Does Kodak still process Kodachrome?

[dmr]

Kodachrome is very demanding film to shoot. It has almost no exposure latitude. Metering and bracketing are critical. The process can be very frustrating to photographers used to trusting their in-camera metering system.

I think of the first roll of Kodachrome 64 that I shot in the GIII as the acid test of the meter. I knew it was somewhere in the ballpark, since it more or less agreed with the Pentax, but when the middle slide of each bracketed set was consistently the best, I knew it was very close. (And this is with the "bad" battery.) 🙂

And for me, the archival nature of the finished product means my son can teach his grandson something special.

The Kodachromes I shot when I was just beginning are almost as good as they were way back in the 70's. Some (not all) of the Ektachromes have pronounced fading in the reds.

Amazingly though, some early 70's High Speed Ektachromes I took have survived very well. 🙂

 

[Trius]

Due to anti-combine/competition laws in the US Kodak was forced to open up Kodachrome processing to 3rd parties. I started shooting Kodachrome (K-II, then K-25) in the mid-70s in London, Ontario. All processing of Canadian Kodachrome 35mm was through Kodak. It came with processing included. So even if there were other labs capable of processing it, they didn't get any business unless you were in a rush. As I recall, turnaround was just a few days anyway for me. There was a daily courier between photo dealers and Kodak in Toronto.

While in the U.S., I think I only ever sent one or two rolls of Kodachrome to a 3rd party lab. I'd heard of, and seen, bad processing, so stuck with Kodak for K25 & K64. I also stuck with them for E-6 films until I found a local custom lab that I trusted.

K64 is my favourite colour film, chrome or negative. I wish K25 were still around, though. It was superior, IMO, though it had a different signature than K-II. Some people didn't care for K25 and mourned the loss of K-II, but I felt that in general, K25 was an improvement.

The memories don't fade, just as the Kodachrome doesn't! ;-)

Mamma don't take my Kodachrome awaaaaaaaaay.

Trius