This makes me very happy

Great news :)

It's good when small startup companies try and introduce new films, but one of the biggest film manufacturers in the world bringing one back from the dead is even better! Their decisions would be based more on pottential profits so they must see a big future in film.
 
Wow!

I'm a happy bunny :)
I've never really got to grips with colour negative film, much prefer slide.

Aah! the heady days of Kodachrome...
 
Last edited:
Might have to try a roll of that. Never have dared shoot slide film. I buy it then give it away. Didn't realise it was a replacement for kodachrome either. Doh.
 
I feel it may be a symptom of what might be the beginnings of a general reaction against technology. A sort of rebound effect.

I recently read a report on the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas.

The overwhelming substance of the comments were along the lines of, "more tat you don't need."

Interesting times ahead.
 
Just saw this on Petapixel and came to tell y'all, I've been scooped!

Great news, though. I used to really like Ektachrome. Used it as well as Kodachrome in the 70s. Mind you, we haven't seen a price yet. What d'ya reckon, £12 a roll for 135?
 
I still have a 10 pack of that stuff in the freezer and at least one in the fridge.

Hope they will also do 120 version as well.
 
I've still lots of 35mm film mounts and a projector..but depends on the price before I decide to use it.
 
Just think how much you can buy with the savings you are making on batteries...
 
excalibur2 said:
I've still lots of 35mm film mounts and a projector..but depends on the price before I decide to use it.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately Brian I think it's likely to be more than a pound a roll.
 
ChrisR said:
Just saw this on Petapixel and came to tell y'all, I've been scooped!

Great news, though. I used to really like Ektachrome. Used it as well as Kodachrome in the 70s. Mind you, we haven't seen a price yet. What d'ya reckon, £12 a roll for 135?
Click to expand...
Hopefully, yes. It'll have to compete with Provia, n'est ce pas?
 
Snip:
Knikki said:
Hope they will also do 120 version as well.
Click to expand...

I hope so too, oh for the hugeness of it, and for the days when you could stroll into Boots on the high street and buy a couple of rolls of 120 Ektachrome from off the shelf behind the counter and run it through a box brownie or tinplate TLR you'd bought from a junk shop for 50p and get results like this, just because you could:



Happy days really might be here again... I wonder if we'll get the summers we used to have to go with it, too? :)
 
Last edited:
Such great news. I don't shoot a lot of slide unfortunately, although I have done a little in the past. I will probably try some but would be more inclined to do so if/when they release it again in 120. How often do we see old/discontinued 'tech' re-released? I mean, vinyl is having a resurgence but they have always continued to produce it. This is a film stick that was cancelled due to lack of sales. Great day for photography IMO.
 
Great news, I only shot E100G once but it gave a very nice, natural rendering with very fine grain; I wonder if it's being re-formulated in any way or if it's exactly the same as when last coated in 2012.

It won't happen, but I wish they would re-introduce E100VS as well as I loved the "controlled" saturation look it gave where the colours were vivid and saturated, but not over the top like Fujichrome Velvia, and also gave natural skin tones.
 
Mr Badger said:
That would be good... so what am I bid? :)

Before anyone gets overexcited, it's only an empty box! :D
Click to expand...

This is my collection of Kodak slide film, all in unopened boxes, marked 'process before 1991'


I presume the Kodachrome mailers are addressed to Hemel Hempstead. Sadly the last lab capable of processing Kodachrome (Dwayne's, Kansas) suspended their process several years ago. I believe that the manufacture and the processing of Kodachrome were very complicated. I seem to remember that processing involved at least one exposure to light after a bath of some chemical, then back into another bath. I presume that this was an automated process, so I don't think that Kodachrome will ever come back.
 
If it's automated then it's possible. The issue will be whether it uses chemicals that are illegal or daft money or both.
 
So, what other discontinued films would be nice to have back?

Also, off on a slight tangent, back in the days when you could buy film almost anywhere, who used to produce it all? Given that supermarkets, chemists and loads of other places would have their own-brand films for sale, was this rebranded film from one of the major producers (and if so, is there a source of info showing what was what?), or were other smaller manufacturers turning it out for Tesco's or whoever?
 
FishyFish said:
So, what other discontinued films would be nice to have back?

Also, off on a slight tangent, back in the days when you could buy film almost anywhere, who used to produce it all? Given that supermarkets, chemists and loads of other places would have their own-brand films for sale, was this rebranded film from one of the major producers (and if so, is there a source of info showing what was what?), or were other smaller manufacturers turning it out for Tesco's or whoever?
Click to expand...

Konica 3200 ISO colour neg film?
All supermarkets chemist etc were rebranded Kodak, Fuji, Ferrania, Agfa (maybe some I've missed) and we can tell who made the film by the bar code on the cassette.
 
OK, so what do you think might be inside this one then?



It's a Wildings home brand film, which used to be given free with their developing and printing service (either a free additional set of prints or a film) Expiry date 2002 - no obvious film code on the exterior of the box (or processing data). There's still an unexposed film in this sealed box, so perhaps one for a collector (offers invited!)? Either that or I'll stuff it in the Voigtlander Vito BL next time there's a local F&C meet! :LOL: (If I'm invited, that is!) :whistle:
 
Last edited:
FishyFish said:
So, what other discontinued films would be nice to have back?
Click to expand...

