Archivability post 12/2010

[sanmich]

Considering the question of image stability and media, I chose, a few years ago to shoot most of my family stuff on Kodachrome, knowing that for me or most probably my offsprings, it will be most valuable in a long time from now.

The old lady K is about to be gone 🙁, and I wonder what is the most stable medium, based on current knowledge, and I am totally excluding digital for that manner.

Any info about this?
C41 vs E6
the yellow guys against the green team?
any specific film?
How about procesing? Is one of the technology more sensitive to the processing quality? Is home made processing an option for long time conservation?

I must stress that I don't project, but I scan. I keep my smlides exactly like my negs in 6 frames strips, in archival sheets, in binders.
Also, I don't really care about the rendition of the film right out of the camera, the important thing for me is for the image to look decent in the future.

Share your knowlege!!

Thanks!!🙂🙂

 

[Roger Hicks]

Dear Michael,

Kodak reckon that current E6 is as stable as Kodachrome. Few if any can verify or disprove this.

One thing I do know from personal experence, though, is that unless C41 gets a proper water-wash and clean stabilizer (often missing in mini-labs) E6 is likely to be a lot more stable.

Cheers,

R.

 

[sevo]

Old Kodachrome generations doubtlessly were superior to old Ektachrome and Agfachrome processes. But by the nineties, E6 duplicate film was significantly outperforming Kodachrome, and had replaced it in commercial projection installations.

I doubt that there is a practical difference between well-processed current E6 and last generation Kodachrome - the more so for amateurs which generally have no access to air-conditioned archival storage rooms.

Sevo

 

[Sparrow]

Dear Michael,

Kodak reckon that current E6 is as stable as Kodachrome. Few if any can verify or disprove this.

One thing I do know from personal experence, though, is that unless C41 gets a proper water-wash and clean stabilizer (often missing in mini-labs) E6 is likely to be a lot more stable.

Cheers,

R.

The chap in the lab I use says exactly the same thing every time I moan about his prices

 

[sanmich]

Old Kodachrome generations doubtlessly were superior to old Ektachrome and Agfachrome processes. But by the nineties, E6 duplicate film was significantly outperforming Kodachrome, and had replaced it in commercial projection installations.

I doubt that there is a practical difference between well-processed current E6 and last generation Kodachrome - the more so for amateurs which generally have no access to air-conditioned archival storage rooms.

Sevo

Sevo

Your ecperience makes sense, but the conclusion may be a bit more complex:
Kodachrome, much as I know (thanks Roger 😉) is both the best medium for dark storage, and the worst for projection.
That may explain the switch for projection needs, while not making E6 an equal to K for long term dark storage.