Kodachrome

This article is about the brand of film. For other uses, see Kodachrome (disambiguation).
Kodachrome
MakerEastman Kodak
Speed6/9°, 10/11°, 25/15°, 40/17°, 64/19°, 200/24°
TypeColor slide
ProcessK-14 process
Format16mm, 8mm, Super 8 movie, 35mm movie (exclusively through Technicolor Corp as "Technicolor Monopack"), 35mm still, 120, 110, 126, 828, 4×5, 5×7, 8×10, 11×14, 2.25×3.25, 3.25×4.25, 6.5cm × 9cm, 9cm × 12cm[1]
Introduced1935
Discontinued
  • 2002 (ISO 25)
  • 2005 (ISO 40 inch 8mm)
  • 2007 (ISO 200)
  • 2009 (ISO 64)
  • December 30, 2010 (processing)

Kodachrome is the brand name for a color reversal film introduced by Eastman Kodak in 1935.[2] It was one of the first successful color materials and was used for both cinematography and still photography. For many years, Kodachrome was widely used for professional color photography, especially for images intended for publication in print media.

Because of its complex processing requirements, the film was initially sold only with the cost of processing; independent photography stores were prohibited from developing Kodachrome. To develop the film, customers had to mail it to Kodak, which would then send the developed film back as part of the purchase price. In 1954, the U.S. Department of Justice found that this practice violated antitrust laws by being uncompetitive. Kodak then entered into a consent decree, requiring the company to offer Kodachrome film for sale without the development fee, as well as license Kodachrome development patents to independent photography stores.[3] Kodak had sold mailers to users who wanted their films to be processed by them. Nonetheless, the process-paid arrangement continued in other markets around the world.

Eventually, the growth and popularity of alternative photographic materials, and, much later, the widespread transition to digital photography, led to Kodachrome’s loss of market share. Its manufacture was discontinued in 2009, and processing ended in December 2010. In early 2017, Kodak announced it was investigating the possibility of re-introducing Kodachrome,[4] but later conceded that this was unlikely to happen.[5]

  1. ^ "Brilliant vintage Hollywood 8 x 10 Kodachromes sell on ebay". Photo.net. February 26, 2011. Retrieved November 21, 2011.
  2. ^ Carma Wadley (June 25, 1999). "Range of Color: Kodachrome Basin Lives up to Name it Got by Accident". Deseret News Publishing Company. Archived from the original on August 13, 2010. Retrieved December 24, 2011.
  3. ^ Deschin, Jacob (December 26, 1954). "OUTLOOK FOR KODACHROME PROCESSING". The New York Times. Last. p. 175. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
  4. ^ Ottke, Adam (January 11, 2017). "Kodachrome Might Make a Comeback, And You Could Help". Fstoppers. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference alaris_olbrich was invoked but never defined (see the help page).