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Kodachrome MIGHT be coming back!!!


A miller

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So what does it take for them to bring it back?  I suspect that Kodak has found a way to scale down film production to smaller size batches. This could make it profitable for them to produce a wider range of emulsions. Alternatively maybe they can make large batches and store it in the cold of Rochester until it can be sold. Maybe they have so much film base and chemicals on hand that they want to get some money for that stuff. Who knows?

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I certainly do. Not so much for Ektachrome, Fuji offers viable alternatives here, but Kodachrome 25 is something I am really missing. Great sharpness, color and stability.

 

 

I think Adam was asking "who cares what Kodak's motive might be?" rather than "who cares that Kodachrome might be coming back?" Adam was responding to AlanG who generally puts a bit of a dampener on any positive news concerning film.

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So what does it take for them to bring it back?  I suspect that Kodak has found a way to scale down film production to smaller size batches. This could make it profitable for them to produce a wider range of emulsions. Alternatively maybe they can make large batches and store it in the cold of Rochester until it can be sold. Maybe they have so much film base and chemicals on hand that they want to get some money for that stuff. Who knows?

 

Maybe the Kodak people realise (at last) that they are in the film business and you can't make any money without product to sell? If you are going to go down you might as well do so doing what you do best. Kodak is still IMO the preeminent brand in film and I'm delighted that all the talk lately is of expanding the range of products rather than cutting it further.

Edited by wattsy
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Hello Everybody,

 

I think that (as with Cibachrome) 1 of the things that might be impeding the re-introduction of Kodachrome might be the chemical by products of production or/& processing involved. Kodachrome uses, among other things, a different processing system which may have different ecological or/& environmental consequences in terms of the chemicals involved.

 

This needs to be coupled with the historically low proportion of Kodachrome users as opposed to E6 users in the photographic community.

 

If these problems can be overcome I would personally like that since Kodachrome 25/40/64 is my preferred film.

 

Best Regards,

 

Michael

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Maybe the Kodak people realise (at last) that they are in the film business and you can't make any money without product to sell? If you are going to go down you might as well do so doing what you do best. Kodak is still IMO the preeminent brand in film and I'm delighted that all the talk lately is of expanding the range of products rather than cutting it further.

I don't think it is about "if you are going to go down."  Kodak is trying to stay in the film business but their main income comes from other sources. They are nothing like they used to be when they were the dominant force in photography. We don't know what they are thinking, but perhaps they have achieved some financial stability and now are able to assess their options better. This includes the equipment, personnel and resources they have on hand and what more they'd have to spend to get it off the ground.

 

I don't think any of us can even guess what it will take for them to manufacture and market Kodachrome in the future and offer a processing service for it. But it may make sense that if they want to maintain a color transparency film business for the future, that they also offer in-house processing of it.  The government won't stop them from bundling processing this time as there are no monopoly issues.  Making money from both film and processing might make it profitable if the scale is right. 

 

If they are serious about this possibility when added to reintroducing Ektachrome, it indicates that Kodak may be starting to accept that film photography is a niche market and that they can accept that this division can work at greatly reduced scale than they were used to. It will not be their cash cow but maybe they think it can be sustainable? They got fat and lazy because for decades they dominated the industry with incredibly profitable products and had little competition. When competition via digital photography came out they were not nimble or creative enough to capitalize off it even though they pioneered much of the technology and design for digital cameras. Maybe they have realistic expectations now.

Edited by AlanG
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Processing Kodachrome was a terribly expensive endeavor. Even if Kodak did reintroduce the film, there is the support/processing business to consider. We not know if those  do who did process Kodachrome would agree to do it again. My confidence is very low in that regard.

.

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Processing Kodachrome was a terribly expensive endeavor. Even if Kodak did reintroduce the film, there is the support/processing business to consider. We not know if those  do who did process Kodachrome would agree to do it again. My confidence is very low in that regard.

.

 

Hello Pico,

 

That is a good point.

 

There are not likely to be many corner drug stores or local photo shops processing Kodachrome.

 

The complexity & need for accuracy necessary in Kodachrome processing means that there would most likely not be that many facilities capable of processing it.

 

Best Regards,

 

Michael

Edited by Michael Geschlecht
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