Topic: New production Ektachrome???

[Indofunk]

http://www.kodakalaris.com/en-us/about/press-releases/2016/kodak-alaris-reintroduces-iconic-ektachrome-still-film

Who knows what the pictures will actually look like ... I doubt it will be exactly like any of the previous emulsions. But in-date Ektachrome?? Yay!!!!

Kodak Alaris Reintroduces Iconic EKTACHROME Still Film

Beloved Chrome Slide Film to be Available in Fourth Quarter 2017

ROCHESTER, N.Y. and LAS VEGAS, NV January 5, 2017 – Kodak Alaris announced at CES 2017 that it would be reintroducing the iconic KODAK PROFESSIONAL EKTACHROME Color Reversal Film for professional and enthusiast photography. The new EKTACHROME film will support 135-36x camera formats and be available in fourth quarter 2017.

KODAK PROFESSIONAL EKTACHROME Film has a distinctive look that was the choice for generations of photographers before being discontinued in 2012. The film, known for its extremely fine grain, clean colors, great tones and contrasts, became iconic in no small part due the extensive use of slide film by the National Geographic Magazine over several decades.

Resurgence in the popularity of analog photography has created demand for new and old film products alike. Sales of professional photographic films have been steadily rising over the last few years, with professionals and enthusiasts rediscovering the artistic control offered by manual processes and the creative satisfaction of a physical end product.

“Film is our heritage and we remain committed to meeting the evolving needs of today’s film shooters,” said Dennis Olbrich, President – Kodak Alaris Imaging Paper, Photo Chemicals and Film. “We’ve been listening to the needs and desires of photographers over the past several years and wanted to bring back a color reversal film. In assessing the opportunity, EKTACHROME was the clear choice.”

KODAK PROFESSIONAL EKTACHROME is a color positive film, also known as “reversal,” “slide,” or “transparency” film. Unlike all of the other KODAK PROFESSIONAL Films available today, which are color negative films, EKTACHROME generates a positive image that can be viewed or projected once it is exposed and processed. This makes it ideal for high-resolution projection or presentations. It is also well suited for scanning and printing onto a range of professional grade photographic media.

EKTACHROME Film is developed using the E6 process, available in many professional labs today. Coincident with the Q4 launch, the KODAK PROFESSIONAL Film App will be updated to include Professional Labs where E6 processing is available in addition to labs where color negative and B&W film processing are currently featured.

Also at CES, The Eastman Kodak Company announced the reintroduction of KODAK EKTACHROME Super 8 Film to support the adoption of its recently introduced KODAK Super 8 movie camera. Eastman Kodak will produce KODAK PROFESSIONAL EKTACHROME Color Reversal Film for distribution by Kodak Alaris. The combined scale of EKTACHROME Super 8 and still film products creates a viable and sustainable business opportunity for both companies.

About Kodak Alaris
Kodak Alaris is a company that is passionate about using technology to transform organizations and improve people's lives across the planet. From our document scanners and intelligent state-of-the-art software and services that power some of the world's largest companies, to our photographic paper production, printing kiosks and suite of consumer apps, we help people capture and connect with the emotional moments that define all our lives. We're on a mission to unlock the power of images and information for the world. We work behind the scenes, making the connections, pushing the boundaries of technology and helping consumers to make sense of and exploit the ever-expanding volume of data that is the hallmark of the 21st century.

© 2017 Kodak Alaris Inc.
The Kodak trademark and trade dress are used under license from Eastman Kodak Company.

[AJShepherd]

Checks calendar. Sees it's still January and I'd not hibernated until April.

Wow. Who'da thunk it? Shame it's not Kodachrome, but still, I'll be getting myself some of that when it comes out as I've been meaning to do E6 for a while.

[thatguychad]

Very cool! Too bad they haven't committed to 120, but I'll take 35mm. It looks like we'll see it in Super 8, too.

[jharr]

As a fan of Ektachrome that expired 30 years ago while sitting in a cardboard box in the Tazadit Airport, I am ambivalent about the availability of this film, but as a general film enthusiast, I am ecstatic about Kodak resurrecting a defunct transparency stock! Heck, if they cut some 4x5 sheets, I might even buy some!

