Develop Kodachrome 40 bw (have it developed)

hjkoenig · 2008-03-26T20:47:26+00:00

Guten Abend, gibt es ein Labor, dass einen Kodachrome 40 S8 Film sw entwickelt? (An die Selbstentwicklung traue ich mich noch nicht ran) Grüße Hajo König

hjkoenig

Good evening, Is there a lab that develops Kodachrome 40 S8 film in black and white? (I don’t feel confident enough to develop it myself yet) Best regards, Hajo König

KPA40

Good evening, Is there a lab that develops Kodachrome 40 S8 film in black and white? (I don’t feel confident enough to develop it myself yet) Best regards, Hajo König

Hello Hajo, Before the development of any Kodachrome film, regardless of format, the ‘Yellow Giant’ has specified that the Rem-Jet emulsion must be removed. After that, it should be a reversal process, just like with a normal black-and-white film. Unfortunately, I don’t have any personal experience with this. In my collection of links, I found the following article in English. http://www.omniprints.com/super8/black&white.html Although it is already a few years old, it might still be useful for some additional information. Best regards, Olaf

hjkoenig

My 'thank you' message just got deleted – so here goes again: thanks for the tip! Best regards, Hajo König (I don’t really dare ask – but what is a ‘Rem Jet’ emulsion? And how do you get rid of that sort of dodgy stuff? I only know REM as ‘Rapid Eye Movement’, but that doesn’t seem to apply here – does it?)

KPA40

Hello Hajo, The REM-Jet emulsion is an anti-halation layer that is mechanically removed using rotating plush fibres in the Kodachrome K-14 process. You can find a description of the process in German on Gunnar Lindenblatt’s website: http://www.vitadata.net/homepage/k14-pro.htm He has abstracted the basic information in the FAQ http://www.vitadata.net/homepage/k14-faq.htm . This, of course, concerns the 35mm versions of the film. But now to the question: why do you absolutely want to have the S8 film developed in black and white? Is it because of a particular interest in trying it out, or because of the (misconception) that S8 Kodachrome is no longer developed in colour? Basically, all Kodachrome films worldwide are now developed by Dwayne’s Photo in Parsons, Kansas, USA: http://www.dwaynesphoto.com Kodak itself ceased development with the closure of its last in-house lab in Lausanne and commissioned Dwayne’s Photo to take over. 35mm films are forwarded there, regardless of which old Kodak address they are sent to. Dwayne’s is able to develop all Kodachrome films up to 35mm width using the K-14 process. 120 roll films using the K-14 process or old films using the K-12 and K-11 processes (pre-1974) are no longer accepted. The peculiarity with narrow-gauge film (8mm/16mm) is that Kodak no longer recognises the prepaid film development and (this is my assumption) therefore no longer forwards it without payment. With 8mm film, there is the additional issue that Dwayne’s has not been officially licensed by Kodak for this film. (They do it anyway, though). 8mm Kodachrome apparently requires a slightly different combination of temperature and/or speed in the machine, likely due to a different thickness of the film base. But you don’t need to send your remaining S8 Kodachrome films to the US yourself (although that’s not a problem either); that’s what Wittner Kinotechnik is for. Have a scroll down to the bottom of this page: http://www.wittner-kinotechnik.de/katalog/...mm/s8_filmm.php I myself have been a die-hard Kodachrome fan when it comes to transparency film for years and would send it for development to Inner Mongolia, whatever the cost :rolleyes: . Have a lovely weekend, Olaf

hjkoenig

Well, now I’m wiser. My interest was partly general in nature and partly driven by the question of whether films—some of which have been expired for as long as 20 years—are still worth the rather pricey development costs in the US. However, it seems many have already achieved astonishing results (in a positive sense). I’m also a black-and-white fan and was hoping to make use of the legendary colour balance of Kodachrome films (apart from the fact that there are fewer issues with automatic exposure). Does developing black-and-white film yourself make sense, and is it even possible with a reasonable amount of effort? Best regards, Hajo König PS: I’ve just had a look at the website mentioned (I could have done that straight away) – it doesn’t exactly look like a job for amateurs.

cfb_de

Hi Hajo, In my opinion, the only sensible option with SW film is to process it all yourself. And it’s possible without too much hassle. Best regards, Franz

hjkoenig

In my humble opinion, when it comes to black-and-white film, developing it yourself from start to finish is the only sensible option. And it’s possible without too much hassle.

Hello Franz, I’ve long since been converted and, after a break of many years, am doing it again with growing enthusiasm with the 35mm films. The Lomo tank is already ready for the 8mm films too. I just thought that the K40 films still on offer might perhaps be developed as black-and-white film; but that’s probably a bit too much for a home lab. Best regards Hajo

Hermann

Good evening, Is there a lab that develops Kodachrome 40 S8 film in black and white? (I don’t feel confident enough to develop it myself yet) Best regards, Hajo König

Hello Hajo, I think there was an article on K40 as a black-and-white film in an older issue of the magazine "Schmalfilm" (published by Schiele + Schöner). Why not have a go and ask them? Best regards, Jobolo