Kodachrome 64 - outdated...

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monochromejrnl

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Just received mounted Kodachrome 64 slides I shot about a month or so ago. The film was dated mid to late 80s so it was very expired. I rated and shot at ISO80 and metered with an incident meter. Weird cyan cast on the slides but after making some adjustments to the scans, I was able to recapture some of the Kodachrome look...

feel free to share hints on how best to use outdated Kodachrome and examples of your own shots...

all shot with a Leica M3 and VC28/3.5

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I made my living in the mid-80s shooting K64.

I can tell you there were substantial enough differences in lot numbers and production runs that I would buy a dozen bricks of the same production run and shoot a test roll or two to zero in ASA and to see if there were any blaring inconsistancies. I had an entire run come in at ASA 120 or so - which I really liked and another as low as 25 (which led me to think it was a mislabeled K25 run - which seemed unlikely.) So K64 during the 80s was not exactly the most predictable stock around even during its heyday. But like most magazine pjs, I swore by it nonetheless because the color saturation was just incredible - (so much so that some photo editors didn't have the same opinion of it that I did ;>))

If you have enough of this out-of-date stock to shoot a test roll with varying ASAs (be sure to take meticulous notes) you might be able to find a midpoint in exposure/scanning (perhaps with some underexposure) that scans will produce some of that K64 saturation.

But from what I can see on your posted photos, there isn't a whole lot of "K64" left in those rolls.

Good luck,

O.C.
 
I really like the first shot; the sunglasses combine with the look of the film to give it a really 'vintage' look. Very nice indeed.

How did you scan these? They look very crisp.
 
That's a noble effort, and I think you have produced something worthwhile (and may even be able to get more out of it).

But I hope you won't be offended if I opine that it really looks nothing like Kodachrome - it looks more like faded 1970s colour prints.

(As it happens, today I saw a lot of KR64 dated 1989 on the Famous Auction Site and was half-tempted to put in a bid, but I don't think I will now 😉 )
 
I don't really see the point buying severely outdated KR64 stock since the fresh one is still manufactured.
 
Come on, KR64 stock outdated by a couple of months (which is nothing for this film) goes like $4 a roll. And you get no shifts and that very Kodachrome look.
 
I agree. If you want the look of Kodachrome just buy the fresh stuff. It's not that much more. However what you have has a "look" and if you like it keep shooting it.
 
It does look peculiar... almost completely desaturated.

Did you do away with the typical blue cast that old Kodachrome produces? That's what happened to me with some old Kodachrome 25 in sunny Puerto Rico.
 
If you feel "experimental" take your outdated Kodachrome and run it in Rodinal (try some at 1:25/7 minutes or 1:50/12 min). Kodachrome is basically a black and white film (the color is added in the process). It works and it has some interesting effects. The various layers in the Kodachrome is "filtered" and it looks almost like a super-pan chromatic film with very long greyscale.
I have done it with K25P and K64 and at the moment there are three rolls waiting to be shot, another K25P, a K64 and a 40asa Tungsten balanced roll. All are 10-15 years out-of-date. You might have to experiment a bit to find the time/speed that works though. People keep giving me these old/outdated rolls so I had to find something to do with them. Try at indicated speed and also double the rated speed. Interestingly enough - it is NOT a fine grain fim with this process.
 
Hmmm...I dunno but I LIKE it! Imagine using 20 year old film and getting sharp results like that.

If you don't like the saturation, photoshop it!

Can't beat the price and I love Tom's idea....😎
 
Tom A said:
If you feel "experimental" take your outdated Kodachrome and run it in Rodinal (try some at 1:25/7 minutes or 1:50/12 min). ...
Click to expand...
Excellent idea Tom! I have some 120 sized K64 that I thought was nothing more than a memento. Now I can use it as ... slow, grainy black and white film! 😱
 
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