Saturday, June 27, 2009

Saying good bye...Kodachrome

Saying good bye is never an easy thing to do. But Kodak is bidding farewell to the world's first commercially successful color film. Eastman Kodak announced this past Monday that they will be retiring Kodachrome from their line of films. The increasing demand for digital technology is pushing out film faster than ever. Kodachrome had a good 74 years in production. But times are changing and with the change brings the chance for new products to enter the market.

One thing that I did find interesting, is the fact that there is only one place in the world that can still process Kodachrome. I did not realize that there was only one lab in the world with the capability to process Kodachrome. With such a low statistical figure of Kodachrome being sold, less than 1 percent of the company's total sales in film, I wonder if the last remaining lab processing Kodachrome will see a drastic drop in their sales as well. The economy at the present is definitely effecting nearly all forms of businesses. So it is not really a surprise to me that after 74 years Kodachrome will be discontinued. One thing is for sure, when Tri X 400 sees its day of retirement, this will officially be the first film that gets retired that I will miss the most. Trix 400 has been one of my favorites when it comes to film in my cameras. I hope this day will not come to soon.

Here is a link to read that discusses Eastman Kodak's decision: Kodak Retires Kodachrome Film

1 comment:

Joey B said...

What I thought was hilarious was that it is only processed by one place... Dwayne's Photo.

There's just something about the name Dwayne.