[rollei_list] Re: Kodachrome
- From: David Sadowski <dsadowski@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: rollei_list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 27 Feb 2009 15:49:19 -0600
In the early days of slide film, nobody gave much thought to what
would happen to the films in future years. People then were simply
amazed you could have color film at all.
Kodachrome's dye stability was unintended and turned out to be a happy
coincidence. It certainly wasn't something that was planned. On the
other hand, they didn't plan on those other films, like Anscochrome or
the first Ektachromes, to fade so badly so soon either.
Same goes for color prints. Most snapshots from the 1970s or earlier
have faded and shifted, while prints made in the 80s and later have
fared much better.
So the film makers have learned something over the years. Meanwhile,
there are people I know who won't use anything but Kodachrome, because
some Anscochrome or Ektachrome slides they shot in 1955 faded.
Well, that was 54 years ago, and the situation has changed a lot for
the better. I'm confident that the scientists hired by Kodak and Fuji
know what they're doing when they test film materials for fading,
based either on exposure to light or dark storage.
I'd be more concerned that since Kodachrome processing is only being
done in one place in the world, there would be other potential
problems that could crop up. Your film could be scratched during
developing (K-14 is a much more difficult process to maintain), it
could be lost in the mail, exposed to heat or x-rays, etc. etc.
When Kodak came out with PKR120, pros did not switch to it in large
enough numbers to keep it a viable product. Even when they could get
it processed in four hours.
They already knew that E-6 films get the job done, are easily
processed, can be pushed/pulled, and offer an excellent result.
Any remaining advantages K-14 films have are so minor as to be
outweighed by the disadvantages they have today. Velvia has pretty
much caught up with Kodachrome in the sharpness sweepstakes.
---
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