Kodak discontinues Kodachrome film

[scandal 951]

RIP Kodachrome

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/shopping_b...hrome-film.html

Kodak discontinues Kodachrome film

12:37 PM PT, Jun 22 2009

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

[NickD 203]

RIP Kodachrome

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/shopping_b...hrome-film.html

Kodak discontinues Kodachrome film

12:37 PM PT, Jun 22 2009

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

There goes my collection of 35 mm cameras, but guess it's okay, been all digital for the last seven years myself. Have to say, digital is great, can really edit your shots and take thousands if you want to picking out the best. Kodak was wise in introducing low cost ink printers, we got one, does a super job. Better than 35 mm.

[Immigrant2009 0]

RIP Kodachrome thanks to digital age. Guess one technology takes over other and some has to be discontinued.

[aussieroo1 0]

Kodachrome had significant contributions to Kodak way back, but advancements in technology can now achieve the effects of the film and more.

[NickD 203]

In this case, not the good old days, use to send my film directly to the Kodak processing labs and wait over a week to learn if my photos were good or bad, with a special event, that was too late.

Kodak never made a decent camera, all that cheap brownie stuff, as you had to pay for either a good shot or a bad shot, maybe they thought they would sell more film that way. Had to go to Japan or Germany to buy a half way decent camera. But for a while, Kodak was selling the Retina that was a German made camera, was half way decent.

But at least they are realizing they are in the picture taking business and making strides in digital photography, even though everything they sell is made in China. Unlike Smith Corona that didn't know they were in the printing business still stamping out sheet metal parts for typewriters hoping the market would go back to that technology, they are history.

[pedroh 21]

film is still fun!

[scandal 951]

film is still fun!

It's the end of Kodachrome.

It's not the end of silver-halide film photography.

There is still a need for film, if only at the high-end professional end of the market.

Also, film based recording can be archived for decades, even centuries.

We're liable to see the massive loss of photographic archives that are all recorded and stored digitally since magnetic and optical disks are not designed for that sort of duration.

[spookyturtle 9,466]

film is still fun!

I still use some film.

[pedroh 21]

I still use film too for a little toy camera I have

[Bobby+Umit 161]

(the photo in the story)

---------

Yeah - I used this film a lot in my younger days...

Went full digital about 6 years ago.

Edited June 23, 2009 by Bobby_Umit