Kodak discontinues Kodachrome film
Tough luck, Paul Simon -- your Kodachrome is being taken away.
Eastman Kodak Co. announced today that it is retiring the 74-year-old Kodachrome color film as photographers gravitate to digital cameras and newer films. About 70% of the company’s revenue now comes from its digital sales.
Kodachrome sales had plunged in recent years to less than 1% of Kodak’s total film sales. Dwayne’s Photo in Parsons, Kan., the only lab worldwide that still processes Kodachrome, will offer the service through 2010.
But the film had an illustrious history, favored by professional photographers like Steve McCurry, who used Kodachrome in 1985 for his famous National Geographic photo of a young Afghan girl with piercing green eyes.
In 1973, Simon immortalized the film’s “nice bright colors” in his song “Kodachrome.”
Kodak said it will donate the last rolls of Kodachrome film to the George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film in Rochester, N.Y., after McCurry shoots one of the rolls.
-- Tiffany Hsu
Photo: Declining consumer demand dooms Kodachrome. Credit: Associated Press
As long as Kodak keeps making Ektachrome film, this is not as a dark a day as it seems.
In the super-8mm filmmaking world, Kodak Ektachrome 100D is a fantastic film that did an excellent job of replacing Kodachrome 40 several years ago.
Super-8mm film websites to check out include http://www.super-8mm.net and http://www.super-8mm.com
Motion Picture Film still has a different look than digital video. Super-8mm even a more striking difference and with the advances in digital transfer technology, super-8 film transferred ONTO digital video looks unique and striking at the same time.
There currently are several super-8mm film stocks still being made, including Vision III negative super-8 film stocks, PLUS-X and TRI-X BW film stocks, and Ektachrome 100D.
Even Fuji has VELVIA 50 being loaded into super-8 film cartridges by http://www.Spectrafilmandvideo.com
Posted by: Alessandro Machi | June 22, 2009 at 01:14 PM
we all miss you **
Posted by: allegroPaolo | June 22, 2009 at 01:19 PM
RIP Kodachrome... you were everything a 70's photography student could want.
Posted by: just joe | June 22, 2009 at 02:26 PM
First Polaroid Type 55 now Kodachrome. At least they still make the Holga and there are some cool attachments like the lensbaby.
Posted by: david Joseph | June 22, 2009 at 07:39 PM
Since I prefer to shoot black and white films I never used Kodachrome much, but it was always nice just knowing it was there. Stop making Tri-X and my world will change--and not in a good way!
Posted by: Roderick Lyons | June 22, 2009 at 08:10 PM
Kodachrome was the best colour slide film ever made. I think it is tragic that Kodak is discontinuing it
Posted by: Nancy Engelsberg | July 11, 2009 at 01:55 PM