Re: [Leica] Re: Kodachrome Blues

[John <bosjohn@mediaone.net>]

Jim Brick wrote:
> 
> Kodachrome processing for the San Francisco Bay Area is overnight. There is
> a K-14 Kodak minilab in San Leandro. There are couriers from everywhere in
> the Bay Area. Perhaps even to Sacatomatoes. This would beat shipping your
> film off via USPS, cooking in holding boxes, then freezing in delivery trucks.
> 
> The main reason I quit using Kodachrome is that after spending money
> (sometimes a large amount) to get somewhere, to take photographs that
> probably cannot be ever duplicated again, then come home and "mail" your
> film somewhere, to someone, whom you don't know, cannot speak to, or
> anything else.
> 
> This is when I started using E6 and processing it myself. I now use a local
> pro lab with two hour E6. They guarantee pro level service, maintain their
> machinery, and there is a real person that I can (and I have) talk to face
> to face. My hard earned images are not far from home and with someone I
> trust. No savage baggage handlers involved. www.calypsoinc.com
> 
> Now that Kodak has a lab twenty miles from me, one would think perhaps it
> is time to switch back. I can drive the 20 miles, talk face to face, etc...
> However,
> 
> Two years ago Kodak sent me four rolls of K64 and said please use this in
> parallel with the Fuji film you are using. I did (two R7 bodies) and I sent
> them identical samples from the Fuji Velvia and from the K64. My daughter
> is taking photography in college and a month ago, the assignment was to
> photograph identical subjects using K64 and Fuji Provia. She did (two
> R7's.) After looking at the slides, she remarked "why would anyone use
> Kodachrome?" I said the same with the Kodak test I did.
> 
> My answer was that there are a lot of people who prefer the more muted look
> of Kodachrome and for some subjects, it is truly a better film. Since it is
> a B&W film, basically dyed during processing, it is more "film" like than
> E6 products where the color couplers are contained within the emulsions.
> Many people like this aspect of Kodachrome.
> 
> The real answer is: different strokes for different folks. I like the look
> of Velvia. Period! And Kodachrome just doesn't do it for me. I know what it
> will look like after processing, what various filters do to it, what it's
> exposure latitude is, and all of that kind of stuff.
> 
> I hope Kodak continues to manufacture Kodachrome as I believe that K25 is
> probably the benchmark of color transparency films.
> 
> Jim
> 
> At 03:38 PM 2/5/00 -0500, Doug Herr wrote:
> >>>>
> > Processing turn around times went from one week
> >to two weeks three years or so back but now they have jumped to FIVE weeks!
> >The store I deal with said the two week time was due to it having to be
> >sent
> >to the eastern USA.  Canada lost both its plants a while ago. Now that it
> >is
> >five weeks they speculated that it had to go to Europe! Is this the end of
> >Kodachrome. Are there no more plants in North America? If you have heard
> >anything I would be grateful for news.
> ><<<
> >
> >I've been using the prepaid mailers (purchased from B&H, New York) and
> >sending them to New Jersey.  Turnaround from California to New Jersey and
> >back has been about 10 days to two weeks.  The mail gets to New Jersey in
> >about 3 days; assuming another 3 days to get back here, that leaves 4 days
> 
> >for processing.  I doubt New Jersey is sending them to Europe.
> >
> >Doug Herr
I think that many of us have used Kodachrome because of its well known
archival characteristics. Has the keeping qualities of e-6 been improved to
the point where there is no longer any archival reason to use Kodachrome.  I
still like it.
John