Kodachrome, how to test

[ampguy]

I've got to start shooting up my K25 and K64 and need to do some testing.

Some of it is from 1990, some is dated last year.

I understand that the latitude is about -1 EV and + 1/3 EV and plan to try all of these parameters.

So the plans for the 1990 36 exp test roll will probably be about 4 shots at -1, 6 or so at 0, 6 or so at + 1/3, 6 @ + 2/3, 6 @ +1, and some at +1.3, 1.6 and +2.

Do you think this should cover it?

I'm going to shoot the stuff from last year at rated.

Does this sound about right? Will be sending to Dwaynes, and have them do the scanning too.

 

[dmr]

I normally bracket 1 over, normal, one under.

Usually the normal one is the best, but occasionally one of the other ones.

 

[varjag]

The 1990 film would most likely be basket case, with crazy colour shift. The stuff that's out of date only a few years and was cold-stored is probably fine as is. Early 00s, I'd dial in +1/3 stop, but colour shifts also would probably be already noticeable.

 

[mervynyan]

Shoot few roll at rated speed and develop. Most likely they will be OK with minor color shift. I wouldn't waste time to do testing since the processing will end this year.

I have gone through 75 rolls K64-24 in last 6 months, only last 5 rolls left. All come out OK. Of course, I wasn't confident they came out the way they were. For mission critical work, I wouldn't bet on it.

 

[Juan Valdenebro]

I'm not sure about the amount of over exposure needed or about any possible color shift as color isn't on film yet... But your plan seems more than enough... It will be interesting to know what happened in a few days... And by the way, I wouldn't ask for scans yet... Good luck!

Cheers,

Juan

 

[varjag]

I tried some rolls from 1996, they were pretty bad. Colour shift on K64 expired in 2004 was also noticeable.

The 64 keeps better than 25, and much better than the 200. It's the most modern emulsion of the three.

 

[SolaresLarrave]

Shoot it as rated. It's just film. Keep in mind that people used hand-held meters to expose this film, and the photographs stored in the Library of Congress taken with Kodachrome were shot probably using the sunny 16 rule.

Be aware of the color shift in your older rolls. It's blue... and reminds me of tungsten film. Again, nothing that cannot be fixed in postprocessing...

 

[ampguy]

Thanks all, lots of great info. I only have 2 rolls of K64, actually current (7/2010) so I'll just shoot them at rated, bracket potential keepers, and hope for the best.

I have 4 K25s from 3/1990, so I will spare one this weekend to test. Probably with the Hexar AF, or M6 with Canon 28/2.8 (they meter approx. the same). I also have a blue filter for the Canon lens.

What about lens contrast, and color shifts? I love the sharp slide nature photos from John Shaw and Boyd Norton, but I'm not expecting that quality of sharpness from the old stuff.

Is sticking an 81A or stronger warming filter a good idea for outdoor shots? I don't think I'll have results for weeks, or whatever time Dwaynes takes.