Kodak ending KODACHROME run after 74 years of production.

[stevenvdb]

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/shopping_blog/2009/06/kodak-discontinues-kodachrome-film.html

Tough luck, Paul Simon -- your Kodachrome is being taken away.
Eastman Kodak Co. announced today that it is retiring the 74-year-old Kodachrome color film as photographers gravitate to digital cameras and newer films. About 70% of the company’s revenue now comes from its digital sales.
Kodachrome sales had plunged in recent years to less than 1% of Kodak’s total film sales. Dwayne’s Photo in Parsons, Kan., the only lab worldwide that still processes Kodachrome, will offer the service through 2010.
But the film had an illustrious history, favored by professional photographers like Steve McCurry, who used Kodachrome in 1985 for his famous National Geographic photo of a young Afghan girl with piercing green eyes.
In 1973, Simon immortalized the film’s “nice bright colors” in his song “Kodachrome.”
Kodak said it will donate the last rolls of Kodachrome film to the George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film in Rochester, N.Y., after McCurry shoots one of the rolls.


-- Tiffany Hsu - Los Angelas Times

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Since Paul Simon originally wrote this song in the early 70's , I don't think an official music video exists for it, but here is a sample of the song with someone else's pictures thrown over it. Looked for it among the Live in Central Park recordings, but couldn't find it either... grrrrr.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujhdf9_IO4w


Personally, I don't particularly like Kodak's consumer-level digi cameras. I think that they often try to get the 'look' of warmth through jimmying with the colorspace as they are being processed and saved, but because of the limited dynamic range and a few other things involving clipping and rounding errors, etc, that often occur of consumer models, they change the color info in ways you can't completely bring back through digital post-processing. It's fairly subtle to many people's eyes, but it bugs me... It's been a few years since i've touched a Kodak digi, so it may have changed since then. Their pro cameras on the other hand are rather nice.. With digital, accuracy of the original capture is key, with the ability to tweek in post.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxDfcyT92wQ

And another Kodak ad with the same guy... ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTHFsTt6yS4

[Darth Turbogeek]

It was obselete 30 years ago and used a stupid colourisation progress. Let alone Digital's acsension. Good riddance

And oh lord, you are trying to comapre COMSUMER grade photgraphic crap to some sort of standard? No, I'm sorry I'm not going to let you go on that because consumer level photography with fixed lens and small CCD's is always going to be substandard. And of course, that was the same with consumer level PAS film cameras too. The whole BS about film having "warmth" is utter crap too.

Of course, there are some people who have realised that digital may mean that you can hammer out a whole load of shots, but there is still proper skill involved - the big issue is simply that because the auto functions are now quite good, there is no thought about shot setup and camera settings beign changed to suit.

So fuck film. Mmmmm now where's my 40D with 70-200 L IS 2.8 again....?

[Cambrio Montegue]

Noooooooooooo! This is my favourite! :(

Damnit. Technology is creeping in and taking over and it makes me want to hide in a closet. :cry

[Morgan Evanar]

So fuck film. Mmmmm now where's my 40D with 70-200 L IS 2.8 again....?I ated it.

[stevenvdb]

It was obselete 30 years ago and used a stupid colourisation progress. Let alone Digital's acsension. Good riddance

And oh lord, you are trying to comapre COMSUMER grade photgraphic crap to some sort of standard? No, I'm sorry I'm not going to let you go on that because consumer level photography with fixed lens and small CCD's is always going to be substandard. And of course, that was the same with consumer level PAS film cameras too. The whole BS about film having "warmth" is utter crap too.

Of course, there are some people who have realised that digital may mean that you can hammer out a whole load of shots, but there is still proper skill involved - the big issue is simply that because the auto functions are now quite good, there is no thought about shot setup and camera settings beign changed to suit.

So fuck film. Mmmmm now where's my 40D with 70-200 L IS 2.8 again....?

I actually have that model, myself, among others. The low-light noise handling is pretty nice isn't it? :) Though my model had the focus issues and I had to send it in...the wait was excruciating.

Cameras are tools, though. What an individual may need them for will vary.

For personal day to day snapshots, I wouldn't carry a DSLR, especially if I'm going to be traveling abroad and would rather have a relatively inexpensive P&S that I need not worry or fuss so much about. It's about capturing memories of day to day living with friends and family. Sometimes the technology gets in the way. I'll take a little fuzziness to take a candid shot rather than have my subject stare directly at the camera, knowing their image is going to be taken, because ole Stevey is pulling out another prime.

I have been toying with a borrowed Sigma DP2, lately. The ergonomics are somewhat lacking, it is slow and even though it is marketed as a P&S, you really need to know what you are doing to work around some of the cameras' quirks, but the color rendering and dimensionality is something unique. It doesn't use Bayer filtering, but tries to capture each of three primaries at each photosite, so you get per-pixel full-colour rendering. The results can be hit and miss sometimes, but when it works.. It would be great for capturing textures for rendering.

My 'serious' camera is a Nikon D90, which I use for portraits and where I know there will be some nice scenic venues. OK, I do use it quite a bit, actually. :P I also have a medium format box "film" camera - single lense, aperture set at f-64 ;) rarely used though...the expense and film availability a major liability for me, an elderly Nikon CoolPix 950 from an old girlfriend (oooh, didn't that used to be the "it" camera ten years or so ago..;) some "toy" film cameras from Asia (interesting vignetting and flat field of focus) and a couple cheapie $20 digicams (some interesting effects as well)

EDIT: Dang it, my photo hosting site is being wanky. :/