[Indofunk]

As a fan of Ektachrome that expired 30 years ago while sitting in a cardboard box in the Tazadit Airport, I am ambivalent about the availability of this film, but as a general film enthusiast, I am ecstatic about Kodak resurrecting a defunct transparency stock! Heck, if they cut some 4x5 sheets, I might even buy some!

You are much more committed to 1920's "Sahara Desert Special" film than I am If they can keep the price down to say, $9 or $10 for a roll of 135-36, then I'm going with this newfangled stuff. Hey, maybe it'll even drive down the prices of the Sahara Desert Specials

[Faintandfuzzy]

I am super stoked about this.  Been missing Ektachrome a lot!!!

[Bryan]

I will be stocking up on both 135 and Super 8.  I just shot my last cartridge of Super 8 last year.  I hope I can eventually get it in Regular 8mm as well. 

[MacArron]

Good notice to film users for sure!!

I never used it back on my film days (before the digital era) but funnily enough I have a few Ektachrome 64 in 220 format and I started shooting them this fall. Results are consistent and colours very precise, counting these rolls expired in 2004...

Glad to see this is moving forward

[Francois]

I've shot only 2 rolls of Ekta. And I got them both as free samples from the days where they were still giving them away...

[hookstrapped]

I'm pretty excited about this.  Ektachrome E100VS was my favorite xpro film

https://medium.com/vantage/before-the-flood-14b5488028f3

I'm curious where this sits on the E100G - E100VS spectrum

[astrobeck]

Today has been odd...
Ektachrome is making a comeback and Craftsman (Sears) has sold to Stanley/ black & decker.

They are not related but it just makes me think easy come easy go...

[Francois]

Ektachrome is making a cimeback and Craftsman (Sears) has sold to Stanley/ black & decker.

Yeah, I learned about the Craftsman thing a few weeks ago. Dad works at Sears in the hardware dept. and nobody in there knows what's going on with the place.
When I think about all the tools he bought at too high a price just for their lifetime guarantee, it kinda makes me grind my teeth a bit.

[Bryan]

Ektachrome is making a cimeback and Craftsman (Sears) has sold to Stanley/ black & decker.

Yeah, I learned about the Craftsman thing a few weeks ago. Dad works at Sears in the hardware dept. and nobody in there knows what's going on with the place.
When I think about all the tools he bought at too high a price just for their lifetime guarantee, it kinda makes me grind my teeth a bit.

They are closing several stores in the US including the one I go to.

https://www.scribd.com/document/335803321/Store-Closing-List#from_embed

[Francois]

Right now nobody seems to be able to get any information from Sears Canada.
It seems their management makes extensive use of the chaos theories!
There's rumors that they will renovate the stores, close stores, open brand new super stores in hip powercenters... if they could just make up their mind and be clear with their employees.
Then, there's rumors that Stanley will keep on making Craftsman tools but just sell them through other outlets like Canadian Tire, which to me is quite unlikely since Canadian Tire has been promoting their own house brand tools (MasterCraft) for close to 30 years...

I didn't know until recently that Sears was owner of the Kmart chain. As strange as it may sound, I'm more nostalgic to see these go than anything else even if all Kmart stores closed here in the 1980's... I'll miss that "Attention Kmart shoppers" call.

But retail store wise, things look pretty limited here in Canada. The market is dominated on the low end by Walmart and the high end by The Bay... with nothing in between in terms of nationwide chains.

[Jeff Warden]

I'll definitely get some E6 chemistry and give it a try.  Slides are fun even if you don't project them.

[Bryan]

I didn't know until recently that Sears was owner of the Kmart chain. As strange as it may sound, I'm more nostalgic to see these go than anything else even if all Kmart stores closed here in the 1980's... I'll miss that "Attention Kmart shoppers" call.

Kmart purchased Sears back in 2005 as both stores were having trouble competing with Walmart.  Now it's just one big corporation struggling against Walmart instead of two.  Kmart has been selling Craftsman tools since they merged.  I worked at a Kmart store one summer when I was in college, that store is now a Walmart. 

[Francois]

Long gone are the times when Sears-Roebuck had the world's biggest warehouse in Chicago...
Long gone are the days when they built the world's highest skyscraper too...

