Will we ever see another batch of kodachrome?

[AgX]

Meanwhile that server acted quite weird, but finally I got to hear that track again and even managed to make a transcript.


Interview in November 2008 on `Inside Analog Photo´ with:

Scott DiSabato - Kodak’s U.S. Marketing Manager for Professional film and the U.S. Sales Manager for imaging

“What’s the difference between the consumer and the professional K64?“

„Yeah, I mean there are couple of things associated with the two different emulsions:
I guess the tolerance associated with the professional spec is much tighter; so […] and the color balance are exactly what they neeed to be for exposure. And then if you refrigerate that film the dye[?] age have a slower rate And you can grab it out off the refrigerator and let it watrm up, expose it and pretty much know what you gonna get. On the consumer side we actually have to build in a bias, because it’s not being stored in refrigeration. So the dye aging is accelerated, so we build in a bias not only for while it’s sitting on their shelves, but when it’s sitting in the camera to the time it actually gets processed. So the best analogy out there would be the green banana: If you’re buying groceries for a week you may buy slightly green bananas, knowing that over the next couple of days this gonna age. It will become a less green banana, a nice yellow banana and then some brown spots will appear, the sugar increases and then it gets very brown and, and then you throw them away. So it’s, it’s sort of biasing it, knowing that it’s going to age, is really what we do with the consumer emulsion.
But the analogy for the pro film is it that it’s nice yellow, maybe just barely starting to show some brown signs. Or however you like it. That banana has sugar, it’s yellow and maybe with a little bit of brown. Just way you like it. You can peel that banana right there and eat it. And you have a professional banana.”

“Yeah, definitely good way to put it so people know the difference between the two. Because, sometimes people that are getting into this stuff and they hear about Kodachrome, and it’s like `Wow, there is all that legend behind it. I wanno go shoot something.´ And then: `Which one am I gonna buy?´ Well, of course you wanno get the professional because tighter specs, better refrigeration, things are just little bit more tighter around the whole pro-line of films. So, I think something you want to look at when you buy any kind of film.”

“Yeah, but I would also like to add to that especially if someone’s just kicking the tyres on him and they wanno get a feel for it. It depends what your subject matter is: if you’re in a studio and under controlled lighting I think you clearly see the benefits of a professional emulsion. If you plan to photograph with this film for the next several weeks and you’re not necessarily gonna just blast through it in one outing and you gonna shoot in a range of different lighting conditions, it’s hard to say. Maybe the consumer emulsion may work out fine too. Because you be in open shade and warm sun-sets. And the straight noon daylight stuff. So, you know. Who knows. But the color balance under conditions you are photgraphing will probably vary more than the film’s bias would. So just something to think about.”

 

[AgX]

Here are some excerpts from a current Kodak data sheet on the difference between their general-use and professional-use films:


"…Because these compounds tend to change slowly with time, all color films will age, beginning on the day that they are manufactured. As films age, their color balance and other characteristics may change slightly.

To provide films that meet the needs of different kinds of photographers, Kodak allows for this aging process during manufacture.
Kodak builds a small manufacturing bias into films for general picture-taking to compensate for changes produced by typical storage conditions and delays between purchase and processing. The color and contrast characteristics of some films may also be modified to suit the special needs or preferences of professional customers or photo hobbyists.



Professional photographers have more demanding requirements than “casual” picture-takers. They need to know that a particular film is near its optimum color balance and speed at the moment they put it into the camera. Because they tend to buy large amounts of film at one time, they also need to know that the film is consistent from roll to roll, and that it will not change significantly during use. Professionals do not keep color films in a camera for long periods. Usually, they will process the film within hours or days after exposure.

Kodak professional films are close to optimum color balance when they are manufactured and packaged. The film will remain near this balance if it’s stored as recommended in the instructions or on the film carton and processed before the expiration date on the carton.

Professional color films must meet very tight requirements for color, sharpness, and grain.

A number of professional applications frequently call for push-processing a film to raise its effective speed. Superior push characteristics are valuable to travel and nature photographers and photojournalists who must deal with difficult and uncontrolled lighting conditions. A number of Kodak professional films incorporate technology that enhances pushability by minimizing the impact on grain, contrast, color, and shadow detail.


Casual picture-takers usually buy one or two rolls of film at a time. One roll of film may remain in the camera at room temperature for several weeks or even months before processing.


Under identical conditions, the stability of professional and general picture-taking films is essentially the same. If they are stored at the same temperature, both types of films will age at the same rate. During the summer or in tropical regions, where temperatures exceed 24°C (75°F) for extended periods, we recommend refrigerated storage for all Kodak films.

In general, professional films are not designed for long periods of storage at room temperature. However, with today’s films, refrigeration is less of a necessity. In the past, most professional films required storage at 13°C (55°F), except for a few films designed for photojournalists and others who often work on location where refrigeration isn’t available. However, the keeping properties of films—especially color negative films—have improved dramatically in the last several years. Storage of color negative films at room temperature for several weeks normally doesn’t cause a noticeable shift in color balance or contrast. Storage of professional color reversal films at normal room temperature for short periods of time—i.e., a couple of weeks—will not cause any noticeable change. For long-term storage, refrigeration is still the best way to maintain professional films at optimum quality.


When ambient temperatures return to normal, at or below 24°C (75°F), remove films for general use from storage so that they can age normally as intended."

 

[Photo Engineer]

As said earlier, the two films are different!

Thanks.

PE

 

[nickandre]

Color accuracy for twice the price? hmmmm, no.

I shot my first roll with this in an AE-1 with shutter priority and had no exposure problems. I've also shot a roll in a $5 point and shoot from the 1970s and had no problems with ordinarily lit shots (don't try backlighting with a selenium cell averaging meter.)

I've been shooting a roll every month or three for the past year or so. I don't shoot that fast though. It takes me a loooong time to get through a 36 exposure roll of film. I'll buy a bunch and start selling it to my friends around school.

 

[swensonorama]

alright, that does it... i'm buying a few rolls... now- do i use it in the ME Super or the Elan 7NE? or do i wait until i get that Contax with the Zeiss 45mm f/2.8 Tessar T* ??

 

[Removed Account]

So does this mean that there are TWO master rolls of Kodachrome coated each year? The plot thickens...

 

[Ektagraphic]

I think it is nearly impossable for there to be two coating a year!

 

[Photo Engineer]

My last information was one coating per year. This would require a minimum of 1 master roll of each product for sale. However, recent sales at that time (2 years ago) decreased the schedule to 1 run every 18 months (approx). I have not asked anyone since. I have been told that there has been a small uptic in demand, probably due to these threads and the oncoming anniversary.

PE