Re: what's happening to Kodachrome.

[Steve Shapiro <sgshiya@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Subject: Re: what's happening to Kodachrome.


At 10:22 AM 3/2/1999 -0800, you wrote:(in part)
>Subject: advice or at least opinion
>The German film has a clear coupler, Kodak's is yellow; and Fugi is green.
>The only other 'neutral' coupler is found in Kodachrome; but we all know
>what's happening with that wonderful, toxic producing film..
>
>Steve Shapiro

Sorry this is a late response.  I've been away for a week (and came back to
152 panorama posts!), but what *is* happening to Kodachrome?

Thanks

Tony Andrews


Kodachrome is a silver halide, color reversal film that relates the silver
halides to color balanced metal salts by exposure to light part way through
the development process.

The residual is cyanide.  It was declared highly hazardous and Kodak was
limited to two or three labs in the continental US in order to continue
manufacture and development of this film, mostly due to the very particular
resolving particularities and to the economic and political nature of the
patent, I'm sure.

The majority of the movie film processing machines were sold to third world
countries -- we sure are the good guys -- and one of the biggest, third
world country is China.  See the movie 'Shanghai Triad,' or 'Triad Express,'
can't remember this evening; but the point is it's dangerous processing the
film in bulk eventhough the quality is remarkably un replaceable.

Now, the enterprising and innovative photographers who want to continue to
answer the demand of this film, have invented -- here's where my knowledge
of the history is shakey -- a mini lab, closed system to contain the runoff
of dangereous cyanide something or other, but sincerely dangerous.  As a
contained mini lab thing, the return of Kodachrome is likely; but due to the
high expense of hazardous waste disposal this new minilab is slow to take
off.

I hope Kodachrome makes a comeback as cut film, too.  The latitude in
highlight to shadow clarity is of the longest ever.  I shoot three, four
year old Kodachrome and add 5cc to the filtration and it balances great. (My
Kodachrome filtration is 2.8Y 5M and if it's outdated total 10M; for the
2.8Y I use a Haze #2.  then, I prorate another 1/3 stop and I already pro
rate 1/3 stop for my Canon lens; so I shoot Kodachrome 64 at 40 with a haze
filter and 5M CC gel.

If I die tomorrow, Tony, that's all I got on Kodachrome.

Steve Shapiro, Carmel, CA