[Bryan]

This short run magazine called Kodachrome is going to be offered later this month.  It looks interesting but I'm not sure how to subscribe to it yet, unless you go to CES in Las Vegas.

http://www.kodak.com/corp/Blog/Blog_Post/?contentId=4295000320

[Faintandfuzzy]

That Kodachrome magazine sounds interesting.  I've actually been having a chuckle at some of the other sites mentioning the release of Ektachrome.  DPReview has been the most entertaining.  You'd think Kodak was coming to steal all their digital cameras with the comments  about it being ridiculous, for hipsters, posers, etc.  I never thought a roll of film could bring out so much hate from some people...lol.

[Francois]

Haters will always be haters...
And everytime I see someone with an I ♥ Haters shirt, I have a hard time believing that they actually mean what they are advertising.

[Indofunk]

I hate lovers 

 

[jharr]

I hate Ilford for still making photo papers. What are they trying to do, make my computer screen obsolete!!?? And don't get me started on paper books! The economy is teetering on the razor's edge and these people are trying to bring it down with their old school technology!

[Bryan]

Kodachrome?!?!

https://petapixel.com/2017/01/09/kodak-investigating-take-bring-back-kodachrome/

[Francois]

Well I'll be darned...
If there's one film stock I believed would never come back, it's Kodachrome... If they bring it back, they'll have to take care of the processing themselves as it's too fiddly to let it out to most photolabs...

[02Pilot]

I'm quite certain that any new stock - Ektachrome, Kodachrome, or otherwise - will be reformulated. I would strongly suspect that a revived Kodachrome would have to be E-6 compatible for it to have even the slightest chance of coming to fruition.

[Indofunk]

I'm quite certain that any new stock - Ektachrome, Kodachrome, or otherwise - will be reformulated. I would strongly suspect that a revived Kodachrome would have to be E-6 compatible for it to have even the slightest chance of coming to fruition.

I completely agree with you. I can't see any way that they'd bring back K14 processing (I believe a lot of those chemicals are now illegal/scheduled?). But anything called "Kodachrome" that ISN'T K14 is not Kodachrome, says I. An E6 process "Kodachrome" would be essentially the same as a Lightroom "Kodachrome" preset ... something that imitates the look through a completely different process.

However I am still very excited by this new Ektachrome and I can't wait to see how it looks xpro'd. That said, if the old emulsions (particularly E100VS) look significantly better, then I'll continue to scour ebay and largely ignore the new emulsion

[AJShepherd]

Does investigating what it would take to bring back Kodachrome include phoning Dwayne's Photo and asking them if they still had the old Kodachrome developing machinery?

Yeah. If they can bring back Kodachrome properly and not just something a bit like it but not the same, I would love that. Last year a friend gave me some old slides from 40odd years ago and asked me to scan them for her. As soon as I looked at them, I thought "God, I miss Kodachrome".

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Fingers crossed, anyhow.

Also, if Kodak are planning on bringing other old films back, HIE HIE HIE HIE HIE !!!!!

[Bryan]

I thought Kodachrome was all about the dyes they used in the processing, I would think that would be the most important ingredient if they bring it back.  I believe Dwayne's scrapped the Kodachrome equipment. 

[Faintandfuzzy]

Put me down for 100 rolls of K64.  My favourite film of all time

[astrobeck]

I honestly don't have a problem with retro-reformulated films as long as they have the same look as the old stuff just as long as they don't add corn syrup to it...(sorry, that's just me nit picking instant mashed potatoes which has nothing to do with anything at the moment)
Anyway, I'm happy to see Ektachrome come back, and if that goes well, then having Kodachrome would be fun, but I don't really think it's a smart move.

If Kodak brought back HIE, that would make my day....but I'm just one of probably too few that think that way.


.

[hookstrapped]

I honestly don't have a problem with retro-reformulated films as long as they have the same look as the old stuff just as long as they don't add corn syrup to it...(sorry, that's just me nit picking instant mashed potatoes which has nothing to do with anything at the moment)
Anyway, I'm happy to see Ektachrome come back, and if that goes well, then having Kodachrome would be fun, but I don't really think it's a smart move.

