Kodachrome of various varieties and speeds has been around for 70 years. It's had accurate and archival color far longer than any other color film had either. I'm basing this review on the only roll of Kodachrome 64 I've ever shot. Kodachrome 64 is the only variety left.
Kodachrome 64 has been the standard speed of it for as long as I can remember. Both 25 and 200 were available until recently, but are gone now. I never shot much slide film, but the fact that Kodachrome had to be sent off had pushed me away from it for years. Kodak made a last big push with it in 1998, offering a minilab processor for it which was supposed to expand the usefulness of K-14 by making it as quick and easy as E-6. That didn't work out, and now the only folks still processing K-14 worldwide are Dwayne's in Parsons, KS.
Kodachrome 64 is expensive. All manner of Ektachrome and Fuji slide films are cheaper and easier to find and develop. Anyone who is still buying Kodachrome is buying it solely based on wanting Kodachrome, rather than just wanting slides. There are several reasons for this.
This has been said to death, but Kodachrome is probably the most permanent color process out there. If you see a "good" color picture from the WWII era or before, it's probably Kodachrome. If you're concerned about a picture outlasting yourself, there is no better way to ensure that than a Kodachrome slide. Digital media does degrade, file types become obsolete, and other films and prints do fade. There will be ways of scanning in the future as well. You can just guarantee that a properly stored Kodachrome will last long enough to be reprinted later.
Kodachrome has a unique look. There is a depth of the way that it looks. Even the most mundane pictures have a beauty of color and an almost 3-D look. I've never projected them, but the difference there is supposed to be even greater. Considering Kodachrome 64 has not been updated for years, it's surprising that it would look preferable to these other films that get near constant updates. After years of trying, Ektachrome still just isn't as good. Kodachrome 64 is a good speed for general slide use. It doesn't have any problems with grain at any size a normal person would print or project it. It isn't too slow to handhold, either. The only problems would come from trying to freeze fast action. If the day was very sunny, you might be able to muster a 1/1000 speed with a fast lens. For any sort of slow or stationary object, Kodachrome does a fine job.
Kodachrome is considered hard to scan. If you look at the emulsion side of the film, it has a raised relief of the picture. This texture is supposedly why scanners' ICE has a problem with Kodachrome. My scanner doesn't have ICE, so I have not had that problem. It's well documented online that Kodachrome slides don't scan to the level of detail which the slide actually holds, either. That said, I like the way my final scans look.
Kodachrome's sole real weakness is that it can't handle much projection. They will fade in projection light much more quickly than Ektachrome or Fujichrome.
As the reviewer of Kodachrome 200 said, you basically have to review Dwayne's, as it's certainly a part of buying Kodachrome and developing it. They did a fine job of developing and mounting the slides. They were delivered in a little plastic box. Their CD costs $5, and I wasn't happy with how most of the pictures looked on it. They were oversharpened, and the color was not very good. The shadow detail looked grainy, even though the slides aren't.
Update: June 22, 2009, Kodak announced that Kodachrome production will end by the end of 2009. Dwayne's concurrently announced that they will develop it until at least the end of 2010. This is sad news, but I knew it would happen.
Color slide film Reproduces subtle color naturally Extremely fine grain and high sharpness Requires special developing process 36 exposuresMore at Amazon Marketplace
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