Death of Kodachrome

[phantomphan1974]

http://www.thestar.com/business/article/654964
Eastman Kodak kills its colour-true Kodachrome
TheStar.com - Business - Eastman Kodak kills its colour-true Kodachrome

U.S. producer bows to digital age, turning the stuff of memories into a piece of history

June 23, 2009
NEW YORK–Kodachrome, the film brand touted as the stuff of memories, is about to become a memory itself as Eastman Kodak Co. stops production due to overwhelming competition from digital cameras.

Eastman Kodak said it will retire Kodachrome colour film this year, ending its 74-year run after a dramatic decline in sales.

"The majority of today's photographers have voiced their preference to capture images with newer technology – both film and digital," said Mary Jane Hellyar, president of Kodak film, photofinishing and entertainment group.

Once the film of choice for many baby-boomer family slide shows, it gained such iconic status that it was celebrated in the mid-1970s with a Paul Simon song of the same name, with the catchphrase: "Mama don't take my Kodachrome away."

Kodachrome became the world's first commercially successful colour film in 1935, Kodak noted in a statement yesterday.

The film's durability and ability to capture rich, vibrant colours also made it a favourite among professional photographers such as Steve McCurry, known for his portrait of an Afghan girl with green eyes for a cover of National Geographic in 1985.

But it is a complex film to manufacture and requires a complicated process to develop. Today, only one lab in the United States processes the film.

Eastman Kodak's discontinuation does more than render the subject of Simon's eponymous song an antique. It also will eliminate 20 per cent of the business at Dwayne's Photo, the last lab in the world still working with the film.

Employing about 60 staff, the company, based in Parsons, Kan., processes Kodachrome for physicians and image collectors who like to use it to archive photos, said Grant Steinle, whose father founded the firm in 1956.

Reached by telephone, Steinle said, "We're very sad to see this. Kodachrome has really been an icon of the 20th century."

The family-owned shop will keep processing Kodachrome through the end of 2010, Steinle said. Kodak estimates current supplies of the film will last until September or October.


From the Star's wire services

[Midnight Mover]

Definitely saw this coming, see article below from 2003. The end of an era  

Kodak shifts focus away from film
Company to target new investments primarily at digital lines of business.

9/25/2003 By Joanne Cummings

Eastman Kodak Co. today is expected to launch a broad growth strategy that completely switches the company's focus away from film and toward digital technology. The company said the plan will result in a more diversified business portfolio with the potential to generate $16 billion in revenue by 2006, and $20 billion by 2010.

"We are acting with the knowledge that demand for traditional [film] products is declining, especially in developed markets, " said Kodak Chairman and Chief Executive Daniel Carp. "Given this reality, we are moving fast -- as digital markets demand -- to transform our business portfolio, with an emphasis on digital commercial markets."

According to a story in today's Wall St. Journal, Kodak currently receives 70% of its revenue and all of its earning from traditional film photography products. By 2006, however, the company says this traditional side of the business will shrink to just 40% of revenue and half of all earnings. Kodak's digital business, which is currently a money-loser, will grow to 60% of revenue from its current 30% over the same period, and should account for half of the company's overall earnings.

Key to the new Kodak will be a renewed emphasis on the inkjet printer business, where the company intends to go head-to-head against entrenched rivals such as Hewlett-Packard Co.

In commercial printing, Kodak already has a partnership with Heidelberg USA to make high-speed digital printing machines. The jointly developed NexPress machines compete with HP's Indigo printers and Xerox's iGen3, the company said.

Attendees at next week's Graph Expo show can see the NexPress in action, according to information on the Heidelberg USA site.
Kodak

[f4_phantom_fan]

I have a friend in Mesa, Az, who shoots nothing BUT Kodachrome........I wonder if this will finally force him to go digital............

[phantomphan1974]

I have a friend in Mesa, Az, who shoots nothing BUT Kodachrome........I wonder if this will finally force him to go digital............

Or Fuji Sensa 100

[robin990]

I just got back a roll of VELVIA 50 shot with my Nikon N80......and the Camera exposes perfectly. The slide are excellent.

I bought a mint F100 with a pro 80-200mm AF 2.8 D for dirt cheap the other day and its the nicest camera ive ever owned. Ill be shooting slides from it....im sure it exposes as good as the N80.

[robin990]

How about a comment Craig.......? What now for you ?

[f4_phantom_fan]

I love both Sensia and Velvia, I just need to find a place that can process the slides without scratching 'em..........

[phantomphan1974]

How about a comment Craig.......? What now for you ?

Kodachrome is Craigs life, but he has gone digital alittle right?? 

[aim9xray]

Well, actually...  I would tend to think that airplanes are more my life...Kodachrome has been how I have been recording and sharing them.

I am running a mixed Canon system - 40D plus an EOS-1V-HS for film - have been for a year and a half.  Plus a Canon G6 for times when I don't really want to scream PHOTOGRAPHER!  The transition was rather abrupt - but had to be as no elements from my previous system (dual Canon F-1 plus T70) could be utilized on the new system.

But for what it's worth - I've always shot two bodies; one slide and (for many years) the other B&w neg.  So, now I'm still shooting two bodies - slide and digital.

As far as film type - I am leaning towards RVP-50 but I have not seen a concensus in the Kodachrone traders as to what they will accept for trade.  And I will still have to work out getting it processed, the ugly green mounts, etc.

Here's a digi shot from a few years ago...

[phantomphan1974]

Hawkeye cockpit??

[aim9xray]

Yes, former E-2C FRAMP trainer, scrapped at Mugu several years ago....