Ektachrome is Back!

Samuel D said:
If Kodak is setting up production for a product (and entire product class) they abandoned in 2012, they must have a very high confidence in the viability of the market.
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Or that they've come to the realisation that at this point doing something is better than doing nothing.
 
Happy to see Kodak bringing this product back. Used a lot of their VS before, and at least we will now have more choice. In my photography I shoot 90% slide so I have a guaranteed back up control for ever.
 
Great news! I honestly thought slides were going the way of the Dodo (and might still be) but how often do we get news like this in filmland?

BTW, for those who might not know, there is a half decent podcast by Kodak called 'The Kodakery' or something like that. New developments like the Super 8 reintroduction are sometimes brought in as the subject for a whole show, chats with company top execs about film and the 'revenge of analogue' etc. It's sometimes on stuff that I don't care about that much but some episodes certainly might prove interesting to RFF'ers! I just checked their feed and no show yet on this of course but I wouldn't be surprised to see an episode on the back story released soon.
 
Very cool, but at the same time, somewhat strange, seeing the state of slide shooting and development these days.

I think I will buy 10-15 rolls to try out in any case, I plan to develop that myself with a Tetenal kit, it's way cheaper than sending it off to a lab (which usually also require you to buy prints too).

I wonder when they will re-introduce Kodak Plus-x 125, I still have some in my freezer, but would love to shoot more of that classic.

Only time will tell I suppose ^^
 
I have to wonder who or what they see as their primary market for this. Support in this thread is virtually unanimous (niche market?) but in terms of professional use - that is, publication or printing - having images originate as digital files make so much more sense. Ektachrome was always hard to scan, and the transparencies are known to fade badly. Perhaps the new formulation will improve the stability. Although I don't use film any more I am certainly pro-film. But I can think of other discontinued films I'd be much more tempted to use!
 
Well, here's some more info from an interview of T. J. Mooney (Kodak's World Wide Product and Business manager) conducted by the filmsnotdead website:

http://filmsnotdead.com/

On the question whether the film will be the exact same formulation:

Film's not Dead: So, In terms of the formulation is it exactly the same, or has it been upgraded?

Kodak Alaris T. J. Mooney: Well that is still TBD (to be discussed) which is part of the reason why the availability is set for later this year, in the fourth quarter. Bringing back a film is not as simple as you might think. There's a very significant R&D (Research & Development) that is necessary to re-formulate the product based on component availability and any equipment changes that have been made or any changes to environmental health and safety regulations. So the intent here is to bring back a daylight 100 speed Ektachrome film. Saturation levels and performance characteristics are still TBD at this point but in terms of the old Ektachrome it will certainly be along those same lines and we'll know more as we go along.
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Also, with regard to pricing he said it will be "market based".

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I'm sure it will be reformulated in the same way the Portra films (aside from 800) were. It'll be updated and probably scan a little better and fade less and have slightly different coloring than the original.
 
SaveKodak said:
This is such great news! It is true as Kodak announced via their social media channels. E100G was an excellent stock. I much preferred to to Provia.
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When I did a self-assignment to photograph Missouri's springs and streams, back in the late 1980's and early '90's, I tested Ektachrome, Fujichrome, and Kodachrome. I found Ektachrome EPP100 to be the best for accurately capturing the true colors of the green vegetation against the blue water of the springs. I'd like EPP100 to come back.

tightsqueez said:
Kodachrome next??

This is GREAT news. Can't wait to get some.
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And I'm still waiting for Kodachrome-X. I shot it when it was available in the 1960's. I was a desert rat then. I've never forgotten the warm colors I got with Kodachrome-X! And it was more archival than E-4, or E3, whatever the Ektachrome process was back then. I wonder if that would still be true today?
 
I wonder if this will be an all new "E100" emulsion like the current Portra 400, or just E100G resurrected?

Really would like to stock up if it's offered in 120.
 
sheets and medium format; those formats are certainly possible depending on the level of demand.

Bringing back a film is not as simple as you might think. There's a very significant R&D (Research & Development) that is necessary to re-formulate the product based on component availability and any equipment changes that have been made or any changes to environmental health and safety regulations. So the intent here is to bring back a daylight 100 speed Ektachrome film. Saturation levels and performance characteristics are still TBD at this point but in terms of the old Ektachrome it will certainly be along those same lines and we'll know more as we go along.
T. J. Mooney Kodak's World Wide Product and Business manager for film at Kodak

http://filmsnotdead.com/
 
Pablito said:
Ektachrome was always hard to scan…
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In what way? It is true it needed good hardware to punch through the shadows (but no more so than other reversal stock and less so than Kodachrome), but reversal film was otherwise easier to scan than negative film. Importantly, you didn’t have to guess what the colours should be. That’s why it was favoured in publishing for decades. Grain tended to be finer too. Digital ICE worked with Ektachrome.

Nowadays many scanners are old and running third-party software with dubious colour science or OEM software lacking profiles for currently available negative films (or support for modern operating systems). In this context, you could easily argue that reversal film is the best choice for scanning.

Separately, I would love to see Kodak make a new scanner with simple metal hardware, Digital ICE, profiles for current films, and brain-dead-simple scanning software for current versions of macOS and Windows (or just a smartphone app for setting the scanner up and an SD card slot for storing scanned TIFFs, i.e. no need for desktop software – or the built-in obsolescence of a physical interface – at all). If it solved the film-flatness problem (as a Flextight does or via another method), it would be by far the most attractive scanner on the market and surely profitable. How could it not be? People are buying antique Coolscans for more than they cost new. They’re slowly breaking while, apparently, film sales are increasing. Do the maths, as they say.
 
Duane Pandorf said:
Once they start shipping this slide film those of us that went all in on digital many years ago may need one of these:

Kodak Slide Projector
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Yup.
That they will.
When our club went Digital, I was given a couple of Ektagraphic slide projectors, bulbs, lenses (primes and zooms) and carousels.
I use them all the time, as slide is all I shoot.
Robert
 
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