If Kodak brought back HIE, that would make my day....but I'm just one of probably too few that think that way.


.

I agree. I don't know that the color palette and look is inextricably tied to the chemistry. I want it for the look, within all the wonderful parameters of film, not because it brings back an eccentric chemical process.

[Bryan]

I honestly don't have a problem with retro-reformulated films as long as they have the same look as the old stuff just as long as they don't add corn syrup to it...(sorry, that's just me nit picking instant mashed potatoes which has nothing to do with anything at the moment)

Don't they put corn syrup in everything these days, why not film?

[AJShepherd]

With Kodachrome, wasn't the look because the colour dyes were put in during processing rather than being embedded in the emulsion? I was always intrigued by the way one side of the slide had a kind of bas-relief effect on it, which you just didn't get on stuff like Agfachrome, which I shot most of the time in the 70s because it was cheaper.


I've avoided instant mash since the stuff the martians made.

[Indofunk]

I honestly don't have a problem with retro-reformulated films as long as they have the same look as the old stuff just as long as they don't add corn syrup to it...(sorry, that's just me nit picking instant mashed potatoes which has nothing to do with anything at the moment)
Anyway, I'm happy to see Ektachrome come back, and if that goes well, then having Kodachrome would be fun, but I don't really think it's a smart move.

If Kodak brought back HIE, that would make my day....but I'm just one of probably too few that think that way.


.

I agree. I don't know that the color palette and look is inextricably tied to the chemistry. I want it for the look, within all the wonderful parameters of film, not because it brings back an eccentric chemical process.

You know what? You have a good point, and you've made me change my mind. I DON'T want any old emulsion to make a comeback. I can just use a Lightroom preset, which, as I posted before, is basically the equivalent of a new emulsion that just emulates the old look. I'll shoot Gold (for the "wonderful parameters of film") and apply the Kodachrome preset in Lightroom and boom! I just saved Kodak thousands of hours and millions of dollars trying to recreate Kodachrome as an E6 emulsion

[jharr]

You know what? You have a good point, and you've made me change my mind. I DON'T want any old emulsion to make a comeback. I can just use a Lightroom preset, which, as I posted before, is basically the equivalent of a new emulsion that just emulates the old look. I'll shoot Gold (for the "wonderful parameters of film") and apply the Kodachrome preset in Lightroom and boom! I just saved Kodak thousands of hours and millions of dollars trying to recreate Kodachrome as an E6 emulsion

Boom indeed!

Mods!! Throw this digi-bum outta here! 

[Kai-san]

You know what? You have a good point, and you've made me change my mind. I DON'T want any old emulsion to make a comeback. I can just use a Lightroom preset, which, as I posted before, is basically the equivalent of a new emulsion that just emulates the old look. I'll shoot Gold (for the "wonderful parameters of film") and apply the Kodachrome preset in Lightroom and boom! I just saved Kodak thousands of hours and millions of dollars trying to recreate Kodachrome as an E6 emulsion

Boom indeed!

Mods!! Throw this digi-bum outta here! 

I agree, we do not want Kodachrome instagram! Whatever happens we have to give Kodak some credit for their daring. Launching a brand new Super 8 camera last year really shows their guts! 

[Francois]

I must say that somehow this all confuses me a bit.
You have a product that sells. You pull it out of the market because it doesn't produce a ton of profits. People notice this and start wanting it more because of the rarity you just created. You wait a few years and then reintroduce it in smaller batches...

What if Fuji pulling out of the peel apart market and not wanting to sell the machinery, Kodak pulling out Ektachrome and many of those other cancelled products were just a marketing ploy to drive prices up?

[Indofunk]

What if Fuji pulling out of the peel apart market and not wanting to sell the machinery, Kodak pulling out Ektachrome and many of those other cancelled products were just a marketing ploy to drive prices up?

I have no problem with this in the sense that I'll happily pay, say, $20 a pack for FP100C instead of the $9 a pack they were charging. I do not, however, like this period of not having any current production FP100C

[Francois]

I don't blame you.
I still have a bit of FP100B (1½ packs) that I'm treating like if it was the last drop of water on the planet!

