odd image or two professionally scanned and printed if I want. I probably shoot an additional 10 rolls or so of C41 a year, almost all in 120. Ironically I tend to shoot color when I just don't have time to process and print black and white because I can send it out and forget it.
I have some images from my 2010 "farewell to Kodachrome" on my Flickr page. Nothing great. Processing and scanning was by Dwayne's who only managed to scratch one slide (one I love though, a photo of my wife then-girlfriend and elderly mother - it's not on my Flickr page, may need to clone out the scratch and add it) and known for, um, not best scans. I cleaned them up a bit. The K200 stands out as being not nearly as good as the 64. I never shot 25. I am aware that most folks considered it superior but it was just too darned slow for me.
Most of them could just as well be E6 for the difference you can tell after scanning, reducing resolution and posting online. A few do reveal a bit of "the Kodachrome look" that comes across so much more in projection. This one seems to show it to me, if you excuse the bit of vignetting in the corners from the lens shade on the 28-105 Series 1:
Fall Colors01 by Roger Cole, on Flickr
Actually no. Kodachrome is "silver-rich" in comparison to E-6. And instead of having one silver-gelatin emulsion layer, it has THREE, each with a sensitizer coupler to key it to a specific region of the color spectrum. What's a roll of Tri-X cost now? Triple that, and maybe more to compensate for the lower volume, increased quality control requirements and the more advanced chemistry.
Sorry, but both you and Roger are incorrect in your comments.
Kodachrome is not "silver rich" any more than any E6 film is. It is, however, very thin due to having no couplers present. This very thinness makes it difficult to coat, but does improve sharpness.
PE
New Years Resolution: meet Ron Mowrey....
Sorry, but both you and Roger are incorrect in your comments.
Kodachrome is not "silver rich" any more than any E6 film is. It is, however, very thin due to having no couplers present. This very thinness makes it difficult to coat, but does improve sharpness.
PE
Ron:
Be afraid, be very afraid ...:munch:
Yep, that's a Dwayne's scan alright...
I don't get why they are so bad... Lol.
But that's a beautiful image
Yes Roger, the coating problem make it more difficult to manufacture. Defect rate goes up and coating speed is forced down. But, this happens in several "thin" products, but they have viable markets. Some, without suitable market share die.
PE
Don't worry Matt. It seems that I am going to be out of town that day!
Just kidding Stone.
PE
Thanks for the compliment.
Honestly, what's so bad about the scan? There is no real detail in the white house. I'd have to look at the slide to be sure but I doubt there's any on the film, it's so brilliant. Light/dark and to some extent contrast are a guessing game with an uncalibrated monitor, which mine is. I did tweak those a little on these, but otherwise didn't mess with them. Really it seems ok to me. Maybe I'm just not a connoisseur of good scans.
I suspect the anticipated result of this poll was that it would demonstrate there was no interest at all in a hypothetically revived Kodachrome product. That when people were asked about exactly how much real money they would be willing to part with, suddenly all of the feigned interest would evaporate.
But that has not turned out to be the case. The results have consistently hovered around a 60/40 split, where fully ~40% of respondents have indicated a willingness to open their wallets if the product returned. (It's slightly better than 40% in favor at the moment, but it drifts back-and-forth.)
What does it prove? Nothing, really. Except that the original premise was not true. There is significant interest. Much higher than I expected, truthfully. How much would translate into actual sales? I dunno'. How much into repeat sales? I dunno'. How much into volume sales? I dunno'.
But none of these follow-on issues were addressed by the original question. It was only about how much would you be willing to spend per roll? That's it. Much in the same way that the original poster's question was a very, very simple "Is it totally dead?" That's it.
These discussions are subject to insidious scope-creep. Before you know it people are demanding to know why all of those 40% positives have not taken classes with PE to learn how to make Kodachrome in their bathrooms (or barns) before being allowed to cast a credible positive vote in the poll. Or have not posted hundreds of dollars in advanced money before voting positively. Or have not jumped through gazillions of other flaming hoops before voting, just to prove their sincerity to the doubters.
I mean, if you can't synthesize the whole Kodachrome tomato all by yourself in the basement (just read the patents!), then saying you'd be interested to use a revived Kodachrome carries absolutely no weight. Right? Heck, I never use Tri-X until I can recreate it from scratch in the kitchen. Do you? Of course you don't...
It's good that these forums are open to all opinions. That must not change. But the price often paid is that the discerning reader must be able to figure out what is the critical path in a discussion, then discipline himself to stick to that path. The rest is just entertainment.
Ken
The bigger question...
I think that it is really a matter of frank indifference to our threads on Kodachrome that limits response here to about 3 dozen or so of the same people.
PE
I think that it is really a matter of frank indifference to our threads on Kodachrome that limits response here to about 3 dozen or so of the same people.
PE
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