How about Kodak Ektar 1000 colour print film? I used this for concert photography in the 90s and it was good stuff for that. :)
 
Last edited:
Oh wow, this has made my day! I only discovered film photography in the last year and was crushed when I first discovered that these beautiful Ektachrome and Kodachrome images I had pored over in books I could never make - what excellent news :)
 
I wouldn't get too excited about the possible reintroduction of Kodachrome just yet, Lucas... as others have said, it might not be too easy to remanufacture as it was a specialist (predominantly Kodak only) pre-paid developing process, so they'll have to reproduce the machinery and chemicals to develop it, in addition to remanufacturing the film itself (unlike Ektachrome, which is a standard E6 development process). Also, if they adopt the same 'process paid' method as the original, they'll probably need a plant in the EU as well as in the USA, or postage alone is likely to price the film out of the market for non US customers (and with Brexit, it might not be too cheap to send it to the mainland EU if they open a development facility there!)

It was never a cheap film to buy even back in the day, as processing and two-way postage was included in the purchase price (there was a little yellow paper bag inside each box, complete with a return label to fill out so they could stick it on the packet to send it back to you). Sounds quaint by today's standards, but taking account of inflation, even if they'd kept Kodachrome going, I bet it would cost over £20 a roll these days. Also, you had to be pretty much spot on when exposing it or your photos would look like a black cat in a coal pit or a white sheet in daylight with a projector pointed at it! :(
 
Last edited:
Personally, unless they bring it back and make it available in at least 120, I'm not that bothered. My personal use aside, it would be fantastic to bring it back for everyone else and indeed for the underlying reason of keeping the film scene alive.

Velvia 50 in sheet film in the UK, on the other hand, now that gets my vote!
 
Kodachrome won't be coming back, the K-14M process is extremely complex and not interchangeable with practically any part of an other process. Aside from requiring rem-jet removal (which no still films use now), multiple re-exposures to different coloured lights and multiple developers, it also uses dyes which are unique to the process.

Because of all this it crucially can't be used in a standard dip and dunk or other type of automated processor. This would mean having to create a whole new processor as all the unique large scale K-14M processing lines were dismantled, and only a few small automated K lab processors from the 90s are known to still exist (and even then it's doubtful they would still be able to be restored to use).

It's a lovely thought, but I think slide shooters will have to be happy just getting Ektachrome back.
 
No, sadly I hold out no hope at all of seeing the return of Kodachrome, as - like others have pointed out - the development process is frankly ridiculous! The renaissance of Ektachrome is something though, certainly something I didn't think I'd see in the near future...

Mr Badger said:
I wouldn't get too excited about the possible reintroduction of Kodachrome just yet, Lucas... as others have said, it might not be too easy to remanufacture as it was a specialist (predominantly Kodak only) pre-paid developing process, so they'll have to reproduce the machinery and chemicals to develop it, in addition to remanufacturing the film itself (unlike Ektachrome, which is a standard E6 development process). Also, if they adopt the same 'process paid' method as the original, they'll probably need a plant in the EU as well as in the USA, or postage alone is likely to price the film out of the market for non US customers (and with Brexit, it might not be too cheap to send it to the mainland EU if they open a development facility there!)

It was never a cheap film to buy even back in the day, as processing and two-way postage was included in the purchase price (there was a little yellow paper bag inside each box, complete with a return label to fill out so they could stick it on the packet to send it back to you). Sounds quaint by today's standards, but taking account of inflation, even if they'd kept Kodachrome going, I bet it would cost over £20 a roll these days. Also, you had to be pretty much spot on when exposing it or your photos would look like a black cat in a coal pit or a white sheet in daylight with a projector pointed at it! :(
Click to expand...
 
For me 35mm or 120, a price limit of about £4 a roll is as far as I will go....so Kodachrome @ £20 is a No No......h'mm what do I do when all my freezer is empty and fresh film has gone up to £5-£6 a roll :eek: makes me misearable thinking about it in either giving up the hobby or forced to go digi. :(
 
excalibur2 said:
For me 35mm or 120, a price limit of about £4 a roll is as far as I will go....so Kodachrome @ £20 is a No No......h'mm what do I do when all my freezer is empty and fresh film has gone up to £5-£6 a roll :eek: makes me misearable thinking about it in either giving up the hobby or forced to go digi. :(
Click to expand...

Or just buy fewer rolls and be more selective?
 
s162216 said:
Kodachrome won't be coming back, the K-14M process is extremely complex and not interchangeable with practically any part of an other process. Aside from requiring rem-jet removal (which no still films use now), multiple re-exposures to different coloured lights and multiple developers, it also uses dyes which are unique to the process.
Click to expand...

I think you are probably right, but it's not impossible.

After Dwayne's in the US stopped processing Kodachrome, Stephen Frizza of The Lighthouse Lab in Australia managed to process some using small scale processing equipment. He had no intention of offering it as a service, but just wanted to see if it coud be done.

For anyone interested, this is the K14 process: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K-14_process


Steve.
 
Don't know what you blokes are so excited about. Stuff with colour dyes in isn't proper film. :coat:

16199503958_c2ff0f02b9_b.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top