[hookstrapped]

With Kodachrome, wasn't the look because the colour dyes were put in during processing rather than being embedded in the emulsion? I was always intrigued by the way one side of the slide had a kind of bas-relief effect on it, which you just didn't get on stuff like Agfachrome, which I shot most of the time in the 70s because it was cheaper.


I've avoided instant mash since the stuff the martians made.

That's my question about whether the process was integral to the look. I have a hard time buying a discernible difference from the dyes being added during processing versus being in the emulsion, unless somehow the process alters or puts parameters on the dyes you can use that makes its look otherwise unachievable.

I doubt that, though. It's gonna be different anyway but it's cool for a new (old) film to shoot for that look.

[Indofunk]

With Kodachrome, wasn't the look because the colour dyes were put in during processing rather than being embedded in the emulsion? I was always intrigued by the way one side of the slide had a kind of bas-relief effect on it, which you just didn't get on stuff like Agfachrome, which I shot most of the time in the 70s because it was cheaper.


I've avoided instant mash since the stuff the martians made.

That's my question about whether the process was integral to the look. I have a hard time buying a discernible difference from the dyes being added during processing versus being in the emulsion, unless somehow the process alters or puts parameters on the dyes you can use that makes its look otherwise unachievable.

I doubt that, though. It's gonna be different anyway but it's cool for a new (old) film to shoot for that look.

If that were the case (ie, process doesn't matter), wouldn't Kodak have come up with an E6 Kodachrome in the 80's or whenever they stopped production of Kodachrome, just based on its popularity?

So many questions, nobody has the answers, all that matters is what it LOOKS like.

[jharr]

I'm fairly sure that they could come up with an E-6 look-alike for Kodachrome, but the question is whether anyone can find a model that looks like this when photographed with it!!

[Faintandfuzzy]

I'm fairly sure that they could come up with an E-6 look-alike for Kodachrome, but the question is whether anyone can find a model that looks like this when photographed with it!!

What an incredible photo...and subject

[hookstrapped]

I wonder if it'll be shot on film...

http://variety.com/2016/film/news/jason-sudeikis-ed-harris-kodachrome-1201768359/

[Ed Wenn]

Wow! This is almost like the perfect Filmwasters thread. Some hater loving and lover hating. Becky throwing in random comments about hardware and corn syrup. Gratuitous, but gladly received, Liz Taylor appearance. Some speculation about chemistry and dyes....all nicely topped off with some Fujifilm bashing (BRING BACK PEEL APART FILM YOU NUMPTIES!!!).

Thank you :-)

[Indofunk]

Happy to be of service, Ed

[John Robison]

That Kodachrome magazine sounds interesting.  I've actually been having a chuckle at some of the other sites mentioning the release of Ektachrome.  DPReview has been the most entertaining.  You'd think Kodak was coming to steal all their digital cameras with the comments  about it being ridiculous, for hipsters, posers, etc.  I never thought a roll of film could bring out so much hate from some people...lol.

Finally got time to read through this thread and this comment brought a chuckle. I've noticed the same thing since the early 00's
'Film is dead' intones someone on the photography forums who fancy's himself as a great wise one. Another will pile on, 'I moved to digital and never looked back!' These folks seem to feel that anyone who still uses film somehow diminishes their choice to use digital. The more they have spent on their kit often affects their level of outrage that someone still prefers and uses film. This is especially true if the film user has put together his formally top of the line 35mm SLR kit for little more than beer money. Another thing that they are ticked off about, the film users kit won't depreciate like a falling brick. And, for a few dollars film users can buy 36 brand new sensors, either monochrome or color.
They need have no worry, Kodak will not steal their digital cameras. Time and background radiation and failed electronics will take care of that.

[Indofunk]

I just noticed that my film stock is declining, so I jumped on ebay for some cheap film purchasing. I noticed that NOS Ektachrome seems to be more plentiful and cheaper than the last time I replenished my stock. Can't help but think that this announcement is the reason why. So, lovers of expired Ektachrome, time to troll ebay!

[moominsean]

I have quite a bit of Ektachrome and slide film in general. I think I probably have 50 boxes of some kind of Fuji 4x5 slide film. I hate self developing slide film, though. Too much continuous agitation and much more sensitive to temperature changes than negative film.

[Indofunk]

I always xpro in C41