Re: Shelf life of Kodachrome 64

[P3D Gregory J. Wageman <gjw@xxxxxxxxxx>]

John Weiler wrote:

>As I mentioned several months ago, while fresh in-date Kodachrome might
>possibly exhibit a greenish cast, older and out-of-date film seems to
>be usually  fine, and if my experience is typical you should be able to
>use out-of-date film with no loss of quality.  I'm currently shooting
>an out-of-date emulsion of Kodachrome 25 Professional, and it
>appears quite neutral.  Just have the film processed promptly; latent
>images will shift toward magenta if months pass before development.

The thing to remember is that the amateur Kodachrome is shipped before
it has reached its ideal age, with the expectation that it will sit on
a store shelf, then on the consumer's shelf, then in the camera, before
it is processed.  The "Pro" emulsions, on the other hand, are aged at
the factory and then shipped at their peak.  They should be stored cold
or frozen.  *All* exposed film should be processed promptly for best
results.

FWIW, I just bought some fresh Kodachrome 64, and the expiration date on
the box is 11/1998, a good 16 months hence.  And as pointed out, it's
probably good beyond that.  I'll use mine long before that. :-)

	-Greg W.


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