Kodachrome
Kodachrome is the brand name for a color reversal film introduced by Eastman Kodak in 1935. 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.
| Kodachrome | |
|---|---|
| Maker | Eastman Kodak |
| Speed | 6/9°, 10/11°, 25/15°, 40/17°, 64/19°, 200/24° |
| Type | Color slide |
| Process | K-14 process |
| Format | 16mm, 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, 6.5 cm × 9cm, 9cm × 12cm |
| Introduced | 1935 |
| Discontinued | 2002 (ISO 25), 2005 (ISO 40 in 8 mm), 2007 (ISO 200), 2009 (ISO 64) |
Because of its complex processing requirements, the film was initially exclusively sold including the cost of processing; independent photography stores were prohibited from developing Kodachrome. To develop the film, customers had to mail film to Kodak, which then mailed the developed film back as part of the film's purchase price. In 1954, the U.S. Department of Justice found this practice to be an uncompetitive violation of antitrust law. Kodak entered into a consent decree - this required the company to offer Kodachrome film for sale without the development fee, as well as license Kodachrome development patents to independent photography stores. Kodak did sell mailers for users wanting the film to be processed by Kodak. Nonetheless, the process-paid arrangement continued in other markets around the world.
Due to its complex processing requirements, the growth and popularity of alternative photographic materials, and, much later, the widespread transition to digital photography, Kodachrome lost 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, but later conceded that this was unlikely to happen.